In my quest to catch native trout and salmonids, I have spent well over the past decade consulting the web, searching maps, reading books, talking to experts and other enthusiasts in search of places to find, catch and photograph these wonderful fish. In that time, I have put a lot of miles on my rig, seen some beautiful places and had a helluva time! Along the way, I have also completed the following:
• The California Heritage Trout Challenge (twice), certificates #66 and #144
• The Nevada Native Fish Slam, certificate #6
• The Wyoming Game and Fish Cuttslam (twice), numbers 593 and 2137
• The Utah Cutthroat Slam, certificate #29
• The New Mexico Trout Challenge, certificate #36
• The International Federation of Fly Fishers Cuttcatch Award
• The Western Native Trout Initiative Trout Challenge, Advanced Caster Award #42
So here are the photographic result of some of the trout that I have caught. There are still others out there in the world, so the quest continues. In the mean time, enjoy!
Oncorhynchus mykiss
O.m. iridius
Coastal Rainbow Trout
Caught in California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada & New Mexico
O.m. nelsoni
San Pedro Martir Trout
Caught in Baja Norte, Mexico
O.m. stonei
McCloud River Redband Trout
Caught in California
O.m. subspecies
Sheepheaven Redband Trout
Caught in California
O.m. newberrii
Upper Klamath Lake Basin Redband
Caught in Oregon
O.m. newberrii
Goose Lake Basin Redband
Caught in California
O.m. newberrii
Warner Lakes Basin Redband
Caught in California
O.m. newberii
Harney-Malheur Basin Redband
Caught in Oregon
O.m. newberii
Chewaucan Basin Redband
Caught in Oregon
O.m. newberii
Catlow Basin Redband
Caught in Oregon
O.m. newberii
Fort Rock Basin Redband
Caught in Oregon
O.m. gairdneri
Columbia River Basin Redband Trout
Caught in Oregon & Nevada
O.m. aquilarum
Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout
Caught in California
O.m. gilberti
Kern River Rainbow Trout
Caught in California
O.m. whitei
Little Kern River Golden Trout
Caught in California
O.m. aguabonita
California Golden Trout
Caught in California & Montana
Oncorhynchus gilae
O.g. apache
Apache Trout
Caught in Arizona
O.g. gilae
Gila Trout
Caught in New Mexico
Oncorhynchus clarki
O.c. bouvier
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Montana, Utah, Wyoming & Nevada
O.c. lewisi
Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Montana, Idaho & British Columbia
O.c. clarki
Coastal Cutthroat Trout
Caught in California
O.c. henshawi
Lahontan Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Nevada & California
O.c. seleniris
Paiute Cutthroat Trout
Caught in California
O.c. utah
Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Wyoming Utah & Nevada
O.c. utah
Bear River Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Utah
O.c. behnkei
Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Wyoming & Idaho
O.c. pleuriticus
Colorado River Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Utah, California & Wyoming
O.c. stomias
Greenback Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Colorado
O.c. virginalis
Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout
Caught in New Mexico
O.c. alvordensis
Alvord Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Oregon
O.c. humboldtensis
Whitehorse Basin Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Oregon
O.c. humboldtensis
Humboldt Cutthroat Trout
Caught in Nevada
More from the
Oncorhynchus line
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Chinook Salmon (juvenile)
Caught in Idaho & California
Oncorhynchus nerka
Kokanee Salmon
Caught in California
Genus Salmo
Salmo trutta
Brown Trout
Caught in Montana, California, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon & Colorado
Genus Salvelinus
Salvelinis fontinalis
Brook Trout
Caught in California, Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming & Idaho
Salvelinis namaycush
Lake Trout
Caught in California
Salvelinus confluentus
Bull Trout
Caught in Idaho, Nevada, Montana & Oregon
Salvelinus malma
Dolly Varden
Caught in Alaska
Other Salmonids
Oncorhynchus mykiss X Oncorhynchus clarki
Cuttbow Trout
Caught in Montana & California
Salvelinus fontinalis X Salmo trutta
Tiger Trout
Caught in Nevada
Thymallus arcticus
Arctic Grayling
Caught in Montana & Arizona
Prosopium williamsoni
Mountain Whitefish
Caught in Montana, California, Idaho & Nevada
and some random species
Perca flavescens
Yellow Perch
Caught in California
Lepomis macrochirus
Bluegill
Caught in California
Catostomus fumeiventris
Owens Sucker
Caught in California
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Golden Shiner
Caught in California
Ptychocheilus oregonensis
Northern Pikeminnow
Caught in Montana
Pleuronectes quadrituberculatus
Alaskan Plaice
Caught in Alaska
Leptocottus armatus
Pacific Staghorn Sculpin
Caught in Alaska
Fly Guy Dave's Blog 
March 27, 2021 at 10:35 PM |
Wow WOW wow! You’re really living the exciting life. I’ve never seen so many species caught by one sportsman! I’ve caught countless golden trout in the Sierras, mainly backpacking out of the Bishop area, and of course have chased down cutthroat trout in California, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. But I have never even SEEN a Paiute Cutthroat trout… always wanted to, but I know that the three little streams to which they are native in Alpine County are decidedly CLOSED, and the one or two streams over in the White Mountains where a reserve population was planted experimentally are either closed or impossibly hard to reach, I guess one would need to climb up into the mountain range from the Nevada side. I’ve been waiting a long time to get word that there is at least one place where I could see one. (I’ll have to get vicarious pleasure looking at the photos of this rarest of all trout species). David in Hemet, CA
March 28, 2021 at 1:05 PM |
Hi David- Thanks! These little buggers are a passion of mine, so I have expended a lot of effort to find and catch these fish. I was fortunate (and lucky) enough to catch a Paiute Cutthroat in their native stream in Alpine County before it was closed for rotenone treatment. The trout have been reintroduced to the now treated waters and I hope that they are opened up to C&R angling in the next few years. We’ll see. I have also caught Paiutes in the Whites a few times, but to access that stream requires that you pay a LOT of dues. The road in sucks (4WD only), the hike up is steep and rocky and the “trail” is almost impossible to find at times. But once there, there are Paiutes aplenty. That is the one legal stream to fish for Paiutes in the Whites. And you access it from the Nevada side. There are two other streams in the Sierra that have Paiutes, but they would require some backpacking to get to. They are outside of Red’s Meadow. Time for some research? 😉