This has been my first year of really doing some fishing here in Utah. I grew up in NH and have been here a few years now. Anyways, this year I have had a blast catching decent sized trout thanks to Kentofnsl and MGB recently. I have also gone and floated the south fork of the snake river, and now dream of a piece of property right along that amazing water.
To my point, every place I have gone there seems to be a desire to rid the rainbow and reintroduce the Cutt in every water. Not hard to figure this out when you can only keep umm no cutts, but all the bows you want. I understand that the cutt was here 1st and that the rainbow is an introduced species, BUT the rainbow is a much better game fish in my opinion. They fight better, they taste better, the bow is just a better fish.
So what do you think?
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[cool][#0000ff]You are not alone in your observations. Utah, Wyoming and Idaho have all instituted programs to reestablish populations of native cutthroats in their original waters...often to the detriment of other more desirable (to anglers) species.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]True, the cutts are purty fishes...especially during spawning time. But, in my opinion they are inferior both in fighting tactics and on the table. Rainbows are better in both areas.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A lot of brookie fans have been all up in arms over DWR programs to eliminate the big brookies from some of the lakes in the Boulder Mountains and restock with cutts. There are still some good brookie ponds up there, but nothing like in years past.[/#0000ff]
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If it keeps the Feds and the Endangered Species Act away from our waters then it is a good program. Although I agree with both of you I would rather have bows, brookies, and browns than Cutts.
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[cool][#0000ff]Man, how could I overlook those loveable brownies? They are a big favorite with lots of us.[/#0000ff]
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BUT the rainbow is a much better game fish in my opinion. They fight better, they taste better, the bow is just a better fish.
So what do you think?[/reply]
Everyone has their own opinion of what is "better". There is nothing wrong with that.
For me, the cutthroat deserve the protection they are currently getting. Invasive species are a serious problem. Sometimes, sport fishing isnt' the most important thing, and sometimes it is. Claiming a rainbow to be a "better" fish is only your opinion. I think the Colorado River Cutthroat is an all-around better fish. My opinion.
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[#0000ff]A lot of brookie fans have been all up in arms over DWR programs to eliminate the big brookies from some of the lakes in the Boulder Mountains and restock with cutts. There are still some good brookie ponds up there, but nothing like in years past.[/#0000ff][/reply]
Pat -- I respect your opinions. I don't believe that the above statement is your opinion. If it is, then it's time for me to take you fishing!
Those brookie fans you mentioned in the above quote don't know their heads from their....well, you know what. The reason I say this is because EVERY lake on the Boulder that was renovated for the reintroduction of CR Cutts was selected because of stunting problems with brook trout. NOT ONE of the lakes rotenoned had "big" brook trout in it. In fact, in EACH lake that is part of the renovation program, there are currently bigger fish than prior to treatment. The one lake that had potential to grow big brook trout (potential. The others in the program didn't even have the potential!) was removed from the list of lakes. It is currently putting out some HOGS!
Think I'm wrong? Start naming lakes where the fish were poisoned.
The fishing on the Boulder Mountain is better today than it has EVER been in the past!
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[cool][#0000ff]You are definitely in a better position to be aware of the real story of the Boulder Mtn Lakes. I have not fished them for over 25 years...and then not very thoroughly. Most of the info I have received has been "hearsay"...not admissable in court.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good to hear that there are still some trophy sized brookies up there. Might have to take you up on a guided expedition.[/#0000ff]
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A lot of this about which is a "better" fish has nothing to do with species, but more to do with the environment in which they were born and where they live. Take a Green River rainbow, for example. Worthless! No fight, poor appearance, mostly stocked at a few inches, etc. I'll take a cutthroat or brookie of equal size over those any day. But certain rivers produce tremendous rainbows, full of spunk and wild. Certain rivers produce brown trout that will run and jump circles around most rainbows. And just this summer, I've caught Yellowstone cutts in the 16-20 inch range that can hold their own with any bow or brown of equal size I've ever come across. Then again, I've caught the same species of cutts from other waters that were more like Green River rainbows.
