After ‘A Very Long Fight,’ Retiree Reels in Record Rainbow Trout for Maryland

A French resident of Maryland has broken a 37-year-old record for the biggest rainbow trout ever caught in the state.

Jean-Philippe Lartigue of Bethesda is now the official state record holder for rainbow trout in the nontidal division, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced in a press release this week. On Feb. 10, Lartigue caught a monster fish — a 17.44-pound, 32-inch monster, to be exact — in the section of Antietam Creek running through Devil’s Backbone County Park in Washington County.

But, what did he use to land this giant specimen? Lartigue relied on a 12-foot crappie-style rod, spinning reel, 8-pound test monofilament line, a small split-shot weight, and a No. 8 hook baited with a natural worm bait.

“I knew the fish was a very large trout, but I did not see how big it was at the beginning of the fight,” Lartigue said. “I finally saw the fish, and it made two very long runs to the opposite side of the creek and was hard to move. I also had to…