I’ve been fishing this river near where I live for a while now, and there’s always been this rumor about westslope cutthroat being in there. But after asking dozens of anglers, nobody could confirm it—just vague stories like, “I think a friend’s dad’s brother caught one five years ago.” Nothing solid.
The other day was rough. I’d been out for hours with no bites, trying all kinds of stonefly nymphs that worked like magic last week. Then things went from bad to worse. I dropped my tippet/floatant holder in the water, jumped in to grab it, got soaked up to my neck, and still lost it.
In a last-ditch effort, I tied on a larger stimulator, even though I hadn’t seen a fish rise for dries in this spot in several weeks. First cast, I drift it over a deep nymphing hole. Within seconds, I see a flash in the water—a fish rising slowly from the depths. I set the hook, and it’s on! Right away, it felt different from the usual rainbows on my 4wt.
After a bit of a fight bringing him up from the bottom where he held strong and maneuvering around the rocks he was trying to wrap me up in, I finally get him to the net and realize I’ve caught the unicorn: a westslope cutthroat. Couldn’t believe it.
I’ve caught hundreds of rainbows here, mostly in the 10-12” range. But landing this sized cutty, especially on a tough day like that, was something else entirely. I'll never forget it.
Posted by higzbosom