Native: A Wyoming Cutt Slam Experience

 Have you caught the native cutthroat of Wyoming?

Reading format changes based on desktop vs smartphone

In the final days of 2023, I laid in bed thinking about my goals for the new year ahead. It was then that I would make the bold announcement to accomplish at least 50% of the Wyoming Cutt Slam with a target time of Summer. As a multi-completer of the Utah Cutthroat Slam, I have grown fond of my adventures to precious headwater streams which seem to have some of the most premium cutthroat fishing in the world. That isn't entirely a compliment as Cutthroat should be found and distributed in larger waters in their native range. History has unfolded a sad truth that humans have caused immense damage to native trout. Between the intense water use the Rocky Mountains and West demand along with early wildlife management programs introducing non-native game fish; native cutthroat occupy in some cases less than half of their native range and some sub-species have been near extinct in recent decades. 

The Wyoming Cutt Slam was a program adopted by  Ron Remmick who was recognized and appreciated by Trout Unlimited and is credited to be a pioneer for todays resources standards and native fish awareness. He essentially created the slam program which evolved into catching the native cutthroat of Wyoming, and releasing them. Completing the program will grant a medallion as a commemorative reward and certificate of achievement to frame. However, the real reward is travelling to the pinnacles of trout fishing and experiencing fishing that many will never get to see in their lives. The research going into these trips yields knowledge of what goes into these fish, their habits, their restoration projects, and so much more. The Wyoming Cutt Slam is a free program. The only cost is your travel, state license, and a few flies...

Editors Note: You can find a playlist on my YouTube channel regarding these adventures as well as a compilation video from all four notable catches from the journey.  I am happy to answer any questions via comments here or my YouTube video.

The worst part was waiting...

Making the plans on the eve of a new year meant I had plenty of time to plan and prepare. The problem was dealing with too much time. I'll admit that half of the fun is the research and studies that go into trip planning for species of fish I have never caught, but after I satisfied my need to feel ready, I was met with constant anxiety of "what if's" and constant intrusive thoughts of anything that could get in the way. I had been to Wyoming a few times and had a basic understanding of roads but I had never been to the Tetons or southern Yellowstone, and those areas felt intimidating. I settled on the idea of completing 50% of the slam to give my self some slack and to ensure I actually had the budget for travel expenses. 

Blacks Fork Drainage

On the second week of July in my home state of Utah, Cutthroat spawning tends to conclude and native streams with protected cutthroat are open for the remainder of the year. I assumed this applied to Wyoming and made this decision based on my lack of accessibility for early Spring. After half a year of studying and waiting for what felt like the longest winter ever, I still felt wary that water levels would be high and murky making fishing tough. I didn't want to commit to a four hour drive only to be turned around when arriving so I settled on the Bear River Cutthroat or Colorado River Cutthroat to be my initial targets. This is because the drive from my home to Evanston Wyoming is less than two hours and the native ranges via the Wyoming Cutt Slam map of drainages circled around this area.

Native Cutthroat map of Wyoming

Still seeking inspiration for my choice and location, I reached out to an uprising friend of mine named Kyle Turner. Kyle and I grew friendship as an avid tenkara supporter through my YouTube channel and he started his own channel with a similar content features. He is a resident of Evanston Wyoming and has also completed the Utah Cutthroat Slam. Discussing my interest in travelling through his neighborhood, I had learned that Kyle was already 50% done with his slam and the Colorado River Cutthroat was his next target. It felt like things were coming together and we ultimately decided to tackle this portion of the slam together. After careful consideration we put our pins on the Blacks Fork drainage for a likely spot. 

The plans changed a few times in the course of days as Kyle was expecting a new born and her arrival timed perfectly with our plans. I felt a sigh of relief as the weekend was expecting high winds and I felt wary still from runoff conditions. I was happy that I was skipping that weekend but somehow Kyle's wife did the coolest wife thing ever and encouraged him to go on this adventure despite the baby arriving. He reached out to me pretty much the night before the original plan and reluctantly talked me into travelling up to Wyoming despite my conditional concerns. No matter, my stubbornness and high hopes kicked in and I made the drive starting on a dark morning from my house around 4AM. 

