Although 9,000 trophy-size golden rainbow trout were stocked for opening day this year, Joe Hutchinson, 40, of New Florence appears to have caught one of the biggest the state has ever produced.

Once the paperwork is approved on the 13-pound 4-ounce golden rainbow that Hutchinson landed on Little Mahoning Creek April 12, officials say it will beat the existing state record, an 11-pound 10-ounce palomino trout, set on Lake Erie in 1986.

A long-haul trucker, Hutchinson had to hit the road early Monday morning, but said he planned to complete the state-record paperwork when he got back to town Thursday. He caught the fish on a crawler in a spot he has fished every opening day for the past 30 years.

"I thought I snagged a log," he said. "But when I got it close to shore, it broke my line. I was fishing 4-pound test. That's when I got excited. I threw my pole up on shore and grabbed the fish with my hands."

Palominos and golden rainbows are not golden trout, a Western species. They're color variations of the rainbow trout, varying slightly in geneology, according to Tom Greene, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's chief coldwater biologist.

"Both are considered novelty fish, but the golden rainbow is a more brilliant yellow," he said.

For that reason, Pennsylvania stopped producing palominos and switched to golden rainbows in 1988. The subspecies was originally developed at a West Virginia hatchery in the early 1960s from a single rainbow with abnormal pigmentation.

Hutchinson's catch was certified by Waterways Conservation Officer Matt Sodmont, who also measured its 31-inch length and 19 1/2-inch girth. The commission expects to approve Hutchinson's record in two to three weeks.