South Fork of The Snake River Cutthroat Trout - Photo By: Louis Cahill
If I had the ability to ask for one additional trout specie in my home waters, I’d ask for cutthroat trout. In my opinion, cutthroat trout are one of the best trout species for introducing and teaching beginners the sport of fly fishing. Although there’s locations where they can be just as spooky and picky as other trout, more times than not, I often find them as a whole, to be more forgiving on presentation and fly pattern choice than brown and rainbow trout.
I don’t know about you but I’ve never fought a brown or rainbow trout for ten seconds, broke it off, and two minutes later caught that same trout, and got my fly back. I’ve accomplished this multiple times with cutthroat trout, and I’m sure there’s anglers out there, that have experienced this more times than they can recall. As a guide, I love an attribute like this in a trout, and it doesn’t hurt that cutthroat’s seem to have a weakness for dry flies. There strikingly beautiful fish and I’d love nothing more than to have the opportunity to guide my clients to them on a daily basis. Too bad I guide in North Georgia, where I’ve got better chances of stumbling upon a gold nugget than a cutthroat trout.
It’s all good though, I thoroughly enjoy making trips out west and catching cutties each year. Maybe one day I’ll even have the opportunity to move and guide where cutthroat trout are plentiful. That’s my dream anyway. What’s yours?
Keep it Reel,
Kent Klewein Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
I think you are strikingly beautiful, and, word has it you have quite the weakness for the dryfly…are you part Cutty?
Paul,
Thanks for the comment on the blog man. Just got back from WY. No, I’m not part Cutty, but I wouldn’t mind being reincarnated as a cutthroat trout on a rocking mountain trout stream. And yes, as a cutty, I would have a weakness for big gaudy dry flies, I’m sure 🙂
Kent
P.S. You should see your Flood Tide Co. hat I sported on the trip. It’s broken in nicely with sweat marks and has a nice sunburn faded look.
my dream is to be able to go out west once a year and fish… holy crap you’re living my dream jerk. I’ll settle for the West Branch in Maine once a year until the kids get just a bit older I guess.
Right on Chris. Still need to make a trip up to Maine with Louis. I’ve heard very good things about the fishing there.
Kent- you are so right; I’ve caught the same cutty a few minutes after it had been caught by my fishing partner- we know it is the same fish because it had the same talon mark scars on it after it had apparently escaped an osprey’s grasp. It does make you wonder if I had a 50 fish day or a 5 fish day 10 times. — Just livin the dream in Idaho.
Reese,
That is certainly proof of what I was talking about. You got to love cutties. You live in Idaho? You’ve got it made.
Cutthroats are the brook trout of the American West.
Two of my favorite fish.
They do have lots of similarities in their behavior. Thanks for your comments.
Kent