Thanks so much! It was an awesome accomplishment. Tanner and I had so much fun doing this together. I love having the videos and pictures to remind me.
Hey there! Congrats in the success you had while fishing! I know precisely where this creek is as I’ve fished it a few times myself for my own Slams. So in the stretches of creek you were in, there are a LOT of rainbow trout, they were introduced back in the day before it was really understood how important the Yellowstone cutthroat in this area are. So not only in the lower stretches will you find rainbows, but you also will find plenty of cutbows since the fish easily hybridize with each other. Therefore the “weird” coloration on fish you were seeing were likely the hybrids. Cutthroat have a very specific spotting pattern along with the classic throat slash, so when I begin to see “strange” spotting, and especially if I see white-tipped fins on a fish that also has cutthroat jaw markings, then there’s no doubt it’s a hybrid. Makes this creek a tricky one to use for slam submissions. For the Slam it’s recommend to try fishing a few miles up from here nearer the headwaters in order to avoid the hybrids and rainbows altogether.
Thanks so much for the details! This is exactly what Tanner and I discovered. The last fish that he caught was definitely a pure Yellowstone Cutthroat. All the others were Bows or Cutbows. I ended up having to go back to get mine for the slam (next video). This is what happens when exploring but it was still a way fun trip and both of us did complete the slam eventually.
Way to go Kyle and Tanner! Making memories together on that beautiful creek!
Thanks so much! It was an awesome accomplishment. Tanner and I had so much fun doing this together. I love having the videos and pictures to remind me.
Hey there! Congrats in the success you had while fishing! I know precisely where this creek is as I’ve fished it a few times myself for my own Slams. So in the stretches of creek you were in, there are a LOT of rainbow trout, they were introduced back in the day before it was really understood how important the Yellowstone cutthroat in this area are. So not only in the lower stretches will you find rainbows, but you also will find plenty of cutbows since the fish easily hybridize with each other. Therefore the “weird” coloration on fish you were seeing were likely the hybrids. Cutthroat have a very specific spotting pattern along with the classic throat slash, so when I begin to see “strange” spotting, and especially if I see white-tipped fins on a fish that also has cutthroat jaw markings, then there’s no doubt it’s a hybrid. Makes this creek a tricky one to use for slam submissions. For the Slam it’s recommend to try fishing a few miles up from here nearer the headwaters in order to avoid the hybrids and rainbows altogether.
Thanks so much for the details! This is exactly what Tanner and I discovered. The last fish that he caught was definitely a pure Yellowstone Cutthroat. All the others were Bows or Cutbows. I ended up having to go back to get mine for the slam (next video). This is what happens when exploring but it was still a way fun trip and both of us did complete the slam eventually.
Bro I was virtually giving you a high five on the first fish haha. Pumped for you guys!!
Thanks, man! It was a huge relief and accomplishment for both of us. Super fun to do this with my fishing buddy! 🎉🎣
You should keep a couple tiny ones to put in your tank at home😅
I've thought about that. Just not sure how to get it home alive... I'll think on it more for sure! 😁
Transporting live aquatic species is illegal in Utah without a permit.
Thanks for the info! I definitely would have researched it before taking any.