Cutthroat Trout

[Marc Martyn]

General description: Coastal cutthroat trout are silver, brassy, or yellowish in color and have small densely packed irregularly shaped dark brown or black spots on their body, head, and fins. Juvenile coastal cutthroat trout range in size from 1 to 6 inches and have about 10 oval parr marks overlaid with small black spots and may have a faint red or pink coloration along the lateral line and possibly on the gill covers. Typically the distinguishing cutthroat “cut-slash” is present on Alaskan coastal cutthroat trout as a red or orange band of color on the underside of the lower jaw in the skin folds. However, not all coastal cutthroat trout have a distinct slash, especially the silver colored sea-run fish which have just returned to freshwater where the slash may be present but inconspicuous. Coastal cutthroat trout can spawn with rainbow trout and produce fertile hybrids with physical characteristics of both (i.e., cutthroat slash and pink/red color band along the lateral line). Biologists often use the presence of small teeth at the base of the tongue called basibranchial teeth as a means to distinguish between rainbow trout (teeth absent) coastal cutthroat trout (teeth present). However, the presence or absence of basibranchial teeth is not a 100% accurate means of positively distinguishing all coastal cutthroat trout from all rainbow trout and this distinguishing trait may be further complicated in the presence of hybrid trout. Coastal cutthroat trout, like other species of trout, reportedly have the ability to change the size, shape, and distribution of spots in relationship to the environment they live in.

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebo ... Etrout.php

[racfish]

Just as an FYI. To me the best of the best tasting trout are Cutthroat. I like them over steelies.

[Smalma]

The coastal cutthroat is Western Washington native cutthroat is found in most lowland creeks and rivers. As well as many beaver ponds and lakes. They also often have a anadromous life history (sea-runs). They are a relativley short lived trout rarely reaching more than 8 or 9 years of age. The largest individuals are typically found in lakes where in large waters with an abundance forage they may exceed 10 pounds. The sea-runs are not nearly as fast growing with fish in excess of 20 inches true trophies that are at the end of the species life span.

In tributary streams with both coastal cutthroat and steelhead it is not unusually to see hybrids between the two species in the young parr. Though it is much rarer to see those hybrids in adult fish.

BTW -
The fish pictured in the first post is not a coastal cutthroat, it is an inter-mountian/westslope cutthroat.

Tight lines
Curt

[Toni]

I was told that to really tell a cutt from a bow the look at the eye and jaw line. I know that the top fish had a orange slash under the jaw and the bottom didn't so I call it a hatchery rainbow. Now I am not sure how to tell one cutt from another but this one was caught in American Lake so it is probably a coastal cutthroat.

[dea]

I love tech talk.