Northwest Montana is the place to catch big pumpkinseed sunfish.

For at least the third time in 20 years and the fourth since 1985, the region has produced a state record sunfish.

Tim Colver, 70, started the run on July 9, 1985, when he landed a record-setter with a .95-pound pumpkinseed from Milnor Lake near Troy.

From the archives of The Western News, Libby’s Nate Bache landed a pumpkinseed July 30, 2006, that weighed .96-pounds. It broke Colver’s 21-year-old record by 1/100th of a pound.

According to the published account from the Aug. 11, 2006, edition, 10-year-old Bache typically fished Bull Lake. But a change of scenery on July 30 was a good decision when he landed the record breaker at Upper Thompson Lake while fishing with his parents, Jeff and Janie Bache.

In the 2006 story, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 information education program officer John Fraley said he was surprised that two record-setting Montana pumpkinseeds came from west of the Continental Divide.

Sixteen years later, fishing guide and lure maker Pete Jellar was fishing Fennon Slough in the Flathead Valley when he landed a pumpkinseed April 26, 2022, that weighed .995 pounds.

There is no doubt about the new pumpkinseed record, which weighs 1.23 pounds.

Parker Shipman and his buddy, Joe, were fishing for crappie on Echo Lake near Kalispell on June 30 when he hooked into the pretty pumpkinseed. These fish get their name from their body’s resemblance to an actual pumpkin seed.

“When I saw what kind of fish it was, I said to my buddy, Joe, ‘Get a net; we need a net,’” Parker said. “I thought it might be a lake record, but sure enough, it was a state record. I couldn’t believe it.” 

Shipman said the sunfish put up a pretty good fight.

The angling buddies were using deep-water, ultra-light gear. They had recently fished together in Fennon Slough, which is where the previous record pumpkinseed was caught. 

Parker measured its length and girth – 10.04 inches long and 11.34 inches wide – and then took it to Super 1 grocery store in Kalispell to get the official weight. 

Currently, the pumpkinseed is in Parker’s freezer, waiting to be mounted.