Jaxon Krall is a soft-spoken 13-year-old from Kemmerer. He’s also a state-record holder. Krall set the new tiger trout record in late July when he landed a 12.77-pound fish from Viva Naughton Reservoir outside of Kemmerer. 

Krall shattered the previous record of 11.93 pounds, which also was caught at Viva Naughton by Owen Schaad of Cheyenne in 2023. Krall’s fish was 31.25 inches long and had a girth of 16.75 inches. He caught the fish from shore on a Thomas Buoyant lure. 

“Geeze,” said Krall when he hooked and landed the fish. “I was fishing for anything that would bite, but I knew when I hooked it that it was big.”

Krall added it was the first tiger trout he has caught out of Viva Naughton. 

He and his family took the fish into Kemmerer to be properly weighed to see if it was a state record.

“I was excited and nervous,” said Krall about waiting to see if his fish was a record, “and I was really happy and excited when it was.”

Krall said he’s anxious to return to Viva Naughton to try and catch more tiger trout, but next time he wants to release them. 

When asked if he thinks there’s bigger tiger trout in the reservoir than his new record, he confidently said: “yeah.”

Tiger trout are a sterile hybrid of a brook trout and brown trout. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has stocked Viva Naughton with tiger trout every year since 2014. Viva Naughton has a large Utah chub population, and Game and Fish hoped stocking tiger trout would help curb the numbers of Utah chub in the reservoir and provide diversity to the fishery. Rainbow trout are the primary species in the reservoir. 

Robb Keith, Game and Fish fisheries supervisor in the Green River Region, said sampling data indicates tiger trout in Viva Naughton are primarily feeding on Utah chub.

“We stock small numbers of tiger trout to provide an opportunity for anglers to catch an exceptional fish from time to time,” Keith said. 

Keith added he’s not surprised with the performance of tiger trout in Viva Naughton. The fish is an aggressive predator and it has ample food. Between the food supply and stocking efforts, Keith expects Viva Naughton to continue to grow “exceptional fish.”

Keith offers some tips for anglers who want to pursue tiger trout at Viva Naughton, and possibly the next state record. 

“We see them predominantly close to shore down to 25 feet of water. They are found close to structures. They are eating shiners and Utah chubs, so anglers should choose lures, flies and baits that resemble these forage fish,” Keith said.