# Ode to Cutthroats



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

PBH’s post about Boulder Mountain cuttys has me waxing nostalgic about how much I love cutthroat trout. 

Let’s see some pics of the different strains of cutthroats you have caught. 

GPS locations to me in a PM are also appropriate...


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Colorado River cutty. (I think...) :grin:

This is the strain in Utah that I am probably cost the least of. I really need to change that!


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

I hope not to go overboard here, but....


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)




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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)




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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Bear Lake


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

PBH said:


> I hope not to go overboard here, but....


It is scientifically impossible to go overboard on cutthroat pictures. You just can't do it!


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Colorado River cutty. (I think...) :grin:
> 
> This is the strain in Utah that I am probably cost the least of. I really need to change that!


I'm just curious about that picture. it looks like an old print that was then scanned. Was this taken when you were 12?

You let me know when you're ready, and I'll see what I can do to get you into some CR cutts!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Snake River Fine Spotted- a contender for my favorite strain of fish anywhere! 

These are just incredible fish and roam in incredible places.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

PBH said:


> I'm just curious about that picture. it looks like an old print that was then scanned. Was this taken when you were 12?


Yes, it is a print that was scanned back in the day. I was 22, but still a long time ago! It's the last cutthroat THAT I have caught out of the Green River.



PBH said:


> You let me know when you're ready, and I'll see what I can do to get you into some CR cutts!


Careful, you keep posting pics of these pigs you're catching and you may have to adopt me!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Lahontan, another that is in the running for my favorite. These fish are incredible in every single way.


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## hunting777 (May 3, 2009)

Bear Lake Cutt


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Man, Vanilla, those Lahontans are impressive!


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## Badin (Dec 18, 2015)

*S. Bonneville Cutt*


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

A couple...


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## Ifish (Aug 22, 2008)

A couple...


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Cutts are my favorite!


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## BGD (Mar 23, 2018)

I love cutties! I love kids with cutties!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Awesome pics fellers! There is simply nothing better than a cutthroat.

Keep em coming!


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

I think I need a few more cutt pictures, which means more trips. Here are a few. A couple are repeats from that previous thread.

1. Diamond fork cuttie. Slightly more pale than typical cutts due to the perpetually off colored water. 

2. Strawberry slot buster. 

3-4. High Uintas.

5. Strawberry, 25 1/2 inches, over 7 lbs. 

6. Strawberry, right? Nope, Jordanelle. Caught while bassin. There are some nice cutts in there.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

I've posted this before but this is my "spot series" of BL cutts caught on the hard deck at Strawberry in about 90 minutes time. Every one of these are garden variety Bear Lake cutts, but they show the enormous variation in spotting within the population in one location. The series goes from almost no spotting, to "average", to very fine spotting. 

(I've found it illustrative when some internet "Behnke" shows up claiming because an individual fish they caught has slightly different spotting than "average" that it represents a different subspecies or hybrid, or especially, the magical "cuttbow". )


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Cutties are awesome! A Lahontan expedition is pretty high on my L48 bucket list.


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## Badin (Dec 18, 2015)

*Punch list cutthroat*

Remember the Humboldt cutts in NE Nevada to help round out the cutt experience.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

Catherder said:


> ... the magical "cuttbow". )


We are all in search of that magical fish. Some cultures believe that they are an aphrodisiac.


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

I'll play. I like all fish. South Fork of the Snake holds a special place in my heart. However, the cutts on the Cache are also very special to me. 

1st- Caught on a 3wt glass rod 2 years ago. Was awesome. 
2nd- Caught at dark and couldn't see the fly. Just was throwing and praying. 

Spend a week there every year and hoping to move there in the next 5-10 years after I pay property off.


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## jhatch4 (May 14, 2016)

[/ATTACH]

I haven't posted in a long time but the pictures of Cutts got me. Here are a couple of fish I caught in late May in Idaho.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Cutthroats on and egg pattern?!?!? Oh the humanity! 

Just kidding. Awesome fish!


