NEW STATE RECORD TIGER TROUT

CHEYENNE— When Rock Springs resident Jon Bloom went fishing at High Savery Reservoir several weeks ago he went in search of a tiger trout and was also aware that a catch this late in the year could establish a tiger trout record that would likely hold up through the winter.

Bloom’s efforts were rewarded with a 3.33 pound. 22-inch fish that took a gitzit jig fished close to the shore.  His catch eclipsed the old record by nearly a pound.  This marks the fourth time in the last two years that a new record for tiger trout has been set.

It is difficult to say how big the tiger trout, a hybrid between brook and brown trout, will eventually get. In neighboring states where the fish has been around a number of years, fish over four pounds have been caught and Utah has a state record weighing 7 pounds  9 ounces.  The world record was caught out of Lake Michigan 30 years ago and weighed 20 pounds 13 ounces.

High Savery Reservoir is the only water in the state that has tiger trout. As the state’s newest reservoir, it was first stocked with tiger trout, Colorado River cutthroat and kokanee salmon in 2005.  Tiger trout were stocked to assist with controlling the white suckers and chubs in the reservoir.  As a sterile hybrid, their numbers can be completely controlled by stocking.  It is a very attractive fish exhibiting the white edged fins of a brook trout on its underside and a body with irregular green lines and scattered spots.

High Savery Reservoir is located just off Wyoming Highway 71, about 35 miles south of Rawlins.  From the south it can be accessed off Highway 70 in the Medicine Bow National Forest to Forest Service Road 801 and going north for  8 miles.

(contact: Al Langston (307) 777-4540)

-WGFD-