Wyoming wind power mills 

The drive was peaceful and mostly uneventful as the southwestern corner of Wyoming is mostly sage brush desert with cities of wind power mills. I text Kyle before our turnoff to learn he was only a few miles behind me. The crazy thing about the Blacks Fork drainage is it felt like an inverted opposition to standard trout wilderness; meaning that you usually elevate up into the mountains and the tree lines get more dense as you elevate. The opposite was true for Blacks Fork. The desert conditions plateaued, and the road started to drive into a canyon where the forest line started on a whim and grew to a lush green ecosystem below the desert. I pulled off to our pinned location and breathed a sigh of relief that no other vehicle was there. Kyle arrived within two minutes after me. We quickly caught up on life as we waded up into our gear and with the mission at hand, we beelined for the water which was roaring behind the tree line.  

Kyle and I observing the drainage from above

It was just as bad as I expected. The water was high, discolored and moving FAST! I approached the bank with my yet-to-be released Rocky MTN Tenkara Chupacabra rod which proved to be the ideal rod for this day. It was a 12' double zoom rod with a strong back bone. It didn't take long before I was putting heavy beaded nymphs on my 4x tippet to make sure they were getting down deep. The first hour of our arrival was spent wading up fast rapids looking for any break of water. My fly was getting stuck on countless rocks and I was growing nervous that we picked the wrong day for this challenge. Eventually we hit a split in the river. Kyle tells me "why don't you go left and I will go right". I nodded my head and we worked our way up potentially 50 yards before meeting up at the top where the confluence started to separate the two paths. "See anything?" Kyle asks me. "No but I wonder if they are still migrated from the spawn?" I reply. Kyle remarks that the exact spot I am standing in looks arguably the best we have seen and encourages me to cast there. 

The top of the confluence had just enough water pooled before it split thanks to a downed tree and a shallow middle section with rocks just visible. Casting to the left or the right would be the choice giving me two decent chances to find fish. Armed with a tungsten fly, I make a cast and immediately snag what could have been a rock. However the fly was so quick to release, I wondered if it struck a fish. So I quickly cast into the exact same spot. SET! I made no mistake and immediately knew I was on a fish just as quick as the fish knew I had it hooked. I see the bright silhouette move into the rapids on the right. I am hyper aware my fly is barbless and I am going through some deep internal dialogue chasing my trout which is now downstream on me. If it pops off, I am likely going swimming for it. 

The exact run I caught my CRCT

No matter, the chance never came to be and it felt like I defied all laws of physics to get that trout into the net. I could hear Kyle cheering me on for the entire fight but I was so fixated on what was happening I never gave him the full attention. As I pull the net out of the water and make my way to Kyle, I suddenly remembered that this river shared multi-species. It was entirely possible to catch a brook trout or a rainbow trout. Anxiously, I looked down at a very wild patterned trout and immediately see some basic signs of rainbow. After a few more seconds I did the cutbow test: inspecting the anal fin of the trout for a white tip and of course, the vibrant orange or red slashes under the chin and sure enough, I had myself a Colorado River Cutthroat. 

Holding my catch in my hand, I handed my camera to Kyle to take a quick picture and I am asked "How is your adrenaline?" to which I replied "it's going". The entire two minute drill felt like hours in that moment. The drive, the research, the grind, was all coming together. I quickly contained my excitement as Kyle still needed to land his catch for the day but I was screaming like a little boy on Christmas morning on the inside. Hopeful that we had kickstarted our luck for the remainder of the day, I was potentially expecting Kyle to quickly land one and then we would leap frog multiple catches for the day. However, the grind proved to still be working in full force as we worked our way upstream for another thirty or so minutes before finding a fishy run as good as mine. 

