Northwest Montana angler lands several trophy fish

A Montana firefighter who loves to fish in his free time has caught some true wall-hangers this summer.

Triston Hughes, 22, hails from Layton, Utah, where he said he has caught a lot of tiger muskies.

Hughes said he came to Northwest Montana in February 2018 to Trapper Creek Jobcorps to become a firefighter.

In between fighting fires on the Lolo National Fores, Hughes caught three fish in the region that anyone would envy.

“I got my residency and am staying in Seeley Lake, Montana, and I never want to leave,” Hughes wrote.

While fishing in Horseshoe Lake, part of the Thompson Chain of Lakes, this summer he caught two tiger muskies, one 44.5 inches and another 47.5 inches.

He also landed a monster brown trout while fishing in Seeley Lake.

Hughes said he caught the muskies from a small kayak and the brown trout from a canoe, all using a spinning rod and lures with proper high pound braid and steel leaders.

“And all were successfully released,” Hughes said. “My dream is to become a guide for big muskies and I know those muskies are in that lake for a good reason and I’m happy knowing someone will catch a 50-pus inch fish one day.”

According to Montana Fish, Game and Parks records, the state record for tiger muskie is a 50-inch, 38.75-pound monster that Leo Cantin caught Sept. 2, 2011 in Deadman’s Basin, an off channel reservoir of the Musselshell River in Golden Valley County.