TROUT, CUTTHROAT

C, T -

TROUT, CUTTHROAT

Scientific Name: 
Oncorhynchus clarki
Salt/Fresh: 
Fresh
Also Known As: 
Clark's Trout; Red Throated Trout; Short Tailed Trout; Lake Trout; Sea Trout; Brook Trout; Native Trout; Yellowstone Cutthroat; Snake River Cutthroat; Lahontan Cutthroat; Coastal Cutthroat; Rio Grande Cutthroat; Colorado Cutthroat; Utah Cutthroat; Piute Cutthroat; Harvest Trout; TROUT, CUTTHROAT
Rating: 
Countries: 
Other Countries
United States
Description: 

The Cutthroat Trout is a fish species of the salmonidae family native to cold-water tributaries of North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat Trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw.

How To Identify: 

Throughout their native and introduced ranges, Cutthroat Trout vary widely in size, coloration and habitat selection. Their coloration can range from golden to gray to green on the back. Cutthroat Trout can generally be distinguished from rainbow trout by the presence of basibranchial teeth at the base of tongue and a maxillary that extends beyond the posterior edge of the eye. Depending on subspecies, strain and habitat, most have distinctive red, pink, or orange linear marks along the underside of their mandibles in the lower folds of the gill plates. These markings are responsible for the common name "cutthroat", first given to the trout by outdoor writer Charles Hallock in an 1884 article in The American Angler. These markings are not unique to the species, some coastal rainbow trout and Columbia River redband trout populations also display reddish or pink throat markings.

At maturity, different populations and subspecies of Cutthroat Trout can range from 6 to 40 inches (15 to 102 cm) in length, depending on habitat and food availability. Sea-run forms of coastal Cutthroat Trout average 2 to 5 pounds (0.9 to 2.3 kg). 

How To Catch: 

Cutthroat Trout are aggressive feeders and will hit almost any lure, spinner, or fly. Often they are caught when fishing for steelhead trout.They stay close to the bottom of deep pools or sloughs, and gear must be fished close to the bottom. Resident Cutthroat Trout can be caught with spinners, or spoons fished deep in pools or along lake shorelines. Dry or wet flies fished off inlet streams work well also. A muddler minnow on a fast sinking line fished along shores with submerged cover is a sure bet to catch a Cutthroat Trout. Larger Cutthroat Trout are best caught by trolling off steep shorelines of landlocked lakes. 

Where Found: 

Internationally

Cutthroat Trout are native to western North America and have evolved through geographic isolation into many subspecies, each native to a different major drainage basin. Native Cutthroat Trout species are found along the Pacific Northwest coast from Alaska through British Columbia into northern California, in the Cascade Range, the Great Basin and throughout the Rocky Mountains including southern Alberta. Some coastal populations of the coastal Cutthroat Trout are semianadromous, spending a few months in marine environments to feed as adults and returning to fresh water from fall through early spring to feed on insects and spawn.

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