Wyoming Angler Lands State-Record Tiger Trout

Shelby Holder with his nearly 15-pound record tiger trout. Photo via Outdoor Life

A Wyoming angler using a 1-weight fly rod—because it was the only one he had—landed an astonishingly large tiger trout on the Hams Fork River in southwestern Wyoming earlier this month. Writing in Outdoor Life, Bob McNally tells the story of this remarkable catch. After spotting the behemoth in shallow water, angler Shelby Holder tried a couple different Beadhead Woolly Buggers before he got the fish to eat. Then it was seriously game-on, and the undergunned angler had to figure out a way to bring the fish to hand.

“I had all afternoon, so I just played the fish with care for 30 minutes. I had a net, but only his head would fit in it. So I eased the fish close, knelt down, and got it on shore. I knew it was a big tiger trout, but I didn’t think it could be a state-record fish.”

He took the fish to a local grocery store that had a certified scale, and the big trout weighed in at 14 pounds, 15.2 ounces, breaking the previous record by more than 2 pounds.

It’s clearly a great catch, but this story raises a couple of issues: 1. Is it okay to kill this fish? and 2. Is it ethical to even cast to such a big fish with a 1-weight fly rod?

I think the first question is fairly straightforward. Keeping the fish was legal under the fishing regulations, and although hardcore catch-and-release anglers may balk, it’s worth remembering that tiger trout are sterile hybrids that can’t reproduce. Removing this fish from the ecosystem may actually help the naturally reproducing population of rainbows.

The second question is a little thornier and open to debate. The angler certainly could have landed the fish much more quickly with a heavier rod, but how many fly fishers would be willing to walk away once they’d spotted such a trophy? What do you think?

Click here for the full story in Outdoor Life