Cutthroat Trout

How to recognise it

• A red, orange or yellow slash under the jaw on each side, which can be pale on lake fish.
• Lahontan cutthroat, lake form: larger, with a squared tail, a green to greenish-brown back, a pink band on the side, and large, round, almost black spots, fewer below the side line.
• Lahontan cutthroat, stream form: smaller and darker, copper to green, with many spots and with dark oval marks kept into adulthood.
• Coastal cutthroat: more spots than a rainbow, especially below the side line, a slimmer body and a large head.

Habitat: where it lives

• Lahontan cutthroat live from high mountain streams to low, alkaline desert lakes, from the Sierra Nevada crest into Nevada and a small part of Oregon.
• Coastal cutthroat live in small, slow coastal streams, estuaries and lagoons with cool, clean water.
• In streams, look in slow water and pools, under undercut banks, overhanging plants and woody debris. In lakes, look around sunken rocks, woody debris and drop-offs.

Habits: behavior, spawning and growth

• An opportunistic feeder, taking whatever is most plentiful that season.
• Lahontan spawning fish, males especially, turn vivid copper, red and orange.

Where and when

• Lahontan cutthroat are federally threatened, and some waters have special rules. Heenan Lake and the Upper Truckee River in California are known waters. Check the rules first.
• Coastal fish gather at river mouths when young salmon and steelhead head to sea.

Bait and lures

Why these baits work

• Stream fish feed on drifting insects, so dry flies and nymphs match what comes past them.
• Lake fish eat fish, insects and scuds, so streamers and nymphs fished slowly work well.

Rod and reel setups

Grouped by lure fishing (artificial baits) and bait fishing (live or natural bait).