Native Cutthroat Trout
Oncorhynchus clarki
The cutthroat trout is the only trout native to Wyoming. Six
subspecies originally occurred in Wyoming, though the greenback cutthroat
of the of the Platte River Drainage is now extinct in the state.
The subspecies still found in Wyoming include the Colorado River cutthroat,
the Yellowstone cutthroat, (found throughout the Big Horn Mountains and
especially the Paintrock Drainage), The Bonneville cutthroat, the West
Slope cutthroat, and the Snake River Cutthroat.
Cutthroats are spring spawners. Principal food of the cutthroat
is plankton and aquatic insects in lakes, and aquatic insects in streams.
Cutthroats over twelve inches, often feed on small fish and crayfish.
Most conventional and especially fly fishing, techniques work fine for
cutthroat. Cutthroat can be distinguished from other trout by the
orange or red "cutthroat" under the lower jaw. They are also
distinguished from the rainbow trout by the presence of very small basibranchial
teeth (towards the back of the tongue) and black spotting or purplish color
of the pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins which usually have white tips in
the rainbow trout.
|
|
