Kalispell angler catches record-tying pygmy whitefish

The Daily Inter Lake

Eric Tullett of Kalispell now will share the state record for the diminutive pygmy whitefish with two other anglers, both of whom turned in their record fish in February 2005.

Tullett caught the .23-pound (that's 3.7 ounces' pygmy on a glow hook and maggot while ice fishing on Bitterroot Lake on Tuesday, March 17. He hooked the fish at 80 feet below the surface and reeled it in, according to a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

"My arm is still hurting," he joked.

Tullett took the fish to Super 1 of Kalispell and had it weighed on a certified scale; he then brought the fish and the weight slip to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Headquarters in Kalispell.

Fisheries biologist Mark Deleray examined and measured the fish and certified that it tied the state record of .23 pounds held jointly by Kevin Hadley and Troy Fraley.

Both Hadley and Fraley caught their fish in Bitterroot Lake.

Tullett's fish measured 8 1/4 inches, while the other two record fish had measured 8 1/2 and 9 inches, respectively. Tullett's pygmy was particularly fat, with a girth of 5-3/4 inches.

Tullett will receive a state record certificate when the paperwork is received in Helena.

The pygmy whitefish is one of three types of whitefish that live in Montana. The pygmy, along with the larger mountain whitefish, is native.

The lake whitefish was introduced to Montana. The pygmy has a very large eye in relation to its size. Pygmy whitefish live near the bottom of lakes such as Bitterroot, Ashley and Flathead. They feed on tiny zooplankton, bottom insects and mysis shrimp.

According to Region One Fisheries Manager Jim Vashro, introduced mysis shrimp, which have hurt some kokanee fisheries, are made to order for the bottom-hugging pygmies and may be resulting in an increase in their growth rates.