The current International Game Fish Association All-Tackle tiger trout record sits at 27 pounds, 6 ounces. Cathy Clegg caught the fish on Loon Lake in eastern Washington in August 2022.
Tiger Trout in Idaho
IDFG has stocked the Montpelier Reservoir with tiger trout since 2016, which means King’s fish is eight years old at most, Koenig says. The last stocking happened on June 14, 2022, when IDFG released 1,060 fish longer than 6 inches into the 131-acre waterbody. Tiger trout act as a biological control in the reservoir, which was part of the reason for the inception of Idaho’s tiger trout stocking program.
“Being sterile, they give us a little more flexibility because they’re not going to interbreed with native trout local to the area,” Koenig says. “While Montpelier Reservoir is home to native Bonneville cutthroat trout, and then a host of other introduced gamefish like perch, kokanee, and some rainbow trout, we’re not so worried about tiger trout being a nuisance to the system there.”
“We can use tiger trout to try to capitalize on those abundant-but-small yellow perch and produce a trophy fishing opportunity in a reservoir that otherwise doesn’t produce a lot of big fish,” he explains. “Anglers love to catch trout that are different and cool. Tiger trout are a super fun sport fish, they’re unique, [and] people are willing to travel pretty long distances to get a chance at catching one.”
All About Tiger Trout
A tiger trout is a sterile hybrid of a female brown trout and a male brook trout. Neither species is native to Idaho—brown trout were introduced from Europe and brook trout came from the eastern United States. Tiger trout are rarely produced in the wild, since they are the offspring of two distinct species. The scarce wild tiger trout is a small, elusive fish while the hatchery-raised tiger is bigger and much more aggressive.
Tiger trout are easy to recognize. The wiggly pattern that covers their bodies is more reminiscent of a composition notebook than a tiger, but it is similar to the pattern that covers the top of a brook trout. Tiger trout might also have the white stripe on their lower fins, similar to the brook trout. But their bellies range from white to an orange-yellow color, characteristic of both the male brook trout and the female brown trout.
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Just 35 percent of hatchery-bred specimens survive, and the percentage is even lower for wild specimens, according to IGFA. State wildlife agencies stock tiger trout in ponds, reservoirs, lakes, and streams across the country, from Nevada to Massachusetts.