Fish Record Falls Again And Again

July is standing out as the month for catching whopper tiger muskies in North Idaho.

Steve Brearley of Post Falls was pretty pumped Sunday after landing a Hauser Lake tiger muskie weighing 24 pounds, 2 ounces.

The fish was officially declared the Idaho record earlier this week, surpassing the 22-pound 12-ounce record fish caught in March, said Ned Horner, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional fisheries manager in Coeur d’Alene.

However, Horner was called Wednesday and notified that an even larger fish had been caught on Friday.

Zac Kothbauer of Hayden said he caught a 45-inch-long tiger muskie that was weighed on certified scales at Cast N Blast at 25 pounds even.

“I’ve verified with the store that the fish has been officially weighed, so all Zac has to do is bring it in to become the official record,” Horner said.

Kothbauer planned to bring the fish to the department office today.

“For whatever reason, July appears to be the hot time for tiger muskies,” Horner said. “I looked back in the files, and this is the period when the record fish were being caught last year.”