My Cutt Slam CRCT

Blacks Fork CRCT

Kyle armed with his 3wt glass rod was going bold as he was still learning western fly style fishing but the glass was a bit for the fast current. He still casted flawlessly into the next run which was again, pooled up by a fallen tree creating some great trout habitat. Upon a few casts, a small trout swings out from under a branch and Kyle strip sets like he has been doing it for years. Sticking his fly rod straight up in the air, he was dead set on landing his trout which was still undetermined to be a cutthroat. After wrestling the current for a few seconds, he finally lands the fish and identifies it. 

The relief that engulfed me when learning he had caught a Colorado River Cutthroat was so overwhelming, it was almost nausea inducing. Kyle and I had caught our targets and the pressure was off for the rest of the day. We still fished the drainage for another hour and both caught and landed multiple brook trout and a rainbow concluding the concept that one cutthroat each was all we needed and we were very humble about that. The rest of the trip was spent up in Utah fishing the headwaters of the same system where we smacked into plenty of small brook trout.

Kyle landing his CRCT

The lesson was learned through the trial

I drove home back to Utah just before dusk on a literal cloud nine. I was singing to every song that came on the radio and everything on the uneventful drive home seemed extra colorful and appreciated. As I reflected on this epic day, I  learned that any future visit would need to be in August. I think the fish density in this system is good but it got me worried about the longevity of these native cutthroat. The largest threat to native trout are non-native trout. Particularly rainbow trout in my humble opinion. Knowing that they are mixed in the system, it shows that these fish may be diluting native DNA and I wonder how often someone catches a cutbow in the Blacks Fork drainage. Brook trout also eat everything and are enthusiastically opportunistic fish which challenges the eco-system. This may stunt trout growth and this was especially proven while we fished up in Utah where the ratio of brook trout to native CRCT was near 10:1. The shaded native range for Wyoming CRCT may be large but make no mistake that this trout may have the largest impacted native range as this area of Wyoming is very dense in desert, irrigation needs, private land, and drought induced. It still seizes to amaze me that we landed two CRCT first, then followed by all other species. We were very fortunate. 

Thank you Kyle for persuading me to tackle one of my grandest experiences of 2024.

A Blacks Fork system brook trout

Two Birds With One Stone

It was only after catching my CRCT that I determined I was going to complete the Wyoming Cutt Slam entirely in the same year. I spent a good week reminiscing on that one moment with Kyle and then put my focus forward to figure out how I could maximize my next opportunity. I somehow missed the memo that if you play your cards right, there is a particular area in Wyoming where you can catch 3/4 of the slam requirements just miles apart. I turned my eyes in this direction on the map and felt that the Snake River and Bear River Cutts were entirely possible in the same weekend and this time I would make it a camping experience. I drafted the help from Kyle who I knew was 75% done with the slam and picked his brain. He happily offered to join me again on this adventure. 

A map detailing the boundaries of native Cutthroat (blue and red)

Timing was key on this particular adventure. I carefully scouted the map of the Bridger-Teton national forest and found a likely spot for the Bear River Cutt. The plan would be drive up on a Saturday afternoon and quickly land one of these fish and one fish only. This would secure my 50% benchmark and I would quickly drive to the target area of the Snake River Cutthroat and set up a camp for the night. The next day would be spent fishing for the  SRCT. 

Editors Note: For clarification, the BRCT is a sub-species to the Bonneville Cutthroat. They are not technically different species though that has been a topic of debate for some time. For the purpose of the Slams though, they tend to separate them because they are managed differently. The SRCT is similar as it is a sub species to the Yellowstone Cutt under the same fashion. The SRCT is also known as the fine spotted cutthroat as it's name suggests, but has the same genetic ancestry to the Yellowstone Cutt. 

