Man lands record cutthroat trout in Northeast Tennessee

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Mississippi man set a new Tennessee record when he caught a massive cutthroat trout.

Charles Fulton caught a cutthroat trout on June 28 that weighed 6 pounds and 9 ounces.

Fulton, of Louisville, Mississippi, landed the trout just below Boone Dam while on an annual fishing trip with friends. Fulton said he and his friends from North Carolina make time to meet up and often head to Tennessee in search of some prized sporting fish.

Fulton told News Channel 11 that his new record fish was the first cutthroat trout he’d ever caught.

The previous record for a cutthroat trout caught in Tennessee was 4 pounds and 12 ounces, meaning Fulton’s broke the record by nearly 2 pounds. That trout was caught in the Boone tailwater along the Holston River by a 10-year-old.

The trout was verified by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and added to the agency’s list of record fish caught in the state . Fulton was sent an official state certificate for catching the trout.

As of Tuesday, Fulton said the trout was still in a deep freeze until a taxidermist could mount it.

Cutthroat trout are not native to the Eastern United States, but agencies like the TWRA have begun stocking them as challenges for anglers.

The species is noted for its two red “slashes” on the lower jaws.

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