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Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
On The Boulder Mountain
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The Yellowstone cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri] has been stocked into the lakes and beaver ponds on southern Utah's Boulder Mountain and the Aquarius Plateau for many decades. The Utah Division Of Wildlife Resources began stocking these beautiful cutthroat here as early as 1945 by some accounts, perhaps even before that time. This early stocking was done the hard way, by wildlife officers on horseback leading pack animals. The cutthroat fingerlings were loaded into milk cans and hauled up the rugged trails to the backcountry lakes and beaver ponds. The state of Utah began using airplanes to stock trout in 1956. These cutthroat trout are known to exceed five pounds in weight by the end of their third season after being stocked as fingerlings. The fertile ecosystem of the sub-alpine lakes and beaver ponds on Boulder Mountain provides an abundance of food for growing trout. Overwintering has been a problem for these cutthroats in some shallow lakes here. But where they have been stocked in lakes with deeper holes and upsurging springs, they have faired well with many holdover fish. When these cutthroat reach maturity they will usually top three pounds or more.
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The Yellowstone cutthroats reach the peak of their spawning activities around the second week of June on Boulder Mountain. At this time the males are very bright with crimson splashed down the underside of their bodies. The slash under the lower jaw is as bright red as you will ever see on a cutthroat trout at this time. Yet, some anglers will insist that the Yellowstone cutthroat is drab in comparison to other cutthroat sub-species such as the Colorado River cutthroat, or the Bonneville cutthroat for example. The image at left is of a male Yellowstone in full spawning colors. You can see that this fish is very bright, for a Yellowstone. Aside from the spawning colors displayed by the Yellowstone cutthroat, there is much diversity in the spot patterns on these trout. Certainly no two are alike. But the difference in spotting from one to the other is dramatic. Most will have heavy black spots concentrated posteriorly, near the tail, with fewer spots anteriorly or near the head. Occasionally you will observe one to have spotting over the entire body as well as on the head. A very small percentile will show few if any spots at all.
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The Colorado River cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticus] has been making a comeback over much of it's historical range thanks to the UDWR and private conservation groups. Much work has been done and many goals have been met in restoring this beautiful native trout. However, much damage has occurred in some areas of the Boulder Mountain in the name of restoration along the way. In their efforts to treat some small lakes and beaver ponds to rid them of existing trout prior to the planned reintroduction of native Colorado River cutthroats UDWR used explosives to reduce the volume of the lakes and ponds. This practice has led to the destruction of previously stable fisheries. The fact that these fisheries were in good shape prior to the work done by UDWR is supported only by those anglers who used and revered them. Most of these ponds were never rebuilt due to the rebuilders [beaver] having been extirpated as well. The plans to reintroduce the native cutthroat trout were abandoned. The once revered ponds remain fishless to this day. The trout that were removed were Yellowstone cutthroat. Nothing gained for Colorado River cutthroat and ground lost for the Yellowstone. This is not an isolated case. This has happened in many locations on Boulder Mountain.
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The Yellowstone cutthroat trout has not been overly successful as a self-sustaining fish on the Boulder. They will go through all of the usual motions. However hard they try, they just don't reproduce well in most of the sub-alpine lakes and ponds. But there are a few locations on and around this mountain that are the exception. Where there is a stream with suitable sand and gravel combined with a low gradient entering a lake they will be successful, most of the time. But even then, they will rarely overpopulate their environ here. This and the fact that they holdover quite well, and show substantial growth rate make them a perfect candidate for continued stocking in the lakes and beaver ponds on Boulder Mountain. Yet, the UDWR is continuing to "phase out" the Yellowstone cutthroat from the stocking program in this area. This does not make sense. Even if there are just a few lakes and beaver ponds that have suitable conditions, that will allow the Yellowstone cutthroat to reproduce naturally, those places should be preserved and utilized in favor of these trout.
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Yellowstone cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus claki bouvieri] and rainbow trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss] are known to hybridize where they co-exist. There are a few areas on the Boulder Mountain where conditions were right for this to occur. The results of this mix are called cuttbows. These hybrids will usually resemble the rainbow with a hint of an orange or even red slash under the lower jaw. Hybridizing with rainbows has been a difficult problem in the south fork of the Snake River and throughout the historic range of the Yellowstone cutthroat. This native cutthroat is now considered as a species in decline in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The Yellowstone cutthroat is also listed as a species of concern for Utah by the UDWR.
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The only problem UDWR has with treating a small lake like those on the Boulder Mountain is doing so without first blowing the lake into a useless mudhole with dynamite! Many beautiful lakes and beaver ponds on the Boulder have been rendered into mud by explosives. In virtually every EIS there is this statement: "This alternative is anticipated to have the least overall environmental impact with the highest potential for success". For those lakes that remain undisturbed and hold pure Yellowstone cutthroat, all that needs to be done is nothing at all. The "take no action" alternative would be just fine.
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The lakes and ponds still holding Yellowstone Cutthroat on Boulder Mountain are getting harder to find. If you are lucky enough to find one on your own, or hire a guide to lead you to one, then you are very fortunate indeed! Any experienced flycaster will usually have good success at hooking these trout as they cruise the shallows. Other trout like brown or rainbow will tend to be rather spooky and shy away from a loud cast. These trout will often forgive a poor cast, up to a point. Most of the difficulty in hooking these big cutts lies in choosing the correct fly pattern. For the astute flyfisher it is just a matter of time and discovery. Careful observation will always reveal the insect the trout are currently feeding upon. Once you have discovered which insect it is, then it's match the hatch time. Mayflies are not the only thing these cutthroat are taking from the surface film. A closer examination reveals damselfly nymphs swimming for cover in the grass along the edges. If they make it to this cover they will emerge as adults and take wing in short order. This would be a great time for a damselfy nymph fished just under the surface in front of any cruising trout that you observe. Dragonfly nymphs are an important food source for these trout also.
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