Species Guide: Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
The best place in the world to catch Yellowstone cutthroat trout is in Yellowstone Lake or Yellowstone River, both in Yellowstone National Park, located in the northwestern corner of Wyoming. Despite the introduction of some exotic species, park habitat remains much the same as it was 100 years ago, and the area has proved a haven for native trout.When European and eastern American explorers and settlers moved west, they brought with them brook and brown trout. Later, when people migrated from the Pacific coast to the Rockies, they brought with them rainbow trout. One hundred years ago, brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout had already replaced cutthroats through most of their native range. In most cases, native populations were degraded through overfishing, loss of habitat, and competitive losses through the introduction of exotic species. Rainbow trout introductions proved especially troublesome, as rainbows and cutthroats can interbreed, quickly diluting the unique genetic attributes of native species.The pure strains of "native" cutthroats that exist today are in a few isolated pockets, usually in remote locations upstream of impassable natural barriers. They're the exception, not the rule.Exotic species were also introduced to the Park but perhaps because the habitat remained intact, or perhaps because they were never harvested to extinction, Yellowstone Cutthroat trout have fared better than some other types of cutthroats in the American West. Yellowstone National Park is considered by some as the birthplace of "catch-and-release" fishing, and today, the fishing for native trout is better than most people can remember.Like all cuttroat trout, yellowstone cutts have a red or orange slash mark on the under side of their lower jaw. They are generally a brassy yellow in color, with a pronounced, rounded black spots on the back and sides. In river-dwelling trout, these spots will be more concentrated near the back half of the fish. In Yellowstone Lake, the cutts have more evenly distributed spots. Some adults have a red or pinkish tint on their gill plates and/or down their flanks, reminiscent of a rainbow trout.Yellowstone cutthroat trout take dry flies eagerly and live in some of the most beautiful trout streams in the world.Cutthroat trout aren't renowned for their fight, and Yellowstone cutts are no exception. They do, however, seem to have a predilection toward dry flies, which is certainly an admirable quality in a trout.One more thing: if you've heard that these trout are "easy," you've heard wrong. Like any other trout, Yellowstone cutts can become extremely selective when exposed to heavy fishing pressure. It's true that in the backcountry, a Yellowstone cutt will gladly inhale even a badly cast Royal Wulff. But on the heavily fished areas of the Yellowstone River--like at Buffalo Ford--or on the lower reaches of Slough Creek, these fish can become as picky and hard-to-catch as any trout.
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