I set off to Wyoming on a hot Saturday in July. My departure time was later than I had hoped and it didn't help that the main junction of Echo to Evanston was closed on I80 so my maps took me on a grand detour around the Logan mountain range. It was certainly the scenic route and only added 25 minutes to my travel time so I wasn't upset. My first impression when reaching the western boarder of the Cowboy state was how baren it looked. Wyoming can be as ugly as it is beautiful at times. I trusted my gut that trout country was coming and pushed my way to the fine line of the Bridger-Teton range. At last, I was in mission mode and found a nice pull out right along a creek of the Salt River drainage.

My tenkara rod for the BRCT

Immediately I am sick to my stomach as I see fences bordering the creek. "There has to be an access point somewhere" I think to myself. After walking the fence line for a good few yards, I see the sign with a fish and a gate to open and I take a sigh of relief only to have my adrenaline start pumping in full force as I approach the creek. The time was approximately 6:30pm and I still have not seen the area ahead to find for camping and I really didn't want to set up in the dark; especially since I was solo camping in black bear country! The creek looked pretty good for desert surroundings with some nice busy bank side structure. I notice this is premium bug habitat and develop a high expectation for some BRCT. After a few steps in the water, I see a few scatter and I realize it's more about stealth in this area than anything else. 

I was on my hands and knees and near army crawl to the first fishy spot. A pool you just know has a trout in it. I am armed with a Seiyu Therapy tenkara rod and cast my trusty parachute BWO into the pool. Without hesitation, I see a trout engulf the fly and drop it in mid-air in the same sequence. I was devastated. "What if that was my only chance? I can only catch one and I need to go!". My internal dialogue is getting toxic and I am succumbing to the pressure that time is against me. Fortunately I am equally stubborn so I did my best to shut my mind off and kept army crawling on the bank and cast 10-15 times and finally the most admirable 4-5" cutthroat smacks my fly! I take in this moment thanking the trout verbally for helping me reach my 50% mark. However, I immediately grew the desire to catch more and laughed out loud as I kept working my way up; this time a little more carelessly since I had my one catch. I believe I landed an additional four cutthroat all of the same size before making my way to the car feeling satisfied about the results. 

My first Wyoming BRCT

The general area I wanted to camp at was not far from my current location. My dilemma was my vehicle of choice was not equipped for serious off road so I needed an easy access point. As if the fish gods heard my needs, I found a perfect solitary spot, perfect for one tent tucked away. I was able to park my car on the gravel road without really taking up much space. It's now almost 8:00 PM and I set up my one man tent in just a few minutes. As the sun is setting, I am cooking a freeze dried meal with my FireMaple stove pot. I didn't have anything for a fire but with it being summer, I wasn't really worried about it being chilly. In fact, I found it preferable to sleep as soon as possible to gain access to the next day as soon as possible. This was the moment on my trip that really resonated with me the most. It wasn't the cutthroat landed earlier, or the idea that I would be 75% complete tomorrow; but this moment of bliss that overwhelmed me as the sun was completely set and a large full moon was rising over the tree line. If you took the sound of the slight breeze away, it would have been pure silence. No bugs, no birds, no cars, no animals. Just the sound of the trees moving as I finish my meal. I don't thank God enough for the moments he gives me but I took a brief moment to look up and verbally said "thank you for this". And promptly went to sleep. 

Onto the next fish!

The next morning I was delighted to meet up with Kyle Turner again who drove up from Evanston and met me at a pin just down the road from my camp. I was all packed up, rigged and ready to go as he approached me. I left my car and we drove down to the creek with his suburban, which was much more equipped for the ruts and conditions leading up. The river is perfect. It looks almost better than I imagined and substantially more fishable than Blacks Fork. Kyle and I are small talking more than usual this day and we are both feeling very optimistic of the day ahead. As we approach the river bank, I found a great little deep pocket and drop one of my favorite flies called Brents Warbird into this pocket from literally right above as if I were ice fishing. At the moment this bead head went sub surface, I had a trout strike so fast, I couldn't set the hook properly. Again, overwhelmed with near nausa; of course this would happen to me first thing! I look over to the right as this happened and Kyle is landing the first fish. The pressure is on.

