Let me just start by throwing this out there: in no way am I trying to be mean with what I'm about to say. But I have to start with that statement before I get comments like "well, why don't YOU go out and catch a record-setting fish?" I just couldn't help but chuckle a tiny bit when I saw the story of a new Montana record that was set when a teenager recently caught a Rocky Mountain Sculpin.

Not what I was thinking of when I pictured a state record

Part one of the story would be that I'm far from knowledgeable when it comes to different types of fish. So when I saw the headline of a KPAX article that said "Montana Teen Catches New State Record Rocky Mountain Sculpin," I was expecting to see someone holding up some giant monster of a fish! I thought it would be one of those pictures where you see the person holding the fish up to the camera as their arms are stretched out wide to show the girth of their big catch. So it took me by surprise a bit when I checked out the story and saw a fish that was only as long as the middle finger of the teenager that caught it. Again, not being mean, I just wasn't expecting to see such a little guy when I was ramping myself up for a new state record in the paper.

The one that all others will be measured against

But let's give some love to Bridger Burroughs from Laurel for writing himself into the state's history books! No matter what the size of the fish is, the 14-year-old can say that nobody has caught a bigger one! And if you were wondering, the previous record was .050 lbs while his 5-inch catch from a county irrigation canal came in at .063. The record had stood since 2001 before Bridger staked his claim as the new king of Rocky Mountain Sculpins. Way to go, Bridger!

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