MONTPELIER — When an angler notified Idaho Fish and Game this past May about a record-breaking tiger trout he said he caught the night before, a conservation officer knew something was fishy.
The Southeast Regional Office for Idaho Fish and Game issued a news release on May 30, 2023, stating that Kody King, a native of Montpelier, was due for some congratulations after catching the new “certified weight” state record for tiger trout.
“King was fishing his home waters of Montpelier Reservoir when he landed the 29-inch monster trout,” the news release said. “King decided to keep the fish, thinking he might well have a record. The fish weighed in at 8.47 pounds, easily beating the previous record of 4.8 pounds held by Gatlynn Mayes caught from Becker Pond in 2020.”
Kolby White, a senior conservation officer for Idaho Fish and Game, says that he learned of the record-breaking catch last year after receiving a voicemail from King on May 26, 2023, that stated he had caught the fish the night before.
“I forwarded the voicemail to our supervisor and he got in contact with (King) and told him that he needed to get a certified weight and get all the necessary paperwork filled out,” White said. “A couple days later I saw our news release and I looked at the picture that was submitted and it threw me off a little bit because I knew exactly where that photo was taken at the Montpelier Reservoir and it definitely wasn’t taken at nighttime.”
White said that based on his training and experience he believed the photo was taken sometime around mid-day or earlier and “that sort of piqued my interest because (King) said that he caught the fish at night.”
To investigate the matter further, White said he looked King up in the Fish and Game system and found out that he did not purchase a license beforehand and actually only purchased a one-day, non-resident fishing license around 2 p.m. the day he said he caught the fish.
Then White responded to the Montpelier Reservoir and took several photographs from the same location that King was pictured in his photo with the record-breaking fish.
“Based on all of my photographs, it was obvious that the fish was caught sometime between noon and 1 p.m.,” White said. “So, with all of that information we conducted an interview with (King) and eventually once we showed him our pictures he admitted to catching and killing the fish and then traveling into town to purchase a license after the fact.”
King was subsequently cited with misdemeanor charges of fishing without a license and unlawful possession of wildlife following the investigation.
King on Oct. 25, 2023, pleaded guilty to the two charges. He was ordered to pay fines and restitution in the amount of $983, had all hunting, fishing and trapping licenses suspended for one year and was ordered to make a public statement and apology that was printed in Montpelier’s newspaper, The News-Examiner.
“I am deeply sorry to inform you that the state record fish I caught was illegal, as I did not possess the necessary fishing license at the time,” King wrote in the public apology. “I understand the importance of following the rules and regulations that govern our community, and I am truly remorseful for my actions. I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere apologies to each and every member of our community. My actions were thoughtless and irresponsible, and I fully accept the consequences of my behavior.”
King’s record tiger trout catch was rescinded and the 4.8 pound record that was held by Mayes was restored.
“As conservation officers, we are trained to kind of have that inquisitiveness when we hear something that maybe doesn’t line up,” White said of the incident. “And so this totally falls within our normal stuff, or what our department would like us to look into. If stuff doesn’t make sense, we’re going to look into it.”
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