cutthroat trout – Syndication Server

Fly fisherman ‘stunned’ at the size of his cutthroat trout record

Idaho Fish and Game stated that Westslope cutthroat trout rarely exceed 20 inches, making this an “exceptional” catch.

A fly fisherman in Idaho thought he snagged bottom until the line started moving, indicating a hooked a fish.

Daniel Whitesitt was fishing with a friend in a remote area on the Clark Fork River in Idaho on April 13 when he hooked up, as reported by Outdoor Life.

“We’d only caught one trout that morning, so it was pretty slow,” Whitesitt told Outdoor Life. “But about 9 a.m. I waded out to the head of a pool just below a riffle and made a long cast. I was [fishing] a large, gray stonefly nymph below an indicator.”

When the indicator went down, Whitesitt set the hook and “fought the fish deep for a couple minutes,” and when it jumped, he thought it was a rainbow.

He called Caleb Bravard over to help land the fish. When the fish was netted, the anglers noticed the red slash under its jaw, indicating it was a cutthroat trout.

“I was stunned that it was a cutthroat because of its size,” Whitesitt told Outdoor Life. “I thought it might be a state length record, which I believed was 24 inches long. When we carefully measured it and photographed the fish, sure enough, it was 25 inches.”

Whitesitt submitted documentation of his released catch to the Idaho Fish and Game, and the agency verified it has a catch-and-release state record for Westslope cutthroat trout, the IFG reported Wednesday.

The old record of 24 inches was set by Madison Nackos in 2021 from nearby Priest Lake.

From the IFG:

Westslope Cutthroat Trout are found in rivers (and some lakes) primarily throughout central and northern Idaho. They rarely exceed 20 inches, making this an exceptional catch. Cutthroat Trout are Idaho’s “state fish,” and the Westslope Cutthroat Trout is one of three subspecies native to the state, along with the Bonneville and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout.

Whitesitt told Outdoor Life he guessed the fish weighed 6 or 7 pounds, adding that he is likely to have a replica mount made because of its beauty.

“Its memory will never fade,” Whitesitt told Outdoor life.

Photos courtesy of the Idaho Fish and Game and Daniel Whitesitt.

Yellowstone reveals plan to halt spread of invasive brook trout

The recent discovery of brook trout in a popular Yellowstone National Park creek has biologists hustling to remove the nonnative species.

The trout were found in Soda Butte Creek, a popular fly-fishing destination in the northeastern portion of the park.

Brook trout are invasive and threaten native Yellowstone cutthroat trout. If left unchecked, brook trout could spread from Soda Butte Creek throughout the Lamar River watershed.

The park, in coordination with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Custer Gallatin National Forest, will close a 9.6-mile stretch of Soda Butte Creek to the public Aug. 14-18.

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During this period, biologists will kill brook trout with EPA-approved rotenone treatments.

Beforehand, during the week of Aug. 7, biologists will capture Yellowstone cutthroat trout via electroshocking. They’ll be kept alive in upper tributaries away from the treatment area.

A similar treatment program was successful in removing brook trout from Soda Butte Creek after they were discovered in 2015.

Cutthroat trout are the only trout native to Yellowstone National Park. They’re prized by anglers and play an important ecological role throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

–Brook trout image is generic

Watch: Trout fall from sky into Colorado’s remote lakes

Dozens of Colorado’s high-altitude lakes received thousands of cutthroat trout fingerlings last Monday and Tuesday as part of the state’s aerial stocking program.

Dozens of Colorado’s high-elevation lakes received thousands of cutthroat trout fingerlings last Monday and Tuesday as part of the state’s aerial stocking program.

The accompanying footage, produced by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, shows pilots releasing one-inch trout during precision water drops from heights of about 100 feet.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated on Facebook that the fish were raised at Rifle Falls State Fish Hatchery, and that survival rates are high because the fish are so light that they land in their new home waters with out much impact.

“They just have very little mass, so they’re kind of floating down into the water,” pilot Jerry Gepfert explains in the video, adding that survival rates during aerial drops are about 90%.

Gepfert said that in one day his crew stocked 40,000 trout into almost 50 lakes “in a matter of a couple hours.”

Most of the lakes are above 9,000 feet and, in many cases, too remote to be accessed by stocking vehicles.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is on schedule stock nearly 275,000 trout into 240 mountain lakes by the end of summer. The effort is intended to enhance fishing opportunities in remote destinations.

Woman lands record cutthroat trout; ‘I’m in the books boys!’

The wait is over. Madison (Madi) Nackos is the new Idaho catch-and-release record holder for cutthroat trout.

Nackos, 21, was fishing with friends at Priest Lake on May 29 when she reeled in a Westslope cutthroat that measured 24 inches – three inches longer than the existing record.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced her catch as a new record Tuesday, describing the trout as a “monster” in terms of its size.

