Fauth Named Montanan of the Month by Senator Daines

U.S. Senator Steve Daines recognized James Fauth of Phillips County for his record-breaking Chinook salmon he caught while boating on Fort Peck Lake.

Through his "Montanan of the Month" initiative, each month Daines highlights a Montanan by submitting a statement of recognition in the recipient's honor into the Congressional Record, the document that reflects the official proceedings of Congress.

Daines welcomes anyone to nominate fellow Montanans for his "Montanan of the Month" program by calling his office at 202-224-2651 or by filling out the contact form on his website.

The following is the tribute Daines submitted to the Congressional Record to honor James Fauth:

TRIBUTE TO JAMES FAUTH OF PHILLIPS COUNTY

Fauth, a retired power company lineman from Malta, took his 25-year-old pontoon boat out for a leisure day of fishing alongside his wife Nancy and friends Tony and Emily Simonsen. After several hours of patience and perseverance, Fauth noticed his spinning rod come to life off a downrigger and jumped into action. He figured it was a salmon because he'd been tracking them deep on his sonar and the fish was putting up a fight. The rod's original 20-pound line had never been replaced, so Fauth was hopeful it wouldn't break. After approximately five minutes of back-and-forth battling with the fish on the other end, Fauth was overjoyed when his $29 Wal-Mart rod and reel proved to get the job done as he landed the Chinook in the boat.