An angler recently caught an enormous state record chinook salmon in...Montana. Yes, Montana. Jim Fauth pulled off the epic feat while fishing Fort Peck Reservoir on Friday, August 9. Fort Peck, located in eastern Montana, is the only waterbody in the Treasure State stocked and managed as a landlocked chinook fishery.
“My wife and I went out fishing with a couple that is good friends of ours. I hadn’t been salmon fishing for a few years,” Fauth tells Field & Stream. “We got out there at about 9:30 a.m. It was about 12:30 p.m. when this fish hit.”
The fish struck when the group was in about 160 feet of water. They were using downriggers to troll flashers and green and white squid at 80 feet. “All of a sudden, one of the rods jumped. I thought my wife had bumped it with her arm, but when she jumped up, the rod kept jumping,” says Fauth. “So I brought it in.”
Fauth says he could tell the fish was heavy. The fight lasted about five minutes. He was using an old rod he’d purchased at Walmart for less than $30 dollars. When he finally boated it, he realized it was at least twice the size of any salmon he’d caught before. “It was incredible,” says Fauth. “I just wanted to get it on board so I could take a break. It was a workout.”
After throwing the whopper in the livewell, the group kept fishing but struck out for the rest of the outing. When they got back to shore, it took them a while to find a certified scale that could handle the size of the fish. Eventually, they had it successfully weighed at a nearby grocery store—and it came in at 32.62 pounds, easily topping the existing record, a 32-pounder caught in 2020. The salmon was 38-inches long with a girth of 28 inches.
Fauth plans to get the fish mounted and hang it on the wall of his hometown’s assisted living center for the residents there to enjoy. “I was really blessed to catch it. It was a big, old fish,” he says. “Anybody could have done it, but I just happened to be in the right spot. I’m thankful for that.”
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“It’s not always the amount of money you spend on fishing. You can have a very successful day if you’ve got the basics,” Fauth adds. “Basically that’s all we’ve got—just an old boat, enough fishing poles to go around, and good friends to enjoy it with.”