My first Snake River Cutthroat lived true to it's name and was a small 7" fish. A few yards downstream from my hook and loss, was the same shrub system that bordered the bank held the fish I predicted. Sometimes you just know when you are going to catch a fish. I coaxed the SRCT from the shrub and landed it as my zealous nature kicked in and I shouted out to Kyle ahead of me that I was 75% done. The morning was only an hour old and with the pressure of the skunk off for both species, it was time to get picky with size and see if I can up the quality. The river we chose was only home to SRCT and was known to have a high density. Kyle found early luck and landed quite a few after my first but then we went through a drought where every cast and fishy spot yielded nothing. We decided to work up stream rather than down hoping that we would find the fish. About 35 minutes later and one very large beaver dam, we worked a few yards up from there and like the flip of a switch, the fishing literally lit on fire. 

Pheasant Tail Kebari

We found one particular pool that landed a fish near every cast. It was the most ridiculous thing ever and maybe 15 fish alone came from this spot. Near the end of our time at this spot, I caught a cutthroat at the same moment two others tried to take my fly. Instead of the two that missed it spooking away, they continued to follow and attack my fish almost all the way to my net. They didn't care I was there and they were intensely fixated on the bug and territorial behavior. Eventually I netted my fish after being dumbstruck with Kyle who was hilariously commentating the entire moment with more enthusiasm each word. I was in near tears from laughing so hard. The fishing remained exceptionally well after this to the point where we started using unconventional flies or fly sizes to see if we could still score fish and sure enough, it didn't matter. The DRAGONtail Kebari's were probably our go to and I developed an obsession for the pheasant tail sakasa from that day.

Kyle and I fishing for SRCT

They say time flies by when you are having fun but for some reason, time seized to exist on that day. There were multiple times you could have told me it was 3:00 in the afternoon and I would have believed you but it wasn't even noon yet. We estimated near 40 fish by this point. I hinted to Kyle that it would be fun to try to taper back to the Bear River Cutt spot I went to the night before but higher up the system. The goal going into this change of plans would be to score a 10" trout considering up to that point I had caught 50% of my slam fish at that benchmark. So we set off and waved goodbye to an incredible creek I feel the need to fish again sooner than later (hint hint Kyle).

The Bear River cutthroat creek was much prettier upstream as you would expect most trout streams. Rather than dense desert, it was a lush green valley just off the highway but with a nice pine tree line against the drape of the mountain side. It was a nice nook. Still armed with the same tenkara rod I had used all day, I still had my pheasant tail kebari tied on and approached a small pool with an overhanging shrub. I have learned that if I can get my fly just under vegetation, it's pretty rare to come out empty handed. The trick is not overshooting it and snagging the bush itself. After six or so casts, I saw a flash of a trout body come out and I knew there was something there. It took about two casts for me to get my fly in the right spot and immediately set the hook on a gorgeous cutthroat. I tug of war it to my net and was stunned that the very first fish had already beat my 10" mark on the dot!

A Wyoming BRCT

Kyle and I leapfrogged from here and we had a heyday. He would catch one, and I would take point and catch one, rinse and repeat. The water was notably lower in this creek compared to the SRCT and it was impressive to see 10" fish consistently hanging around as that felt kind of large for the waters we were fishing. We probably fished a good mile of meandering bends before making our way back up to the car and called it a day. I was able to catch a good choice of cutthroat to choose my turn in picture from and we discussed how epic of a day we had as we un-waded by our cars. I gave Kyle a big hug and thanked him for his companionship and help. He didn't need any of the fish we caught between both and could have chose that weekend to dip into Yellowstone to complete the slam but he wanted a redemption run for the Snake River Cutts and I think he got what he was looking for. I say my goodbyes and head for my home in Utah. On the drive home I am heavily reflecting on my 75% completion. The drive home felt like four hours but was probably closer to three. I couldn't wait to get back to my computer so I could start my plans for the Yellowstone Cutt and finish my grand adventure with a bang. 

