On June 19, 2025, Aaron Goettsche landed a 42 inch lake trout from Payette Lake, setting a new Idaho state record lake trout in the catch and release category. Goettsche was trolling in about 80 feet of water when the monster laker was hooked.
Aaron Goettsche is an avid angler, fishing rod maker, and longtime veteran of Flaming Gorge Reservoir fishing. Flaming Gorge is home to a world-renowned fishery known for producing lake trout over 30 pounds and occasional giants up to 60.
Over the past three years, Goettsche has spent time on Payette Lake in search of monster lake trout. His trips helped him learn about the lake’s fishery while making several notable catches.
Payette Lake Trout Management
Though Payette Lake has produced big lake trout for over 30 years, the fishery has had its up and downs. In the early 2000s, biologists noticed signs of trouble.
Lake trout were getting thin from poor prey available, and the population of kokanee that lake trout feed on were dropping quickly.
“It wasn’t uncommon to catch a 30-inch fish that looked like a snake,” said Jordan Messner, Regional Fisheries Manager for Idaho Fish and Game in McCall.
With the lake out of balance, Idaho Fish and Game launched a major plan to boost kokanee numbers while improving the quality of the lake trout population.
Payette Lake Recovery Plan
In 2018, Idaho Fish and Game biologists started a two-pronged approach:
- Stock more kokanee in order to rebuild the prey base
- Suppress smaller lake trout in order to reduce competition and predation on kokanee
The suppression program targets lake trout under 27 inches to remove them from the lake. So far, over 3,000 Lake trout have been removed since 2018.
The goal is to reduce the lake trout population to reduce competition and increase kokanee survival. With fewer mouths to feed, the remaining Lake Trout should be healthier and grow faster.
Ongoing monitoring confirms the success of the strategy: average relative weight (a measure of how “fat” a fish is) has steadily improved since the program began.
The plan appears to be a success. The body condition (relative weight) of lake trout has steadily been improving since efforts to balance the lake trout and kokanee population began in 2018.
Anglers are noticing the improvements in both the kokanee and lake trout fishing. In June 2023, biologists caught and released a 54-pound lake trout, just three pounds shy of the Idaho state weight record. Biologists suspect that another Idaho state record lake trout could be caught in the near future.
Idaho Fish and Game offers a few tips for targeting lake trout in Payette Lake:
- Trolling or jigging near the bottom are the go-to methods.
- Focus on 35–80 feet, where lake trout tend to hold tight to structure.
- Target underwater ridges, drop-offs, and boulder piles.
- Use realistic lures that mimic kokanee, tipped jigs, and scent as lake trout can be selective, especially when food is abundant.
- Be prepared for a potential record fish. Catch-and-release records will need a photo of the fish on a tape measure, or measuring board.
- Additional information is available on the Idaho Fish and Game website.
source: Idaho Fish and Game
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