And as for edibility, that too depends more on thei fish's diet than what species it is. Shrimp diet vs. insect. Shallow lake vs. deep lake. Colder water vs. warmer. etc. etc.
If you get around, you'll see it's more the water and environment than the species.
I'll take naturally reproducing trout over stockers any day though, and if the water will better support cutties than bows, then cutties it is. The problem is in trusting the DWR to make that call. (And I'm not opening that can of worms today!)
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A lot of this about which is a "better" fish has nothing to do with species, but more to do with the environment in which they were born and where they live. Take a Green River rainbow, for example. Worthless! No fight, poor appearance, mostly stocked at a few inches, etc. I'll take a cutthroat or brookie of equal size over those any day. But certain rivers produce tremendous rainbows, full of spunk and wild. Certain rivers produce brown trout that will run and jump circles around most rainbows. And just this summer, I've caught Yellowstone cutts in the 16-20 inch range that can hold their own with any bow or brown of equal size I've ever come across. Then again, I've caught the same species of cutts from other waters that were more like Green River rainbows.
And as for edibility, that too depends more on thei fish's diet than what species it is. Shrimp diet vs. insect. Shallow lake vs. deep lake. Colder water vs. warmer. etc. etc.
If you get around, you'll see it's more the water and environment than the species.
I'll take naturally reproducing trout over stockers any day though, and if the water will better support cutties than bows, then cutties it is. The problem is in trusting the DWR to make that call. (And I'm not opening that can of worms today!) [/reply]
Again my post is from my very.... yes very limited view. My issue is in efforts to conserve a "natural" body of water (lake or river) to it's original state by government entities is not always the best for the "sportsman". Greedy am I, yes I am. I would like to catch fish all day all from the trout pool of species. It seems with the effort to rid the bow the cutts are not quite picking up the slack.
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I understand the nature of your concern, and in fact know of some examples where preservation of a native species made waters less appealing to us as sport fishermen. I guess it goes with the territory.
My suggestion is to fish all the trout species you can in different waters, and you'll likely find that you'll come to enjoy them all, and end up with certain favorite places for each species as I have.
And you will find that in most of the western states, the Cutthroat does get priority when it comes to fish management. It's something we all just have to live with, whether it works on a given body of water or not. There's also politics involved, and as some have already mentioned, it protects "cutthroat" states from being controlled more and dictated to by Washington DC, environmentalist wackos, the Endangered Species Act, and other outside interests.
I think Wyobraz has an opinion on this too![laugh][
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I think Wyobraz has an opinion on this too![laugh][
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LMAO Jim![][/size][/#808000][/font]
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Not much I can add to this you guys have covered it pretty well. [/size][/#808000][/font]
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I absolutly love Cutts and enjoy fishing for them very much, mostly because of the great waters they are in here in Wyoming. But as I have stated in the past I always have not agreed with the G&F's management of ensuring cuttrout prestine waters. Myself as well as others will never agree with the killing of 45 miles of the best Brook Trout fishery in the state just to ensure cutthroat survival., in my opinion that is managing to extremes.[/size][/#808000][/font]
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I also don't like how the cutthroat has become the G&F's banner fish, when there are many other species that are just as worthy. Oh well as long as it keeps the wackos away I guess its all good. I would rather fish for cutts any day of the week rather than not being able to fish at all because of waters being shut down to ensure survival of cutts.[/size][/#808000][/font]
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I wish they'd limit the brookies except to the few places like some of the Boulder lakes they do well in. I've been to too many streams that have absolutely been ruined by stunted brookies. The hardest fighting fish I catch in are snake river cutts. An 18 -20 inch fish can easily run 100 yds downstream in early summer. I've never had any other trout the same size do that to me. Again it does depends so much on where you fish. Browns are great fish and bows are fine in my opinion. But I do wish they'd stop spending our money to ruin waters with those damn brookies.