The Saga Ends In Grizzly Country

It would make sense that a Yellowstone Cutthroat would be sought in the most famous National Park in the country but the plan wasn't developing well for that. A detail not told in this story was I intended on fishing the Grays River for my SRCT from the moment I looked at the Wyoming map in January. My uncle had never heard of it and generally tries to visit Yellowstone at least once and thought it would be fun to switch it up and target a foreign territory. This got complicated when I awkwardly rewarded myself with the qualified SRCT with Kyle weeks earlier and I didn't want to force myself into Wyoming two more times. I needed a strategy to persuade my uncle that we need to find a specific qualified location that would allow us to remain on course for the original plan; yet gain me a YCT. For reasons I still don't know till this day, my uncle seemed disinterested in Yellowstone. The neighboring territory just south and well into the Teton territory are all managed as SRCT as well.

A map of Teton & Yellowstone cutthroat territories

It doesn't make sense how it all panned out but the idea of the Wind River drainage came up and we ultimately settled on that location and the deep dive research began. This was the first time in my Cutt Slam journey that I made phone calls to a fly shop and wildlife biologists. Both were immensely helpful. In the tiny town of Dubois there is a fly shop called Cutthroat; that seemed fitting! Both the fly shop and the biologist had informed me that Wyoming had been impacted by the drought and water levels were getting lower but assured me that the fish were still capable of being caught and optimistically encouraged hoppers were in full swing. However both fly shops had been prudent to the reality that grizzly bears were not uncommon in our target area. Bear mace was a must! 

September conditions

On the first day of September, we woke up at 3AM to embark on a journey back into the cowboy state. As the sun rose and the familiar silhouette of power windmills emerged, my familiar friend of anxiety came to join me. I do not fear my inability to catch fish but I do constantly fear driving beyond a three hour mark to find unfishable conditions. I found it kind of funny that only a month earlier I was fearing runoff conditions only to fear low flows and dry river beds. As stated before, Wyoming is as baren as it is beautiful and the drive was uneventful all the way to Atlantic City and Lander areas. This is the Southern gateway to the amazing Wind River country. 

For this trip we had booked a room in Dubois for one night with the primary mission to catch a Yellowstone Cutthroat. After the overnighter, we would then hit the Teton and Grays River area of Western Wyoming like we originally planned. This was the basic root of my anxiety as I had one day and some change to really make this catch count and although I had mapped a few adjacent creeks for backup, I heavily banked on the Wind River for my Yellowstone. We approached our turnoff and a wild desert with lush green surrounding the river caught my attention. The road kept elevating going up, and up, and up, while the river continued to drop. I remembered how this was similar to Blacks Fork in nature and found it so wild compared to our north Utah rivers. 

Lower water flows of the Wind

We passed the infamous ranch of the Wind River and that was when true trout country came knocking at the door. We took the dirt road as far as we could and ended at a nice open pasture that gave birth to the freestone creek. I can see a few trucks parked along the bank but all of them have horse trailers. The ranch below does a bit of tourist work with horses and I assumed that at least one group might be anglers. However this was never the case as I approached the creek. 

I am armed with a DRAGONtail Ragnarok. The 13' fixed line rod was ideal for this creek. No overhanging trees but a healthy number of overhanging shrubs. The water is notably low and parts of the creek are dry giving you an idea of what a good water year or month would look like. Gearing up was very quick for me. Tenkara has this ability of getting you on the water in two minutes or less when my uncle needed to still wade up, and rig his western rod. 

