Montana’s Brand New State Record Chinook Salmon is a Whopper

Three weeks ago, an angler came oh-so-close. But just last Friday, August 9, someone actually sealed the deal.

Yes, Montana has a new state record Chinook salmon. And it's one of those stories that reminds all of us anglers that it isn't always about endless hours targeting the biggest of the big or having all the latest electronics. Our new record-holder was nice enough to share some details with the Montana Outdoor Radio Show.

Jim Fauth of Malta, Montana, is a retired lineman for a local power company. He fishes from a 25-year-old pontoon boat that he says is "nothing fancy, but it gets the job done."  And rarely does he fish for salmon. Nor does he spend a lot of time on Fort Peck Lake.

THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

Jim and his wife were fishing with friends on Fort Peck  last week, trolling around what he described as an area about two miles south of the dam. Trust us. He wasn't trying to be evasive. Suffice it to say Jim just wasn't too concerned with his location.

He saw one of their poles jump. At first he thought his wife had accidentally bumped it with her arm. Then it jumped again.

AND THE FIGHT WAS ON

Jim was worried about how much line the fish was running out, but then surprisingly, the salmon eases up and he thinks the actual reeling in probably wasn't much more than 5 minutes. Still not sure what he had on (Pike? Salmon? Lake trout?), he was guessing that whatever it was maybe was pushing 20 pounds.

Once the fish came into view, his next concern was whether or not it would fit in his net. But one of his companions was a skilled netter a into the pontoon it came, followed by lots of cheering and high fives.

Oh, yeah: It was the only fish they hooked all day.

Jim estimates he was trolling at a depth of about 70 feet, using a blue flasher/green and white squid setup. The fish was taken to the Lake Ridge Lodging and Bait Shop on Fort Peck, to be weighed on a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks certified scale.

AND THAT NEW MONTANA RECORD?

Montana's new record Chinook salmon officially weighed in at 32.62 pounds, breaking the record of 32.05 pounds, landed by Greg Haug of North Dakota in August, 2020.

Will Jim fish Fort Peck more often now? Well, we didn't ask. What we did gather is that this is just a really nice, easy-going guy that would be fun to fish with, state record or not.