Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Mark Deleray says the largemouth bass caught and released in a Flathead River slough by Garrett Frost could be as much as 19 years old. Deleray says that may be the oldest largemouth bass on record for Montana.
The Kalispell boy caught the fish July 16 in Rose Creek Slough.
Deleray says the fish was 20 to 22 inches long and weighed about 3.5 pounds. Garrett removed a tag that had been placed on the fish in 1997 before releasing it.
Biologists estimate the fish was 5 years old when it was tagged, based on the fact that it was just over 14 inches long and weighed 1.5 pounds.
