FOR THE RECORD, BIG TROUT IS TROUBLE.

Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer

Robert Vandevelde does not quite know what the fuss is all about.

Pending certification from Department of Fish and Game officials, the Whittier resident figures the state record for rainbow trout will be his. No ifs, ands, buts or nets about it. The 66-year-old caught the 26.08-pound fish Saturday afternoon at Anaheim's Santa Ana River Lakes.

The lake, next to the Santa Ana River and owned by the Orange County Water District, is a put-and-pay lake operated by Doug Elliott and Bill Andrews that specializes in big fish. It took Vandevelde 25 minutes to land the fish on 2-pound test line. It reportedly had four other hooks and a leader in its mouth.

``Whatever comes, comes,'' Vandevelde said.

Vandevelde's fish was caught a week after his good friend, Bernard Lopez, landed a 24.09-pound trout at the same facility. DFG officials have examined the Paramount man's catch but have yet to certify it as a state record. The current record is 23.0 pounds, caught by Jerry Brucklacher in 2000 at Sacramento County's Lake Notama.

The fish caught by Vandevelde and Lopez were hatchery fish raised in private Mount Lassen Trout Farms pools in Red Bluff. Elliott said he specifically sought fish for SARL that could become a state record, and that Lassen owner Phil Mackey told him the 24.09-pounder went in the lake last week, along with a 23-pounder that since has been caught.

``He was as surprised as anyone that there was a 26-pounder in there,'' Elliott said. ``He dips into his pools and takes fish. This fish might have been in one of the pools, or maybe it has been in our lake for a year.''

The two mammoth trout have launched a swirl of controversy. Numerous anglers and officials said a fish recently released from a hatchery should not be named a state record. Elliott said that's hogwash.

``They're just jealous,'' he said.

Elliott cites DFG record rules. The person must hold a valid fishing license (even though no license is required to fish at SARL), the fish must be caught legally, it must be weighed on a certified scale, and the DFG must examine the fish.

Numerous people saw Vandevelde reel in the fish. It was taken to a nearby Albertson's, where the meat manager weighed it on a certified scale.

``If they do not give him the record, it's discrimination,'' Elliott said. ``It's unfair. It would be like playing a football game where someone doesn't like the outcome, so they change the rules and say to redo it. If you're going to change the rules, fine. But this is the current set of rules.''

The facts, Elliott said, should speak for themselves. There are only a few freshwater species sought by California anglers that do not have some type of connection to a hatchery. Elliott points out that even the state hatcheries now are growing bigger fish.

``We started with the big fish 20 years ago,'' he said. ``By doing so, we've made fishing better for everyone. You do not have to go to Alaska or Canada, spend thousands of dollars to catch a 6-, 7- or 8-pound trout. ...

``If we didn't guarantee that you could catch a record fish, our creditability would be zero.''