The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently recognized Jean-Philippe Lartigue of Bethesda as a new state record holder for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Nontidal Division.
The record setting rainbow trout weighted 17.44 pounds and measured 32 inches in length.
Lartigue landed the trout in February in the section of Antietam Creek running through Devil’s Backbone County Park in Washington County.
The fish was landed on a long, 12-foot crappie-style rod, spinning reel, eight-pound test monofilament line, a small split-shot weight, and a No. 8 hook baited with a natural worm bait when he hooked the massive rainbow trout.
Lartigue worked as a fisheries biologist consulting with governments in Africa before he retired and settled in Maryland, where he is an avid angler.
Lartigue is French and originally from Morocco, where he learned from his father the European style of fishing natural baits with long rods for trout. The long rod helps to control the drift and presentation of natural baits in swift stream currents.
The trout’s weight was determined on a certified scale at Ernst’s Country Market in Clear Spring. DNR’s director of freshwater fisheries and hatcheries, John Mullican, confirmed the species.
The catch shatters the previous record of 14.2 pounds caught by Dave Schroyer on October 21, 1987.
Maryland DNR maintains state records for sport fish in four divisions – Atlantic, Chesapeake, Nontidal, and Invasive. Anglers who think they have a potential record catch should download and complete a state record application and call 443-569-1398.
DNR recommends the fish be immersed in ice water to preserve its weight until an official can check, confirm, and certify it.
Photo courtesy of Jean-Philippe Lartigue, used with permission.
source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources