To celebrate the fact that it’s football season, our man on the scene in the Nimbus Basin of the American River, RH, sent in this photo of himself with this trippy-looking rainbow-steelie-football-broostocker-thingie.

The obese creature was taken about 1/2-mile above the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, which raises both steelies and stocker rainbows and, judging by the eroded dorsal, it’s spent its share of time in a concrete raceway. Methinks it’s not a hatchery steelhead because of the fully-intact adipose fin. I’m with RH, this thing is probably an escaped broodstocker rainbow.

Thanks, RH, and keep those fish pix coming!

Well, it seems as if the big trout of Idaho have been on the snap lately. Just take a look at these two bruisers:

First off, feast your eyes on this salmon-sized hook jaw, which is the new ID state record, 27.3-pound brown trout taken by Wes Case of Ashton in Ashton Reservoir.

I’m not sure who was happier about the catch, Wes…or the kokanee population of Ashton Reservoir!

Then, in the Boise River earlier this month:

A potential Idaho state record rainbow (estimated at 23 pounds) was gutted before it was weighed.

DOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The beast was 30 inches long with a 25-inch girth…and could still weigh more than the current record of 19 pounds.

It was hooked by a 16-year old kid drifting a crawler in the Boise River below Lucky Peak Dam.

But enough of my yappin’ — let’s let Ol’ Eagle Eyes, who runs the Idaho Fishin Times blog, tell you the whole story.

You can get the full skinny at his blog on these two fish and a bunch of other cool information on the entire Idaho fishing scene. Check it out!

You’d have to go to the Kenai or Skeena rivers to find bigger hen Chinook salmon than these two caught by David Pitts of www.salmonandsteelhead.com on the Chetco River last week.

The upper fish is a massive, 45-pound hatchery hen (note the missing adipose fin) Pitts caught in the Willow Run on a chartreuse/green Sledge Hammer by Mack’s Lures, tipped with a red label plug-cut herring.

The big native girl on the bottom weighed a “mere” 40.7 pounds and was taken on a chrome body/chartreuse head No. 15 Pro Troll StingFish in an area known as Tamba. The really cool thing about it is, Dave released ’em both. Way to go!

Okay, so somebody book me a flight to Montana! ASAP!! This massive, 16-pound, 34-inch brown trout was caught recently in the Big Hole River…by biologists doing population studies. After being measured and weighed and smiling for this photo, the bruiser was released.

I’ve got GPS numbers…the first $1,000 takes em!!! Just kidding, but seriously, a fish that size has got those treadmill-bound squirrels in my noggin working overtime. I’ve already got about 10 things I want to try on that river that I bet those fish have never seen….

Iheart Pluggin sent in this camera phone-looking shot of himself with a huge 55-pound Chinook salmon he caught in a river described as “Slightly south of the Yukon” on a K15 Kwikfish. Despite the sketchy details and blurry shot, that is one fine slab o’ king!