BOISE, Idaho — On Oct. 6, McCall man Kyriacos Panayiotou caught a record breaking wild steelhead in the Clearwater River, Idaho's legendary steelhead mecca, according to Idaho Fish and Game.
Though the fish was caught and released, Panayiotou was excited about the catch. He was using a two-handed spey rod when the fish grabbed the fly.
"I was able to measure the fish with my flexible tape and proceeded to take a photo of the wild steelhead next to my spey rod for future memories... and released it back to the water to continue it's journey," said Panayiotou.
The record breaking fish measured 41 inches long, which is a full 1.75 inch longer than the previous catch-and-release state record set in 2021 by Scott Turner, according to Idaho Fish and Game.
This is the second record breaking catch found in Clearwater River in October. An 11.78-pound Coho Salmon caught just a week after Panayiotou's catch.
Clearwater Fisheries Manager Joe DuPont explained "In a typical year, the number of steelhead in the 40-inch range is less than 1% of the run."
While the record breaking fish couldn't be taken home, Panayiotou took home a lifetime memory.
Wild steelhead, sturgeon, and bull trout are among the species that cannot be harvested in Idaho. For many years, anglers were ineligible for state records with these species for many years. Idaho Fish and Game stated the length-based catch-and-release record program in 2016 and has been hugely popular with anglers.
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