SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Reeling in a potential record-setting fish can be rewarding, as long as you have the patience, one California man recently discovered.
An average brown trout typically weighs between 1 to 5 pounds. However, on Friday, Steve Jones of Clovis made an impressive catch on Shaver Lake: a trophy German brown trout weighing 24.4 pounds.
“It was, it was quite an ordeal, quite a shock,” Jones said of his catch, which may be the largest-ever trout reeled in on Shaver Lake, located about 50 miles outside Fresno.
Jones told Nexstar’s KSEE/KGPE that he started fishing at Shaver Lake with his dad as a kid. Now, it’s a passion he shares with his grandkids and a hobby that fills his days in retirement.
“I fish up there, depending on the time of the year, you know, sometimes a couple times a week,” he said.
On Friday, Jones was out on the water alone and was about to call it a day when he realized there was something on his line.
“I thought I was snagged until I started trying to get the line back, and it took off,” he said.
It took him about 30 minutes to reel in the colossal fish. Once it surfaced the water, he realized his net was far too small.
“I had to get up, get him up next to the boat and reach over and grab him under the gills,” Jones recounted.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife only keeps records statewide, not by lake. Jones’ catch narrowly missed the state record of 26.6 pounds, set in 1987 at Twin Lakes in Mono County.
While there’s no official, lake-specific record, many local trout experts have hailed Jones’ haul as a record-breaking monster for Shaver Lake.
Tim Young of the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project told KSEE/KGPE that the last known record-breaking trout weighed in at 20 pounds, back in the early ’80s.
Since then, the largest trout that came close was around 18 pounds. But Jones’ fish dominated the waters of Shaver Lake, coming in at 24.4 pounds and measuring 37.5 inches long.
The trout is now set to be mounted by a taxidermist.
Each year, Shaver Lake is replenished with a variety of fish species. The Department of Fish and Wildlife releases brown and rainbow trout, along with Kokanee. The Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project recently released over 3,200 rainbow trout, making the lake a popular fishing destination.
“People coming, you know, four or five hours away. We’ve even had people come overseas just looking for some really nice trout,” the Fishing Sales Lead at Shaver Lake Sports, Jarrett Watson, said.
Even after Jones’ remarkable achievement, he’s already planning to head back to the water to enjoy what he loves.
