Incredible Catch Could Net New Montana State Record

Incredible Catch Could Net New Montana State Record

With nearly 50 different species of fish within its waters, Fort Peck Lake has the ability to offer any angler a challenge.

via GIPHY

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The reservoir also offers fisherman a chance at a state record in several of those species.  And now, it appears, pending approval, that the state has a new Chinook Salmon record by nearly a half-pound.

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Current Montana Record Only Held Since 2020 From Fort Peck

Currently the state record for a chinook salmon is 32.05 pounds, also taken in Fort Peck Lake back in 2020.  As of Friday, August 9th, 2024, that record could be broken.  According to the Fish Wildlife and Parks District 6 social media, a challenger has been caught.

This new entry has been weighed at 32.62 pounds on a certified scale.  The fish measured 38 inches long with a 28-inch girth.  According to FWP,

Fort Peck Reservoir is the only Montana waterbody with Chinook salmon. FWP first stocked landlocked Chinook salmon in 1983, and actively manages this species by collecting eggs each fall, raising them in the Fort Peck hatchery, and stocking the young fish back into the reservoir each spring. The Fort Peck Fisheries Management Plan calls for stocking a minimum of 200,000 fish annually.

What To Do If You Catch a Lunker You Think May be a Montana Record

Have you ever been fishing and thought the fish you landed could be a record?  Do you know how to take care of and report your catch?  Fish Wildlife and Parks offers the following tips to record your lunker: