12-year-old reels in record-breaking fish from northwestern Montana reservoir
Wade Merschat, 12, of Trout Creek, Montana, has set a new state fishing record. ((Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks))
TROUT CREEK, Mont. - A 12-year-old Montana boy has set a new state fishing record.
Wade Merschat from Trout Creek caught a 6.72-pound largescale sucker using a nightcrawler from Noxon Reservoir in Sanders County on June 19. The fish measured 25.25 inches long.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists verified the state record and issued Wade his state record certificate on July 1.
In Montana, the maximum size for the largescale sucker is usually less than 5 pounds.
The fish is native to Montana’s western drainage, state wildlife officials said.
The sucker family also ranks as the third-largest family of fish in Montana, with nine species. It is followed by the minnow and salmonid (trout) families.