Montana Monster

[greenghost]

Something we can shoot for here in PA... Record Brown Trout

 

[foxfire]

Was it released??

 

[wildtrout2]

Kudos to the lucky fisherman. It seems the bigger a trout gets, the less pleasing to the eye it becomes.

 

[troutbert]

Is anyone familiar with the Marias River? It is a tailwater?

Trout don't generally get that big in a "regular" river.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
Is anyone familiar with the Marias River? It is a tailwater?

Trout don't generally get that big in a "regular" river.

I never heard of it either so I Googled it.

The Marias is a tailwater river that flows into the Missouri River >

https://www.bigskyfishing.com/River-Fishing/central-rivers/marias-river.php

 

[troutbert]

The Marias River will probably be a busy place this season.

 

[larkmark]

Do you think it eats other trout? Or does it just eat blue wings and tiny midges?

 

[salmonoid]

foxfire wrote:
Was it released??

Probably not. It was weighed on a butcher's scale the next day, because the official state scale weigh location only went up to 30#.

I saw this somewhere the other day - and my initial reaction any time I see a state record fish is one of repulsion. They are just flat out disgusting looking - their colors are dull and they look more like hippos than fish. Give me an 18" wild brown with a maroon tail and taillight adipose fine or a wild brookie of any size, any day. I mean no disrespect to the angler - it's quite the catch on 4# test line. But it is an ugly fish.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

The Marias River, below Tiber Reservoir (also called Lake Elwell), is really off the beaten path. Not many anglers are willing to brave the gumbo-laden roads and two-tracks to get there. However, the 12-mile stretch of the Marias River below the dam has some very nice-sized brown trout and rainbows as well - obviously!

 

[tomgamber]

Someone caught a huge Lahonton from Pyramid lake in Nevada on VD day. I'll post a link if i see it again. it was an Outdoor life post on a news site.

 

[foxfire]

Begs the question, at least to me: Would you knowingly cull the fish to claim your State Record? Or release?

It would pain me to kill such a magnificent survivor even though it's ugly, past it's spawning prime, etc.

 

[tomgamber]

https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/fishing/giant-lahontan-trout-nevada/?utm_medium=syndication&utm_source=flipboard

 

[Mike]

Caught on a Kastmaster spoon.....classic lure. The classics are classics because they work, including in Pa. They are most frequently used in lakes here, but fish well in larger or fast moving wild and stocked streams when you need to get the lure down. They also work quite well for striped bass in the ocean, but I switch the treble hook out for a single hook. In all sizes they cast exceptionally far for their weight.

 

[salmonoid]

foxfire wrote:
Begs the question, at least to me: Would you knowingly cull the fish to claim your State Record? Or release?

It would pain me to kill such a magnificent survivor even though it's ugly, past it's spawning prime, etc.

Release. First, you probably wouldn't know if it was a state record unless you culled it to begin with (I don't carry a scale with me when I fish). Second, I would take a few pictures, probably post them here, and then hopefully fade back into the background again. I would not like all the attention that landing the state record would bring with it. Records are temporary anyway; someone else will break it in the future, so might as well give someone else the chance to get the adrenaline flowing. Plus, the one you let go makes for better stories than the one that goes on ice..

 

[slatedrake]

I have fished the Marias river many times from the dam downstream 12 miles or so.

There are going to be a lot of dissapointed anglers fishing the river this season for the first time. The gumbo is world class, and the fish few and far between. All the cars running out there should invest in some 10 ply tires, or bring two spares.The gumbo doesn't care that you have 4 wheel drive, it's for real.

Great pike and walleye fishing,and at times lots of lake trout. The fishery seems to have a lot.of up and downs as far as numbers.