LEMHI COUNTY, Idaho — A young Idaho angler has earned a place in the state's record books after catching a record-setting chiselmouth on the Salmon River.
Akeley Fahnholz of Carmen landed the 11.25-inch fish on June 8 while fishing near the town of Salmon.
The catch is the new Idaho state catch-and-release record for a chiselmouth, a native nongame fish species that rarely grows beyond 12 inches.
Despite its modest size compared with many record trout, the catch is a notable achievement.
Chiselmouth belong to the minnow family and are the only species of their taxonomic group found in Idaho.
The fish gets its name from its distinctive lower jaw, which it uses to scrape algae and other food from rocks in rivers and streams.
In addition to algae, chiselmouth feed on small aquatic insects.
While they aren't commonly targeted by anglers, they are native to Idaho waterways and can provide a unique catch for those fishing the state's rivers.
Idaho Fish and Game officials congratulated Fahnholz on the new record, noting that chiselmouth are rarely represented in the state's record books.
