Acristickid
Well-known member
B Native trout of the United States.
The last couple years I've dreamed about catching all of the native cutthroat species in the lower 48 states- and the adventure that comes with it.
More recently I've been dreaming of catching all of the native trout and salmon's of the lower 48 states.
There are 12 native cutthroat trout in the lower 48. There are two extinct species Yellowfin in CO and the Alvord cutthroat in NV/OR.
From some scholar papers I read there might be another species added with the advent of new technology to identify genes etc (science stuff).
Coastal Cutthroats -
Range is Pacific Northwest extreme northern CA to Alaska. There is a correlation between costal rain forests and this cutthroat. I unfortunately struck out on this one. After speaking with the biologist he told me to fish the Upper Smith River- in OR ( another crazy 40 mile drive on twisting up and down roads ) the area I fished was low but cool. I began to have doubts , but when I saw about a 12 in cutthroat soar out of the water after an emerger I had renewed vigor. I tried but no dice. Besides not catching on the Metolius , this was my only other skunk till this point of my trip.
Wasn't overly concerned as I thought I might have another shot on the trip. But scheduling a few days later made a return shot too problematic. This was the only cutthroat where you could fish for from just parking and walking down the bank (the Greenback is pretty close also).
I spent some time in CA and they have some coastal cutthroat but the chances are less than in OR.
Fished my way east through northern CA- McCloud(Redband strain) Pit, (Fall you need a craft to fish it- didn't fish it, largest spring creek in CA) , Hat Creek. Of all of these streams I thought I would catch the skunk on - I thought it would be Hat from all I have read. It was very pleasant wading/fishing and I enjoyed fishing there a great deal. Fished nymphs and dries and caught a dandy rainbow. Fished the famous stretch below power house 2. There is ample public access on the stream.
On the ride lots of smoke in northern CA- many areas totally blocked out the sun.
McCloud- worst road I took all summer, 7 miles of beat up windy , hilly, partially washed out road to get to the Ah-Di-Na access ( just up stream from the conservancy water). The McCloud surprised me, it's very tough to wade. I would have waded more aggressively but being by myself I was more judicious than normal. I caught some small natives but it was much more difficult than I thought it would be.
I fished for a native Goose Lake Redband trout next. This is limited to the Goose Lake tribs- north east CA. It was like brookie fishing here in PA. Getting there is usually harder than catching them. I have found most of these native trout are pushed into small headwater streams and are of diminutive size. Was going to try for Warner Lakes cutthroat but once the biologist said "Are you up for an adventure? The road is pretty rugged". I declined, had enough terrible roads.
Lahontan Cutthroat-
Native range in CA and NV
The biologist told me there was only one water in CA to fish for them- the Upper Truckee. Which is really the upper, Upper Truckee- the one that flows into Lake Tahoe. This cutty required a 4 mile hike over a mountain to get to the water- again extreme headwaters, small water, small fish. I actually enjoyed the hike even though a half mile or so was straight up over the mountain. I struggled at first but came upon a small pool with about half dozen fish. I caught one on first cast into the pool- after that , no dice. I was satisfied in just catching one. Made the hike back out easy. Beautiful area. Of course I am 4 miles back on the PCT and I meet a lady from Sharon PA. Ha. I don't mind mentioning the names of some of these places because it is a real commitment to get there to fish for them.
I had planned to fish western NV for this fish and then north of Elko NV for the Humboldt cutt but got in my head at this point I would try for the California Heritage angling program. Catch at least 6 natives of the 10-12 natives CA has. I had caught 4 already (caught a jack steelhead about 10 years ago in the Trinity River) and need just 2 more.
Next up Golden Trout-
I waited for the biologist to call but he didn't call me back readily so I was going on my own Intel.
Another crazy road to the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead in the Inyo Nat Forest and Golden Trout Wilderness. Again a hike to extreme headwaters similar to PA brookie fishing for small trouts but beautiful. My advise for these high mountain streams is to get a very early start to minimize any kind of severe weather that happens with the heat of the day. CA was so hot and dry- in my case there was little chance of rain. Get ready to hike at high altitudes- take water, food, raincoat.
