CDA angler hooks record cutthroat trout

Idaho’s deepest lake — Lake Pend Oreille — no doubt possesses some aquatic beasts of mythical proportion. At a maximum depth of 1,158 feet and 43 miles from tip to glacially carved tip, that’s a lot of deep blue space for a monster fish to hide.

Imagine then the wave of hysteria after reeling in a 27-inch long Westslope cutthroat trout one day. For Coeur d’Alene angler Kyle Hatrock, that day was Feb. 1. And as if a 27-inch cutty wasn’t impressive enough, the fish, upon being measured, earned Hatrock a place in the Idaho state record books, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 

“We’d just got all the lines out when not 10 minutes later, one pole starts singing out the line,” Hatrock said. “The first run took out 450 feet-plus for about 15-20 minutes, and as soon as it hit the net, my friend started freaking out, saying ‘That’s the biggest freaking cutty I’ve ever seen!’” 

He and his buddies immediately put the tape measure to it. Hatrock’s trout officially edged out the previous record (Daniel Whitesitt’s Clark Fork River Westslope cutthroat trout) by 2 inches, Fish and Game said.

The new record fish — caught from the lake and not one of its tributaries — is an exceptionally large specimen for a Westslope cutthroat trout, which rarely surpass 20 inches … let alone 27. This continues to reinforce Lake Pend Oreille’s reputation as Idaho’s top trophy trout fishery, Fish and Game said.