LAKE PEND OREILLE, Idaho — A Post Falls angler has reeled in a new Idaho catch-and-release state record northern pike.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced that Timothy Hicks landed a 49.75-inch northern pike while fishing on Lake Pend Oreille on June 13.
The fish surpassed the previous state catch-and-release record, set by Scott Blahnik in 2020, by three-quarters of an inch.
Because Idaho's catch-and-release record program requires records for most species to be broken by at least one-half inch, Hicks' catch qualified for the new record.
According to Fish and Game, catch-and-release records are based on a fish's total length from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail.
Fish must be released alive, photographed alongside a ruler or another object of known length, and submitted with a completed Record Fish Application within 30 days of the catch.
