An Idaho ice fisherman kicked off the new year by landing a state record Yellowstone cutthroat trout at Henrys Lake on December 31st.
Robert Gregory and his college friends headed to the popular eastern Idaho fishery with an ambitious goal: catch a record cutthroat. Unlike most anglers who stumble into record fish by accident, Gregory was actively targeting one.
The morning started slow, so the group made an adjustment and moved to shallower water. The change paid off immediately.
Gregory hooked into a 19-inch Yellowstone cutthroat that weighed 3.08 pounds on a certified scale. While that might not sound massive compared to other trout species, Yellowstone cutthroat are a different animal entirely.
Why This Record Matters
Yellowstone cutthroat are one of Idaho’s three native cutthroat subspecies, and their range is extremely limited. They exist almost exclusively in the Snake River basin above Shoshone Falls and in the Yellowstone River drainage. That means anglers can only pursue them in southern and eastern Idaho, portions of Wyoming and Montana, and small pockets of Nevada and Utah.
Finding a place where you can actually harvest a Yellowstone cutthroat legally makes the challenge even harder. Henrys Lake is one of the few exceptions, with a healthy population supported by hatchery stocking that allows for harvest opportunities.
About Henrys Lake
Henrys Lake sits near the Idaho-Montana border and is well known as a trophy trout destination. It’s typically one of the first lakes in Idaho to develop safe ice each winter, giving anglers an early shot at hardwater fishing. The lake produces quality cutthroat, brook trout, and cutthroat-rainbow hybrids (cutbows).
Given the lake’s reputation for producing big fish, this 3-pound record likely won’t stand for long. But for now, Gregory sits atop the Idaho state record board for Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
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