Madi Nackos poses with record cutthroat trout. Photo: IDFG

Nackos, who is from Spokane, Wash., boasted via Instagram: “I am super stoked about this fish. I’ve waited nearly a month to post about it until it was official but I just received the email from IDFG confirming my STATE RECORD FISH!

“This beautiful post-spawn Westslope cutthroat measured at a hefty 24 in, shattering the previous record by 3 inches. I’M IN THE BOOKS BOYS!!!”

Madi Nackos releases record cutthroat trout. Photo: IDFG

She declined to reveal the type of lure she used when reached by For The Win Outdoors, but gladly shared her feelings about the catch, after a minute-long fight, aboard a 15-foot Gregor boat:

“Cutties have always been my favorite fish to hook even before this one because they are so beautiful and aggressive, and despite this fish being old and post spawn she was beautiful and in great condition.

“What shocked me the most was the size of its head. I’m still in shock from catching that fish back in May, and I’m sure I will be for a while.”

According to IDFG, Westslope cutthroat trout are native throughout much of the state’s Panhandle Region.

Idaho recognizes length catch-and-release records for each of the state’s four subspecies of cutthroat trout: Westslope, Bonneville, Yellowstone, and Lahontan.

Angler pulls record trout through ice to jump-start winter season

The winter fishing season is off to a noteworthy start in Idaho as one angler has already pulled a record trout through a hole in the ice.

The winter fishing season is off to a noteworthy start in Idaho as one angler has already pulled a record trout through the ice.

Jordan Rodriguez, after boring a hole on newly frozen-over Grasmere Reservoir on Dec. 12, reeled up a 2.27-pound Lahontan cutthroat trout.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Friday announced that the catch smashed the previous state record of 1.17 pounds, set in September at the same 29-acre lake.

“With winter finally here, you might have thought we were done with new record fish for a while. Nope, not yet!” Martin Koenig, Natural Resource Program Director for the IDFG, wrote in a blog post.

Koenig explained that Lahontan cutthroat trout are native to the Lahontan basin of northern Nevada, northeastern California, and southeastern Oregon. But the fish are routinely planted in several high-desert Idaho lakes, including Grasmere Reservoir in Owyhee County.

Koenig did not say what type of bait or lure Rodriguez used to entice the 20-inch cutthroat onto his hook.

–Image showing Jordan Rodriguez with his record catch is courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game

Record Yellowstone cutthroat trout landed after river chase

An Idaho fly-fishing guide broke a weeks-old state record recently with the catch and release of a 31-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout on the Snake River.

An Idaho fly-fishing guide has broken a weeks-old state record with the catch and release of a 31-inch Yellowstone cutthroat trout on the Snake River.

Nate Burr of Rexburg landed the cutthroat after three days of uneventful fishing with a friend – and after the fish had led them on a half-mile drift-boat chase downstream.

“It was one of those brutally slow days,” Burr, 23, said of the Sept. 8 evening catch, announced by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on Friday. “Hunting big trout on streamer [flies] means a day on the water can go from zero to 100 in a split second. That was exactly the case with this fish.”

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I’ve heard 30+” trout are fish of 10,000 casts. This one took 10,000,000. Incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to accomplish a life-long goal and be able to lift a fish like this from the waters I grew up fishing. #ratherbeluckythangood#cutthroattrout#flyfishing#streamerfishing#flylife#sageflyfish

A post shared by Nate Burr (@flyynathan) on Oct 4, 2020 at 11:35am PDT

The cutthroat, netted after a 15-minute fight, was released after it was measured and photographed. The catch breaks a record (30.5 inches) set on Aug. 7, also on the Snake River. The previous record (28.5 inches) also had been set on the Snake River.

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Burr told For The Win Outdoors that he and his friend (Tanner) had floated the same section of river for three days, seeking only large fish and taking turns rowing, before the massive Yellowstone cutthroat announced its presence.

“I was fishing a white streamer that would swim about a foot under the surface,” said Burr, an area guide. “I threw a long cast to the shallow side of the run and began stripping the fly through the run. Before the fly hit the deep water a massive shape appeared from upstream charging down toward the fly.

“One-third of the trout’s back was out of the water as he made his first charge.”

The cutthroat was hooked after a third charge, and led the anglers on a swift downriver pursuit.

According to the IDFG, Yellowstone cutthroat trout measuring 30 inches or more are “exceedingly rare” in rivers. They can grow larger in deep-water lakes, such as Yellowstone Lake in the Wyoming portion of Yellowstone National Park.

Inside Yellowstone National Park, native cutthroat trout are an important prey source for critters such as bears, otters, and mink.

In Idaho, Yellowstone cutthroat trout are found in the eastern region and native to the Snake River from Shoshone Falls upstream to the headwaters.

Yellowstone cutthroat trout are one of four subspecies of trout found in Idaho.

Idaho’s catch-and-release record program, which began in 2016, is designed to encourage conservation among anglers who land trophy-size fish.

–Images courtesy of Nate Burr