‘Quite a shock’: Shaver Lake’s largest known brown trout caught

SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A monster-sized trophy trout was caught in Shaver Lake Friday, potentially setting a new record for the largest German brown trout ever caught there.

An average brown trout typically weighs between 1 to 5 pounds. However, on Friday, Steve Jones of Clovis made an impressive catch: a trophy trout weighing 24.4 pounds.

“It was, it was quite an ordeal, quite a shock,” Jones said.

Jones says he started fishing at Shaver Lake with his dad as a kid. Now, it’s a passion he shares with his grandkids and a hobby that fills his days in retirement.

“I fish up there, depending on the time of the year, you know, sometimes a couple times a week,” he said.

On Friday, Jones was out on the water alone and was about to call it a day when he realized there was something on his line.

“I thought I was snagged until I started trying to get the line back, and it took off,” he said.  

He says it took him about 30 minutes to reel in the colossal fish. Once it surfaced the water, he realized his net was far too small.

“I had to get up, get him up next to the boat and reach over and grab him under the gills,” Jones said.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife only keeps records statewide, not by lake. So, while there’s no official record, many local trout experts have hailed Jones’ haul as a record-breaking monster.

Tim Young of the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project told YourCentralValley.com that the last known record-breaking trout weighed in at 20 pounds, back in the early ’80s.

Since then, the largest trout that came close was around 18 pounds. But Jones’ fish dominated the waters of Shaver Lake, coming in at 24.4 pounds and measuring 37.5 inches long.

“Just yesterday made arrangements to have it mounted at the taxidermist,” he said.

Each year, the lake is replenished with a variety of fish species. The Department of Fish and Wildlife releases brown and rainbow trout, along with Kokanee. The Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project recently released over 3,200 rainbow trout, making the lake a popular fishing destination.

“People coming, you know, four or five hours away. We’ve even had people come overseas just looking for some really nice trout,” the Fishing Sales Lead at Shaver Lake Sports, Jarrett Watson, said. 

Even after Jones’ remarkable achievement, he’s already planning to head back to the water to enjoy what he loves.