# Big Cutthroat



## spencerD (Jan 14, 2014)

Been a while since I posted a trip report, but it's been a while since I've caught some fish worth talking about anyways.

I went up to Idaho last weekend with a buddy who swore he had a "honey hole" for "GIANT cutthroat." I took him at his word, and I'm very glad I did. We only caught 2 fish all day, but they were both this size.










It was a wild few minutes landing that bad boy. We were fishing this small open stretch of water, about 100 yards or so long. Above and below us, the trees grew so thick over the river that casting there would be as fruitless as me trying to make some of Goob's amazing pastrami (because I'm a bad cook, not that anything is wrong with Goob's pastrami!!)

Anyways, long story short, I hooked into this thing on my 5wt Sage VXP and had to keep him from running too far up or downstream until I could work him into the net that my good fishing buddy Mike was holding. A quick pic, then back into the river once more. Exhilarating!!


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Sweet!! Have you hit Mammoth yet, I was going to call the other day.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Very nice fish Spencer. That is a small stream to put out such big fish, must be spawning near a larger lake.


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## spencerD (Jan 14, 2014)

toasty said:


> Very nice fish Spencer. That is a small stream to put out such big fish, must be spawning near a larger lake.


Thanks! Yeah, you hit the nail on the head with that observation, although I'm sworn to secrecy about this stream and the lake it feeds into...


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## spencerD (Jan 14, 2014)

30-06-hunter said:


> Sweet!! Have you hit Mammoth yet, I was going to call the other day.


Yeah, ice off is over there basically. the ice came off very weird this year. Had about 2 days where it was perfect, then the wind came up and blew it all off. You'll still be able to get em from shore there, but not with a lot of regularity or size. Once the water warms up in June, though, the bite disappears


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

spencerD said:


> Yeah, ice off is over there basically. the ice came off very weird this year. Had about 2 days where it was perfect, then the wind came up and blew it all off. You'll still be able to get em from shore there, but not with a lot of regularity or size. Once the water warms up in June, though, the bite disappears


I'm thinking of heading up on Saturday with the small boat.


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## blackdog (Sep 11, 2007)

Ahhhh, I remember the good ole days fishing that stretch of water when I was a kid and it didn't open till memorial day weekend. 
I hope you kissed that fish goodbye because come Saturday when you can start keeping them, that fish and every other fish in that river will have sticks and stringers shoved thru their gills. By Monday there will be none.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

blackdog said:


> Ahhhh, I remember the good ole days fishing that stretch of water when I was a kid and it didn't open till memorial day weekend.
> I hope you kissed that fish goodbye because come Saturday when you can start keeping them, that fish and every other fish in that river will have sticks and stringers shoved thru their gills. By Monday there will be none.


I can't even imagine a cutt that big tasting very good, but not everyone feels the same way I guess.


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## smoothie (Nov 21, 2011)

Awesome report! That's a huge Cuttie! Nice job!


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