A quiet day of fishing at Shaver Lake turned into a legendary moment for 72-year-old angler Steve Jones on May 16, when he landed the lake’s largest recorded brown trout. The fish measured an astonishing 37.5 inches and weighed in at 24.48 pounds, crushing the previous record of 18.75 pounds that had stood since the 1980s.
Jones, a lifelong fisherman, told reporters that while other large browns have been caught recently, none were officially recorded. “There’s been other people who have caught some in the 18 to 19-pound class that weren’t really recorded on a certified scale,” he said. To verify the weight, he brought his catch to Shaver Sport, where it was weighed on a certified scale.
The trout was hooked using light tackle commonly used for kokanee salmon—specifically a Squid Hoochie lure paired with a Sling Blade Dodger flasher. Jones described the dramatic moment he realized this wasn’t a typical fish.
“At first I thought I was snagged on the bottom,” Jones recalled. “But then I remembered my lines were only down about 20 feet in 90 feet of water. My next thought was that I had a big log.” The fish then began to fight. “It took about 30 minutes to bring it in,” he said.
Bringing the trout into the boat was no easy feat. “My net wasn’t even close to big enough,” Jones laughed. “I had to lean over the edge and grab it. I even got nicked by one of its sharp teeth and it took off again before I finally landed it.”
After placing the fish on ice, Jones headed to Shaver Lake Sports to officially weigh it. He also reeled in his second line, which had a small kokanee on it—securing his limit for the day.
Jones has fished Shaver Lake since childhood and is no stranger to a variety of fishing environments. “I’ve been fishing Shaver Lake since I was a little guy with my dad,” he said. “I also fish the ocean a lot—for salmon, halibut, sea bass, tuna—you name it.”
While the catch falls just shy of the California state record brown trout, Jones is working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to help determine the fish’s age. He plans to send them scale samples for analysis. “I figure the fish is probably 10 to 15 years old,” he said. “But once they age it with the scales, they’ll know for sure.”
Jones’ remarkable catch is already being celebrated among local anglers and online, solidifying his place in Shaver Lake fishing history.
Image/Source: Wired2Fish