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well i know alot of BFT guy's here know what i think of the yellowstone cutt's in E-lake.. i like to fish E-lake because it's so close to home.. it is still one of them lakes ya can have to your self on any given week day.. got ta like that!
but the yellowstone cutt's in there do not do very well in that lake and have never done very well from the very start of the lakes 30 or so years.. there have been gurmbling from the area fishermem for years.. i for one am and still aganist the yellowstons being in there because they just are not doing very good in the lake. for that lake i steel think rainbows would have been a much better choice from the start..
but i must say the utdwr has in the last 2 years have stoped managment so to say of the cutt's there and are starting to interduced tiger trout to see if some better and bigger fish might come out of E-lake.
so in this case the cutt's are gotting pushed out to make room for a posable better fish?
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Well, at least cutts are somewhat more desirable than a lake "restored" by eliminating walleyes, gigantic catfish, crappies, bluegills, bass, and white bass and replacing those with a ton of endangered suckers![
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[reply]I wish they'd limit the brookies except to the few places like some of the Boulder lakes they do well in. I've been to too many streams that have absolutely been ruined by stunted brookies. The hardest fighting fish I catch in are snake river cutts. An 18 -20 inch fish can easily run 100 yds downstream in early summer. I've never had any other trout the same size do that to me. Again it does depends so much on where you fish. Browns are great fish and bows are fine in my opinion. But I do wish they'd stop spending our money to ruin waters with those damn brookies.[/reply] Whoa easy does it! Brookies rule! They are very cost efective and the places that they stunt they are free. And they do well in more places than just the Boulders. I agree with you on streams though. But cutts in high ponds and lakes are weaklings. Tiger trout and sterile brooks are far better sport!
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I'll take naturally reproducing trout over stockers any day though[/reply]
Why? It appears as though you are saying this under the assumption that wild fish fight better than stocked fish...I would challene you on this assumption. My bet is that you cannot tell the difference between a wild fish and a stocked fish if the stocked fish was stocked as a fingerling (like on the Green).
Most of the wild naturally reproducing trout I catch don't fight worth a crap...they are big-headed and skinny and have totally stunted because they cannot be controlled. In my favorite fisheries, the fish are almost 100% stocked...and they fight better because of it!
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In regards to the Boulder, I have never caught the quality of fish on that mountain as I have this year, Cutthroats included. In lakes where brookies traditionally stunted, such as Round Willow Bottom, the small cutthroats have provided a great forage base for the tiger trout which are growing at an amazing pace. But let me say this, I have hooked into a couple twenty plus inch cutts up there that put up a better fight than most rainbows will. (and as far as table fare, nothing beats a 12-17 inch brookie from the high elevation lakes.)
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I think the taste of a Cutt' taken from the clear cold water of Bear Lake compared to one taken from the 'Berry is completely different. A Bear Lake Cutt' tastes fantastic compared to a 'Berry Cutt. I know for a fact that water chemistry and temperature make a BIG difference. As for fight, it's been my experience that in general a Rainbow has more fight then a Cutt, but that's not a rule, it's a generalization.
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"[size 1]My bet is that you cannot tell the difference between a wild fish and a stocked fish if the stocked fish was stocked as a fingerling (like on the Green)."[/size]
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[size 2]Green River rainbow trout? The most worthless trout on the planet![/size]
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[reply]"[size 1][size 2]Green River rainbow trout? The most worthless trout on the planet![/size]
Green River browns...the most worthless trout on the planet! A slowly increasing and stunting population!
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All I can say is I am happy when I catch any fish unless its a chub at the berry or a white fish on the logan river. Well, I don't like any trash fish. If any trout is on my line I am a happy man. As for the fight between brookies,macs,rainbows,cuts, browns, and tigers. Taking size vs strength into account, I am going with the little fighter Brookies. Seems to me that a 14" brookie gives more effort than any other 20" fish. Of course they don't fill as heavy but the fight is there.[
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