My first YCT of the trip

Approaching the bank, I turn on my Go Pro and read the first run. The low water tapered under a shrub system hanging over the bank. If there was going to be a trout in this run, it would be right under the security of the bush. I remember saying out loud "This is my kind of waters". I cast once. Nothing. I cast again. Nothing. I cast a third time. Poor cast. I take a moment to think of the best angle I can get and make my fourth cast. SET! "FISH ON!" I say as my uncle is just making his way to the river bank for the first time. I lift my tenkara rod tip high and fixate my entire focus on creating the tightest tension I can knowing that my Kebari is barbless. For a brief moment, I had a moment of doubt of what other species may be sharing this tributary with cutthroat. "Please be a cutthroat, please be a cutthroat, I think it's a cutthroat!", I look down at the first fish of the day in my net, grow the largest grin I may have ever possibly muscled into my face, and stretch my free arm up into the air only to proclaim "SLAMS COMPLETE!" 

A Cinderella moment for me on the Wind River

The Wyoming Cutt Slam was completed

My uncles big catch

We had only been on the Wind River for a few minutes and four casts before I landed my first cutthroat. I couldn't have asked for a better Cinderella moment. All of that time waiting since January, the hours driving, grinding for a fish, lost flies, gas burned, research spent, was all just over like it was nothing. We spent a few hours grinding up into grizzly bear country attempting to be hyper aware of our surroundings. We never saw another angler, we never saw another horse, we had the entire place to ourselves. With low water flows, we had to be strategic on the majority of casts as every fish was hugging the bank pretty hard but it seemed like every shrub had a deeper pocket and the low flows always favored those sides. We didn't have a numbers day but perhaps it didn't matter. We attempted to min/max our remaining time and chose to leave a little early to fish the mainstem of the Wind River. Unfortunately I didn't catch anything but my Uncle scored a sweet 17" Yellowstone Cutt that was spectacular in color. He caught less than me at the higher elevation so this was a pretty redeeming quality fish. We spent our remaining weekend in the Teton range and I made that drive home with eagerness to turn in my catches. 

My challenge coin came in a few weeks later and an extra large certificate is something you can expect from the Wyoming Cutt Slam. The Utah Cutthroat Slam certificate is about the size of the standard printer paper, but the WCS is about 2.5 times larger. The coin was even better in person with a nice crisp blue surrounding it's gold metallic accents. I read a letter of gratitude from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department congratulating me and detailing how important cutthroat restoration was to them. The program is clearly invaluable in retrospect to the grand picture. It was almost a tear jerker moment.

Mainstem Wind River at dusk

Would I have changed anything?

When fly fishing; the timing is mostly key. One fish was spent in near hazardous runoff in early July while the other was spent in lower drought flows in September. If I were to do it again, I would have chosen the first week of August but I certainly have no regrets. Writing this blog felt like drafting a novel but it's my story and my adventure. I wouldn't change anything about it including the intensity that went into the Colorado River Cutthroat.... but that's mainly because I never came out empty handed. If anything I gained knowledge of these locations and I find myself eager to revisit all of them. It's a big and expensive mission to tackle all of them sooner than later but if I could cherry pick any of those locations to fish again, I would start with the Wind River first and then revisit Blacks Fork. I feel Blacks Fork was worthy of a redemption run and I would like to catch a few more CRCT but there is something about the wilderness of the Wind River Country that feels somewhat comparable to this idea of the last frontier of mainland America.

These trout are clearly endangered and you feel for them when targeting them. I commend those who manage the Wind River wilderness because they clearly pride themselves on their native trout and preservation tactics. I can testify to that and I would encourage anyone to visit Wyoming and tackle this challenge. I would like to publicly thank all of those from Trout Unlimited, Wyoming G&F Department, Cutthroat Fly Shop in Dubois, the fire fighters who were fighting the Fish Creek Fire which is a story for another blog and kickstarts my Grays River chapter.

Cutthroat are something special and wildly underrated. It is a life achievement to have held a few in my hand and released back to produce more for generations to come.