Wyoming Angler Lands State Record 12-Pound Tiger Trout

A Wyoming angler just fished his way into the record books after landing a massive new state record tiger trout, beating the previous record by nearly a pound.

When angler Owen Schaad hooked up with the nearly 12-pound fish he thought a huge brown trout had swallowed his hook. Eventually, he was able to net the fish and knew he had caught something special.

Schaad told the Wyoming Game & Fish Department about his once-in-a-lifetime catch. Owen says he was fighting the fish for a whopping 20 minutes before he even got a good look at the fish. Up to that point, he thought it was a large brown trout on his line but as it got close he realized it was a potentially record-setting tiger trout.

Tiger trout are hybrids between brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta). These spectacular fish are easily identifiable by their bright colors and vivid patterns. Those patterns take on elements of both the Brook Trout and Brown Trout…