Angler shatters pygmy whitefish record

Kalispell angler Russ Geldrich has caught a new state record pygmy whitefish.

Geldrich caught the .36-pound, 9.84-inch fish in Little Bitterroot Lake on Feb. 13 while fishing with a jig and maggot in deep water for kokanee salmon.

Geldrich had the fish weighed on a certified scale at Rosauers and brought it to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks regional headquarters in Kalispell to certify the catch as a record.

Fisheries biologist Mark Deleray examined the fish, finding that it beat the previous state record of .23 pounds held jointly by three anglers.

The pygmy whitefish is a unique native fish found in a handful of lakes across Northwest Montana. The state record has been set or broken eight times since 1982.

The original record of .16 pounds was caught by Orlin Iverson in 1982 in Ashley Lake. 

Frank Gamma caught a .18-pound pygmy in 1999 from the same lake.

The record stood until 2005, when on Jan. 28 Brent Mitchell caught a .20-pounder out of Little Bitterroot Lake.

Mitchell’s record was eclipsed by a .21-pounder caught by Alvin Ammann on Feb. 14, 2005.  Two weeks later, on Feb. 25, Kevin Hadley hauled a .23-pounder out of Little Bitterroot, only to be matched by Troy Fraley who caught a .23-pounder on Feb. 27. 

Four years later, on March 17, 2009, Eric Tullett matched the record again with a .23-pound pygmy from Bitterroot Lake.

There are three types of whitefish in Montana.

The pygmy has a very large eye in relation to its size, and they live near the bottom of lakes such as Little Bitterroot, Ashley and Flathead.

They feed on zooplankton, bottom insects and mysis shrimp.