Near-Record Caught at Pyramid Lake

This was a story I’d heard rumors of for a few weeks, but hadn’t yet found any concrete evidence for – until now. In early February, Quinn Pauly of Reno, NV went up to Pyramid Lake. It was Valentine’s Day, and Pauly was fishing alone.

Then, he hooked into a fish that measured 39 inches long. It was a Pilot Peak strain of Lahontan cutthroat, as evidenced by its clipped adipose fin. Estimates put the weight of the catch between 25 and 30 pounds. That 30-pound mark would be a record for the lake since the re-introduction of Pilot Peak Lahontans back in 2006.

The world-record Lahontan was a 41-pound monster caught in 1925. We just might see that mark eclipsed in the next few years, since Lahontans live up to 20 years, and Pauly released his catch.

Read more about the big fish here.

Editor’s Note: The fish pictured in this story isn’t Pauly’s catch.