Next up was Kern River and if successful maybe the Little Kern. Both hold native rainbows. I hiked up the Kern from the Johnsondale bridge in the blazing heat. I fished a nice run and had 2 on and lost them. Disappointing but that's what makes having some successes that much more interesting. It had been so hot for 2 weeks in CA, I had enough and gave up. Who would think anyone would have to go to Arizona to cool off.
Apache chief- no Apache trout.
I made the drive through AZ to the White mountains. It was great, not too many tourists and cool temps at 7000-8000 feet. First time I saw rain in a month. The biologist was super great, gave me food and lodging ideas in addition to fishing information. Again, another 3-4 mile hike (the biologists always underestimated the hiking distances- I cursed them many times) to a PA brookie type of stream. This stream is stocked with Apaches in its lower reaches but upper water was all wild. This fish has a spot before and after its eyes making it look like a bandit. Once again , the hardest part is just getting there.
Rio Grande Cutthroat -
Range SC CO and into NM
Fished a trib to the Conejos River. I didn't know anything about the Conejos but it blew me away with its beauty and total lack of commercialism/development. Beauty. The other thing that really took me by surprise was three quarters of the limited people that were there in this valley were all from Texas. They were there to hunt elk , September 1 bow season started. This was the only part of the trip I fished a lake for a Cutthroat as opposed to a stream. This water had a lake high up with a small stream running in and out of it. Another three or 4 mile hike up into a beautiful country.
On this trip I passed two older gentleman fly fishers who were camping out and backpacking. I asked them hot did and what my chances might be of catching a Rio Grande cutthroat trout , they both kind of looked at each other and both laughed. They were pretty cool they said no problem you'll catch them very easily I still had my doubts. The catching was easy, I found most of the nice sized cutthroats were within 10 feet of the shoreline and on my first cast I missed one, that happened a few times but eventually I did land several , what were beautiful cutthroats , I think they were probably the most colorful cutthroats that I had ever caught. It was sorta leisurely fishing- with no real wading and stumbling like the creeks and no brush to contend with. When I had returned to the parking area for the trailhead , I saw on the back of my dusty window where the two older gentleman put RG for Rio Grande cutthroats and then they put a check mark next to it , so pretty cool. I laughed. Guess they knew it would be easy.
Greenback Cutthroat
Range used stretch into WY but they are extinct there. You can find them on the eastern slop of the front range in CO. I fished RMNP - Big Thompson River. Well the timing for this area as far as my scheduling goes was terrible I happened to arrive on Labor Day weekend on the parks hundred anniversary it was completely traffic filled. I got a hotel and figured out where I need to go do the planning and then we leave first thing in the morning so I can get there and get out before most of the traffic was even coming in. It was a good plan because by 630 in the morning there were only two parking spaces in the uppermost parking lot. There were spaces but you had to walk him an additional mile from the lower lots. Needless to say the fishing was easy. I landed 4-5 in 15 minutes. There was a guy fishing behind me after an hour so I decided to head back downstream. I was told above "the pool" is where the wilds were. But as I fished the lower portion I had no trouble catching even bigger cutts.
Here's a list of the Cutthroat trout of United States.
Coastal Cutthroat- unfinished business
Westslope Cutthroat- check
Lahontan - check
Humboldt- unfinished business
Willow/Whitehorse - OR , now closed to angling.
Paiute Cutthorat- in couple streams in CA that are closed to angling above some barriers/falls. I asked the biologist about fishing lower, he said I could but chances of catching one would be harder than winning the lottery. Time will tell.
Yellowstone - check
Finespotted Snake River Cutthroat Trout- check
Bonneville Cutthroat - check
Colorado River Cutthroat- check
So really I have 2 more to go.
I founds these resources very helpful as well as getting fired up for fishing.
Two books that you want to get if you're interested in natives are Cutthroat Native of the West by Trotter and Trout and Salmon of North America by Behnke.
Also, speak to the biologist for the area. I found these resources as good or better than any fly shop.
Another excellent resource for northern CA fly fishing is Fly-Fishing Northern California Waters by Lily Tso Wong Ph.D
Most of these natives require taking crappy roads 5-40 miles, 2-4 mile hikes and fishing small streams for diminutive trout.
