After a successful first trip to strawberry over the weekend i decided to run the boat back out there last night. had a buddy come in from out of town , loaded up the boat and my dog then headed up that way . was a bit leary of the weather but it ended up being a beautiful night.
launched out of strawberry marina around 530pm - lot was almost completely empty of boat trailers - wind was kicking up a bit but nothing major.
setup the trolling spread and trolled towards hawes point out in 65fow or so-- once the proper depth was dialed in (35 on the downriggers) we starting popping the Rainbows pretty steadily. tried a variety of baits but the main producers were squids. also got a couple on leadcore w/ crankbaits.
Ended up with 2 double headers on the same exact spot. marked a waypoint after the first one , turned around and ran back through it and had another one! that was awesome. we boated around a dozen nice solid Rainbows and lost another 6 or so easily.
first fish my buddy has caught in over 5 years so we had a great time.
All fish are still swimming , i only keep fish for an occasional meal here and there during the season.
Got the boat loaded up right at dusk and was greeted by a monsoon for our drive home......awesome lightning show as well.
great night in Utah
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Nice 22" cutt.
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was kind of wondering about the species on a few of the fish - not much experience with trout in my days - do the cutts and bows crossbreed? whats the best way to determine one species from the other?
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Identifying the two species obviously comes easier with experience. Here is what it says on page 36 of the Fishing Guide.
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[#211d1e][size 2][#211d1e][size 2]"Any trout with cutthroat characteristics (not necessarily jaw slashing) is considered to be a cutthroat trout. Slash marks under the jaw should not be used to distinguish Bear Lake cutthroat trout from rainbow trout at Strawberry. Slashing is sometimes absent on Bear Lake cutthroats and sometimes visible on rainbows. Better characteristics are deep orange pelvic and anal fins on the cutthroats, and white-tipped pink to gray-green pelvic and anal fins on the rainbows. Rainbows also have the pinkish lateral stripe on the sides (see fish descriptions beginning on page 47 of this guide for more information)."
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I am glad you let them go. That picture is definitely a Cutthroat all the way.
I often wonder if they should be planting something else in there besides rainbows that are easier to identify and have no chance of cross breeding with the Cutts. Tigers, brookies, or any number of other options. If they are worried about them being plankton eaters they can just up the Kokanee at the same time. The Kokes there are drawing all kinds of fishing attention.
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Agree, it's a cut and it is nice catch, but one that has to be released.
Sounds like you got off the water at just right time for sure - we had a good storm last night.
Yes, rainbows and cuthroat do cross - they call them cut/bows. They can have rainbow coloring with the spots and fin coloring of a cuthroat - and this is pretty common at Strawberry. This is why the regs say if it has any cutthroat markings and its in the slot it has to be released. Still its hard to do when you know it will not survivie anyway, but it's also not woth risk of getting caught with it. Luckily, cuts tend to realase pretty successfully compared to rainbows.
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good info all - i'll focus on the fins should i be looking to take one or 2 home for dinner down the road. when in doubt put it back!
yeah that storm was pretty vicious - made for a long white knucklin' ride back to draper - construction on 189 didn't help either
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Look at it this way 95% of the fish I have got at 35 ft. going to Hawes point are Cuts. It was nice of you to put them all back.
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The majority of rainbows planted in Strawberry are sterilized and can not reproduce.The process is about 95% sure the fished planted are sterilized so a few are able to breed. I have fished there for years and I haven't caught or seen a Cut/Bow since before they treated the reservoir. I would be interested to see one.
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Had a pic of a cuttbow my girlfriend caught in strawberry on PB by the entrance to the narrows, but cant find it. It was around 18" and looked like a very tasty fat bow, no sign of being a cutt, til i went to put it on a stringer and notice the red slashes under the gills. I couldnt believe it and actually tried rubbing it off to see if it was just blood. Had to let it go.. I caught a nice one in the river below to dam but thats the only one ive seen in the lake.. That being said ive seen bows with orange/pink cutt marks in the spring during the "false spawn". Is that normal or is that considered a cuttbow?
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The best way to identify Cutts is by the orange colored fins and dark spots on their sides. The head is elongated more that Bows and their mouths bigger too. Bows don't have the orange fins and they lack the dark spots on their sides and their mouths are smaller. I have an 18 1/2 inch CuttBow hanging on my wall that was caught in 1978 by my mother. He has the smaller head with a nice read streak down it's side and lots of Cutty spots. It also has the signature red gill marks.
I can't say that Bows and Cutts don't cross breed but the chances are minimal.
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Found it...
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This one had red cut marks. Strawberry res.
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Should have, or could have kept it. Rainbow trout. Not Cutbow. Rainbow.
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Whether Cutt or Bow, Strawberry is a heck of a fishery. Like the slot or not, it certainly helps to make a place that even novices can catch large trout. A memory lasts a lot longer than a meal.
We camped at Aspen Grove a few weeks ago, my buddies son still talks about the "biggest fish he's ever caught!"
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