Record burbot hoisted out of Kootenai River

A Troy, Mont., angler recently hauled a record burbot from the Kootenai River.

Caleb Wilson set a new state catch-and-release record when he reeled in a 26.75-inch-long burbot March 19.

"Wilson knew he might have a state record contender on his hands, so he whipped out the tape measure under the light of his headlamp," said a press release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Burbot — also known as cusk, freshwater cod, ling, lingcod and eelpout — are the only freshwater cod species found in North America and have a special place in Idaho’s heart. The long-bodied, cold-water fish are not your run-of-the-mill sport fish. 

Burbot have flat heads and long bodies that sprout long pectoral fins just behind their gills. Their back half is eel-like, with stumpy, rounded fins. Burbot have brownish-yellow mottled skin, earning them the nickname “Kootenai leopards” among anglers. 

As the name implies, these leopard-like fish are predatory and feed during the night, the release said. They also tend to hang out during the day in deep, slow-moving pools, then seek out food such as crayfish or small fish in shallow water.

Conservation partnerships between Idaho Fish and Game, British Columbia officials and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, along with funding from the Bonneville Power Administration, have helped restore the river’s burbot population. 

"Decades of aquaculture research from the University of Idaho, and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho’s successful hatchery stocking program have been helping fuel the increasing burbot numbers," the release said.

Despite being an often overlooked game fish that makes impeccable table fare, Wilson released the fish back into the Kootenai, but not before earning himself a place in Idaho’s record books.