These guys are hunting pygmies, setting records

It's the battle of the pygmies. Pygmy fish, that is.

Last month, Brent Mitchell set the state record for a pygmy whitefish-that's right, a pygmy whitefish-which weighed in at a whopping 0.20 pounds (about 3.2 ounces), eclipsing the old record of 0.18 pounds caught in February 1999 by Ashley Lake resident Frank Gamma.

Mitchell's new record measures an "impressive" 8 inches, exactly the same length as Gamma's old record.

Mitchell was fishing Little Bitterroot Lake Jan. 28 when he caught the fish.

"We were fishing for kokanee," Mitchell said. "I wasn't catching any kokanee, but I did catch two suckers. Then I started catching what I took to be pygmy whitefish. Most of them were 6-7 inches long. We were getting ready to leave the ice and I pulled up one more whitefish."

That fish was the state record, at least for a few days, because Kalispell angler Alvin Ammann caught a bigger pygmy whitefish in the same lake a few days later to take the, um, crown.

Ammann's fish weighed 3.4 ounces (about 0.21 pounds), eclipsing the old record of 3.2 ounces (0.20 pounds) caught by Mitchell. Ammann's new record measured 8.4 inches. That's 0.4 inches longer than Mitchell's fish.

Mitchell caught his record at a water depth of 109 feet; Ammann caught his at 110 feet. Mitchell now has the distinction, or the embarrassment, of holding a Montana fish record for perhaps the shortest period ever- only six days.

The pygmy whitefish is one of three types of whitefish that live in Montana. The pygmy, along with the larger mountain whitefish, is native. The lake whitefish was introduced to Montana.

The pygmy is distinguished from the mountain whitefish by its larger size and the relatively small size of its eye. The pygmy has a very large eye in relation to its size. Pygmy whitefish live near the bottom of lakes such as Little Bitterroot, Ashley, and Flathead. They feed on tiny zooplankton, bottom insects and mysis shrimp, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The Hungry Horse News tried to reach Ammann by phone, but his wife said he was, well, you guessed it, out fishing.