The last couple years I've dreamed about catching all of the native cutthroat species in the lower 48 states- and the adventure that comes with it.
More recently I've been dreaming of catching all of the native trout and salmon's of the lower 48 states.
There are 12 native cutthroat trout in the lower 48. There are two extinct species Yellowfin in CO and the Alvord cutthroat in NV/OR.
From some scholar papers I read there might be another species added with the advent of new technology to identify genes etc (science stuff).
Coastal Cutthroats -
Range is Pacific Northwest extreme northern CA to Alaska. There is a correlation between costal rain forests and this cutthroat. I unfortunately struck out on this one. After speaking with the biologist he told me to fish the Upper Smith River- in OR ( another crazy 40 mile drive on twisting up and down roads ) the area I fished was low but cool. I began to have doubts , but when I saw about a 12 in cutthroat soar out of the water after an emerger I had renewed vigor. I tried but no dice. Besides not catching on the Metolius , this was my only other skunk till this point of my trip.
Wasn't overly concerned as I thought I might have another shot on the trip. But scheduling a few days later made a return shot too problematic. This was the only cutthroat where you could fish for from just parking and walking down the bank (the Greenback is pretty close also).
I spent some time in CA and they have some coastal cutthroat but the chances are less than in OR.
Fished my way east through northern CA- McCloud(Redband strain) Pit, (Fall you need a craft to fish it- didn't fish it, largest spring creek in CA) , Hat Creek. Of all of these streams I thought I would catch the skunk on - I thought it would be Hat from all I have read. It was very pleasant wading/fishing and I enjoyed fishing there a great deal. Fished nymphs and dries and caught a dandy rainbow. Fished the famous stretch below power house 2. There is ample public access on the stream.
On the ride lots of smoke in northern CA- many areas totally blocked out the sun.
McCloud- worst road I took all summer, 7 miles of beat up windy , hilly, partially washed out road to get to the Ah-Di-Na access ( just up stream from the conservancy water). The McCloud surprised me, it's very tough to wade. I would have waded more aggressively but being by myself I was more judicious than normal. I caught some small natives but it was much more difficult than I thought it would be.
I fished for a native Goose Lake Redband trout next. This is limited to the Goose Lake tribs- north east CA. It was like brookie fishing here in PA. Getting there is usually harder than catching them. I have found most of these native trout are pushed into small headwater streams and are of diminutive size. Was going to try for Warner Lakes cutthroat but once the biologist said "Are you up for an adventure? The road is pretty rugged". I declined, had enough terrible roads.
Lahontan Cutthroat-
Native range in CA and NV
The biologist told me there was only one water in CA to fish for them- the Upper Truckee. Which is really the upper, Upper Truckee- the one that flows into Lake Tahoe. This cutty required a 4 mile hike over a mountain to get to the water- again extreme headwaters, small water, small fish. I actually enjoyed the hike even though a half mile or so was straight up over the mountain. I struggled at first but came upon a small pool with about half dozen fish. I caught one on first cast into the pool- after that , no dice. I was satisfied in just catching one. Made the hike back out easy. Beautiful area. Of course I am 4 miles back on the PCT and I meet a lady from Sharon PA. Ha. I don't mind mentioning the names of some of these places because it is a real commitment to get there to fish for them.
I had planned to fish western NV for this fish and then north of Elko NV for the Humboldt cutt but got in my head at this point I would try for the California Heritage angling program. Catch at least 6 natives of the 10-12 natives CA has. I had caught 4 already (caught a jack steelhead about 10 years ago in the Trinity River) and need just 2 more.
Next up Golden Trout-
I waited for the biologist to call but he didn't call me back readily so I was going on my own Intel.
Another crazy road to the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead in the Inyo Nat Forest and Golden Trout Wilderness. Again a hike to extreme headwaters similar to PA brookie fishing for small trouts but beautiful. My advise for these high mountain streams is to get a very early start to minimize any kind of severe weather that happens with the heat of the day. CA was so hot and dry- in my case there was little chance of rain. Get ready to hike at high altitudes- take water, food, raincoat.
