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My buddy and I went to Silver Lake expecting a good day of catch and release. What we got was the hardest challenge we've had so far. Very hot, not a cloud in the sky, no wind, gin clear water with 13' visibility, and the worst distraction of all, the human male's kryptonite. Multiple sightings of the female anatomy in its purest forms, and these women on shore were clearly trying to distract all the focused angers that came by. But the highlight of the day was the first fish. The first fish came in the afternoon and was a 14" Hybrid Cut- Bow Trout! That's right Gentlemen, a "Cut- Bow" Trout! This trout showed characteristics of a rainbow but with the red-orange color slash below the trout's jaw on both sides. This was a first for me. Stupid though, I didn't think to get detailed photos of all sides on this fish. I just thought it was a rainbow and then noticed the throat slashes and though, "no, it's a Cutthroat". After researching at home, I discovered what I really had. For info on Hybrid Cut- Bow Trout reference http://www.coloradotrouthunters.com/troutidentification.html. The day continued on and we caught largemouth Bass till nightfall. The Bass were all between 6"- 12" but, when you catch close to 30 of them it's still fun. We sighted several 3lb and 5lb Bass but, never hooked up on them. It is clear that this lake comes alive in the early morning and evening for Bass but, Trout can be cought all day. All in all, a very challenging day but, determination paid off in the end.

See you on the water!

cogitator

8/19/2010 10:06:00 AM

Cutthroat have been planted in this lake and this looks like a classic cutthroat.
I have caught cutthroat in this lake and have never had a doubt about what they were.
What are the characteristics that make you think it's a hybrid?

baconlover

8/19/2010 10:17:00 AM

i think you are confusing coastal strain cuthroats with a cut-bow, that is definantly a coastal cuthroat trout though they do look similar to rainbows.

Flashoverman

8/19/2010 10:59:00 AM

Well now I feel I may have jumped the gun on what I thought it was. Cogitator may be right, I've seen him on other forums and respect his comments. It's clear to me that he has plenty of experience and knows what he's talking about. Here is what led to believe it was a Cut-Bow. I called WDFW and they told me that they haven't done any research but, believe that there are Cut-Bows in that lake and the description they gave me seemed to match what I had caught. Heavily covered in spots from the tail to the nose, (true Cutthroat have very few spots from the dorsal to the nose) rosy colored Operculum, bright silver with a light pink band on the sides, and reddish slash marks on the Hyoid region and Branchiostegal rays. Again I'm sorry I didn't get more detailed pictures. Here is another link that has more info.
http://www.fly-fishing-discounters.com/cutbow-trout.html
http://www.fly-fishing-discounters.com/images/cutbow-trout.jpg

Flashoverman

8/19/2010 11:09:00 AM

Sorry, here are those links in parentheses. ( http://www.fly-fishing-discounters.com/cutbow-trout.html )
( http://www.fly-fishing-discounters.com/images/cutbow-trout.jpg )

cogitator

8/19/2010 4:13:00 PM

Flash, thanks for the accolades but, the possibility of cross breeding of the two species in the lake exists.
I don’t know what characteristic are taken from the cutthroat and what are taken from the rainbow.
What I do know is this. Cutthroat have the red slash of course, no red stripe on the lateral line, no white edges on the fins and their mouths seem to be bigger as opposed to an equal sized rainbow with teeth that run further back than rainbow.
The fact that the WDFW thinks there may be cut/bows in this lake lends credibility, but to be sure go catch another one.
Good luck.

BassnBob

8/20/2010 8:59:00 AM

I was going to head over to silver today but my sister in law just came from there and told me that there is some kind of algae bloom going on, so you cant eat anything. I was wondering if anyone knows about it?

CRW

8/20/2010 3:32:00 PM

OK so you say that you went for some CnR fishing, well it looks like to are holding the fish by the gills. That is not a good way to handle fish you plan releasing.

Flashoverman

8/20/2010 3:41:00 PM

I could for sure use some help in catch and release techniques for delicate fish. I almost never fish for anything other than Bass but, sometimes other things bite. I appreciate any tips on handling trout. Thanks guys!

cogitator

9/1/2010 10:51:00 PM

Flash - Here are two beautiful pictures of a rainbow and a cutthroat.. See the difference?
/Users/stevevol/Desktop/smallcreekSRC.jpg
/Users/stevevol/Desktop/whatcomcreekrainbowonmuddler.jpg

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