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Utah Angler Sets New Idaho Lake Trout Record at Payette Lake
Aaron Goettsche knows his way around trophy lake trout. The 39-year-old Utah angler has spent years perfecting his craft on Flaming Gorge Reservoir, where he’s landed lake trout up to 47 pounds using handmade rods from his own company. But this summer, a family vacation to Idaho’s Payette Lake delivered the catch of a lifetime.
On June 19, while trolling solo in 80 feet of water near McCall, Goettsche hooked into a fish that would earn him Idaho’s new catch-and-release lake trout record. His 42-inch monster topped the previous record by half an inch, a mark that had stood since Dylan Smith’s catch from the same lake in 2018.
“It was a big fish, and it fought hard and deep,” said Goettsche, who owns Valley Forklift, LLC in Utah. “I’d hooked three others before that one and lost them, and they all were big.”
The fish came on a large wooden plug trolled 20 feet down off a downrigger. Using one of his own “Mama Hog Fishing Rods” paired with 50-pound test line and a 30-pound fluorocarbon leader, Goettsche battled the trout for 15 minutes before netting it.
“I knew it was a stud-size fish by the way it was running, and rolling and twisting,” he explained. “I couldn’t get the fish to settle down and it was fighting hard up near my boat. I was really worried I was going to lose it like the other first three I had on that morning.”
Aaron Goettsche secures his record-breaking 42-inch lake trout after a 15-minute battle in 80 feet of water on Payette Lake. Photo: MamaHogFishingRods.com
After documenting the fish’s length with photos and video, Goettsche released the trout back into Payette Lake and submitted his record application to Idaho Fish and Game. Officials confirmed the new state record on July 18.
A Fishery Reborn
Goettsche’s record catch represents more than just an individual achievement. It signals the remarkable recovery of Payette Lake’s trophy lake trout fishery, which struggled in the early 2000s when kokanee salmon populations collapsed.
“It wasn’t uncommon to catch a 30-inch fish that looked like a snake,” said Jordan Messner, Regional Fisheries Manager for Idaho Fish and Game in McCall.
Idaho’s Payette Lake has rebounded as a premier trophy lake trout destination thanks to restoration efforts that began in 2018
Starting in 2018, biologists launched an ambitious restoration program. They began aggressively stocking kokanee while simultaneously removing smaller lake trout to reduce competition for prey. The strategy has worked remarkably well, with over 3,000 lake trout removed since the program began.
Data shows the average relative weight of Payette Lake trout reached its highest point since 2006 last year. In June 2023, researchers even caught and released a 54-pound lake trout, just 3.5 pounds shy of Idaho’s all-time weight record.
The post Utah Angler Sets New Idaho Lake Trout Record at Payette Lake appeared first on OutdoorHub.
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Utah Angler Sets New Idaho Lake Trout Record at Payette Lake
Aaron Goettsche knows his way around trophy lake trout. The 39-year-old Utah angler has spent years perfecting his craft on Flaming Gorge Reservoir, where he’s landed lake trout up to 47 pounds using handmade rods from his own company. But this summer, a family vacation to Idaho’s Payette Lake delivered the catch of a lifetime.
On June 19, while trolling solo in 80 feet of water near McCall, Goettsche hooked into a fish that would earn him Idaho’s new catch-and-release lake trout record. His 42-inch monster topped the previous record by half an inch, a mark that had stood since Dylan Smith’s catch from the same lake in 2018.
“It was a big fish, and it fought hard and deep,” said Goettsche, who owns Valley Forklift, LLC in Utah. “I’d hooked three others before that one and lost them, and they all were big.”
The fish came on a large wooden plug trolled 20 feet down off a downrigger. Using one of his own “Mama Hog Fishing Rods” paired with 50-pound test line and a 30-pound fluorocarbon leader, Goettsche battled the trout for 15 minutes before netting it.
“I knew it was a stud-size fish by the way it was running, and rolling and twisting,” he explained. “I couldn’t get the fish to settle down and it was fighting hard up near my boat. I was really worried I was going to lose it like the other first three I had on that morning.”
Aaron Goettsche secures his record-breaking 42-inch lake trout after a 15-minute battle in 80 feet of water on Payette Lake. Photo: MamaHogFishingRods.com
After documenting the fish’s length with photos and video, Goettsche released the trout back into Payette Lake and submitted his record application to Idaho Fish and Game. Officials confirmed the new state record on July 18.
A Fishery Reborn
Goettsche’s record catch represents more than just an individual achievement. It signals the remarkable recovery of Payette Lake’s trophy lake trout fishery, which struggled in the early 2000s when kokanee salmon populations collapsed.
“It wasn’t uncommon to catch a 30-inch fish that looked like a snake,” said Jordan Messner, Regional Fisheries Manager for Idaho Fish and Game in McCall.
Idaho’s Payette Lake has rebounded as a premier trophy lake trout destination thanks to restoration efforts that began in 2018
Starting in 2018, biologists launched an ambitious restoration program. They began aggressively stocking kokanee while simultaneously removing smaller lake trout to reduce competition for prey. The strategy has worked remarkably well, with over 3,000 lake trout removed since the program began.
Data shows the average relative weight of Payette Lake trout reached its highest point since 2006 last year. In June 2023, researchers even caught and released a 54-pound lake trout, just 3.5 pounds shy of Idaho’s all-time weight record.
The post Utah Angler Sets New Idaho Lake Trout Record at Payette Lake appeared first on OutdoorHub.
Continue reading...