Next up was Kern River and if successful maybe the Little Kern. Both hold native rainbows. I hiked up the Kern from the Johnsondale bridge in the blazing heat. I fished a nice run and had 2 on and lost them. Disappointing but that's what makes having some successes that much more interesting. It had been so hot for 2 weeks in CA, I had enough and gave up. Who would think anyone would have to go to Arizona to cool off.
Apache chief- no Apache trout.
I made the drive through AZ to the White mountains. It was great, not too many tourists and cool temps at 7000-8000 feet. First time I saw rain in a month. The biologist was super great, gave me food and lodging ideas in addition to fishing information. Again, another 3-4 mile hike (the biologists always underestimated the hiking distances- I cursed them many times) to a PA brookie type of stream. This stream is stocked with Apaches in its lower reaches but upper water was all wild. This fish has a spot before and after its eyes making it look like a bandit. Once again , the hardest part is just getting there.
Rio Grande Cutthroat -
Range SC CO and into NM
Fished a trib to the Conejos River. I didn't know anything about the Conejos but it blew me away with its beauty and total lack of commercialism/development. Beauty. The other thing that really took me by surprise was three quarters of the limited people that were there in this valley were all from Texas. They were there to hunt elk , September 1 bow season started. This was the only part of the trip I fished a lake for a Cutthroat as opposed to a stream. This water had a lake high up with a small stream running in and out of it. Another three or 4 mile hike up into a beautiful country.
On this trip I passed two older gentleman fly fishers who were camping out and backpacking. I asked them hot did and what my chances might be of catching a Rio Grande cutthroat trout , they both kind of looked at each other and both laughed. They were pretty cool they said no problem you'll catch them very easily I still had my doubts. The catching was easy, I found most of the nice sized cutthroats were within 10 feet of the shoreline and on my first cast I missed one, that happened a few times but eventually I did land several , what were beautiful cutthroats , I think they were probably the most colorful cutthroats that I had ever caught. It was sorta leisurely fishing- with no real wading and stumbling like the creeks and no brush to contend with. When I had returned to the parking area for the trailhead , I saw on the back of my dusty window where the two older gentleman put RG for Rio Grande cutthroats and then they put a check mark next to it , so pretty cool. I laughed. Guess they knew it would be easy.
Greenback Cutthroat
Range used stretch into WY but they are extinct there. You can find them on the eastern slop of the front range in CO. I fished RMNP - Big Thompson River. Well the timing for this area as far as my scheduling goes was terrible I happened to arrive on Labor Day weekend on the parks hundred anniversary it was completely traffic filled. I got a hotel and figured out where I need to go do the planning and then we leave first thing in the morning so I can get there and get out before most of the traffic was even coming in. It was a good plan because by 630 in the morning there were only two parking spaces in the uppermost parking lot. There were spaces but you had to walk him an additional mile from the lower lots. Needless to say the fishing was easy. I landed 4-5 in 15 minutes. There was a guy fishing behind me after an hour so I decided to head back downstream. I was told above "the pool" is where the wilds were. But as I fished the lower portion I had no trouble catching even bigger cutts.
Here's a list of the Cutthroat trout of United States.
Coastal Cutthroat- unfinished business
Westslope Cutthroat- check
Lahontan - check
Humboldt- unfinished business
Willow/Whitehorse - OR , now closed to angling.
Paiute Cutthorat- in couple streams in CA that are closed to angling above some barriers/falls. I asked the biologist about fishing lower, he said I could but chances of catching one would be harder than winning the lottery. Time will tell.
Yellowstone - check
Finespotted Snake River Cutthroat Trout- check
Bonneville Cutthroat - check
Colorado River Cutthroat- check
So really I have 2 more to go.
I founds these resources very helpful as well as getting fired up for fishing.
Two books that you want to get if you're interested in natives are Cutthroat Native of the West by Trotter and Trout and Salmon of North America by Behnke.
Also, speak to the biologist for the area. I found these resources as good or better than any fly shop.
Another excellent resource for northern CA fly fishing is Fly-Fishing Northern California Waters by Lily Tso Wong Ph.D
Most of these natives require taking crappy roads 5-40 miles, 2-4 mile hikes and fishing small streams for diminutive trout.