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## brendo (Sep 10, 2013)

I caught one of my best cuts recently especially out of a river. Of course I didn’t have anyone with me to take a decent pic. I hate laying them on the ground but I made an exception for this one and made it quick. Extra pic of a cut out of the Uintas last weekend!


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Catherder said:


> I've posted this before but this is my "spot series" of BL cutts caught on the hard deck at Strawberry in about 90 minutes time. Every one of these are garden variety Bear Lake cutts, but they show the enormous variation in spotting within the population in one location. The series goes from almost no spotting, to "average", to very fine spotting.
> 
> (I've found it illustrative when some internet "Behnke" shows up claiming because an individual fish they caught has slightly different spotting than "average" that it represents a different subspecies or hybrid, or especially, the magical "cuttbow".
> 
> ...


Hey I resemble that remark. &#128563;&#128543;&#128541; Granted I have no clue what a behnke is which probably makes it funnier.

To be fair though, my mistake doesn't undermine the truth of their existence. Lots of science and microsatellite research shows they are more prevalent than even professionals realize. Last study I saw showed fisheries biologist misidentified them (ie field identified incorrectly compared to genetic analysis) about 40% of the time. That doesn't bode well for laymen and fisheries in which there is potential for hybridization. If I remember correctly, analysis shows physical markings become almost indistinguishable after F2 to even most trained professionals. But I'd have to find the research again to be confident.

Good chance we've all caught a cutbow at some point and identified it as a pure cutthroat, especially if we've fished north of the Utah border.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Love the pics, everyone.  

Here is one more from last year with my son, admiring what he just caught. (Manti range)


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

backcountry said:


> Hey I resemble that remark. &#128563;&#128543;&#128541; Granted I have no clue what a behnke is which probably makes it funnier.


This is a "behnke".

https://www.amazon.com/Trout-Salmon...child=1&keywords=Behnke&qid=1594268138&sr=8-1

Sadly, he is no longer with us but interestingly, he did weigh in on the genotype vs phenotype debate quite significantly before he passed.

Sure, we could parse whether a given population of cutts has X percent hybridization. I will leave that to the specialists. What I'm more referring to are the folks that catch a generic rainbow planter that has a mild throat slash and maybe a little bigger and sparser spots than its peers and the lucky catcher is proclaiming to the world that he has caught the magical "cuttbow".

Cuttbows are an aphrodisiac, you know. I read that on the internet, so it has to be true.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

I really need to read more books on fly fishing and trout beyond research and textbooks. Lots to catch up on.

One of my closest friends did research on this exact issue so I find it fascinating. But I can barely comprehend the detailed genetic data anymore. Unused knowledge fades faster for me every year. 

I lean toward assuming if there is a chance for hybridization than they probably have but I've only had a few that made me guess. Ironically if I've caught one it's probably one I probably confidently identified as pure. 

I hear they prevent COVID-19 if you catch them after a roll cast while wearing Simms during a salmon fly hatch. 

The lore and lure of cutthroat is strong though. I still enjoy catching a small cutthroat juvenile on a northslope Uitah creek/river almost as much as healthy rainbow in a lake.

*I really need to catalog my fishing photos. I can't find quite a few of my favorite moments anymore.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

backcountry said:


> I really need to read more books on fly fishing and trout beyond research and textbooks. Lots to catch up on.


You could do much worse than the book I just linked to. It is somewhat academic in nature but is written as much for the layman as the serious student on the subject. I think you'd love it.


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Catherder said:


> backcountry said:
> 
> 
> > I really need to read more books on fly fishing and trout beyond research and textbooks. Lots to catch up on.
> ...


Indeed. I'm guessing he informed the folks I know. Probably a generation before the research I was exposed to according to a quick Google and citation search.

I'll have to look around for an affordable copy. I seem to be a sucker for such resources.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

A decent Bonneville from this week. 

Love cutties!


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Colorado cutt near Heber. Played with these guys for an hour or so, C 'n R'd a dozen before declaring victory.


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## turkinator (May 25, 2008)

Found this guy in a small mountain stream after setting a trail cam. Hard to beat mountain streams and cutthroats!


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

Just got back from a camping trip. These didn't count toward my slam, but they were still purty cool.


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