At Big Elk Creek near Palisades Reservoir, local professional fisherman Rob Mackesey was in a battle for one of the most monumental catches of his life.

After breaking the Idaho State Kokanee Salmon Catch and Release record last year, the Pocatellan had another lunker of the same species on his fishing line in early September to break a world record.

It took five minutes to reel in his second record-breaking kokanee salmon, but he said it felt like 30. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says kokanee salmon are “prized for their fighting ability.”

Mackesey measured the fish immediately and discovered it was 50 centimeters, which he said was 4 centimeters longer than the previous catch-and-release world record for kokanee salmon that was registered by the International Game Fish Association.

“It was awesome,” Mackesey said. “I ended up feeling some tension in my line and set the hook on it. He stayed pretty low for a good portion of the fight, so I couldn’t really tell how big he was.

“And I had missed a couple opportunities earlier in the morning, so at the point I was kind of grinding to see if I could catch anything. And lo and behold, he ended up being pretty big.”

His fish was the exact same size as his first record-breaking kokanee salmon. But he did not know about registering a fish with the IGFA last year, so it wasn’t recorded in the association’s record book.

Mackesey said his latest big catch had an interesting appearance as the jaw was was overgrown and contained large teeth. It was almost completely red and had a humped back that he said looked like a “frying pan.”

He used a fishing rod from St. Croix, his sponsor, and a Nancy P. fly to secure the salmon.

After his Sept. 4 catch, the 28-year-old received notification earlier this month from IGFA that he officially broke the record.

While enjoying fishing on Idaho lakes, the Wisconsin native has been striving toward a master’s degree in business administration at Idaho State University after playing two years on the school’s football team as a defensive end.

The six-year Idaho resident is weeks away from graduation and has left his mark on the waterways in the Gem State.

“Honestly, every time that I go out fishing, I like to catch the biggest fish I possibly can,” Mackesey said. “So maybe I’ll stumble into another monster one of these days.”