Nice Cutty From The Weekend

[bowriverboys]

Just wanted to share a nice cutty I got this weekend....couldn't believe the hole I pulled it out of, PB for me!!!

[McLeod]

Looks like some Rainbow in that fish

[Dangus]

Definitely a cuttbow.

[bowriverboys]

Definitely a cuttbow.

How can you guys tell? I caught a nice cut bow last year that was much more rainbowish. Either way, I will take what I can get haha

[jpinkster]

It's safe to say that the majority of the cutties we all catch are far from 99% pure. The pure populations are very isolated. Basically anywhere that rainbows could get up into = cutbows. Things like hanging culverts and natural barriers have been buffers to keep some pure strain cutty populations intact.

[Dangus]

Mostly the spotting pattern. Cutties have heavy spots near the tail and then become sparse toward the head.

Slash under the jaw, rosy pink sides (rather than belly), and to a lesser degree, its length. cuttys are mostly short and fat.

The other hint is the hot fight it probably put up. I find that Any "cutty" I hook that is surprisingly hot (or a surprisingly voracious eater) tends to be a cuttbow.

[bowriverboys]

Mostly the spotting pattern. Cutties have heavy spots near the front and then become sparse toward the tail.

Slash under the jaw, rosy pink sides (rather than belly), and to a lesser degree, its length. cuttys are mostly short and fat.

The other hint is the hot fight it probably put up. I find that Any "cutty" I hook that is surprisingly hot (or a surprisingly voracious eater) tends to be a cuttbow.

I should have been more specific...at what point is it a cutty, a cuttbow, or a full rainbow? Where do you draw the line? In any case, fun as hell

[scel]

How can you guys tell? I caught a nice cut bow last year that was much more rainbowish. Either way, I will take what I can get haha

 

The density of the spotting is the biggest indicator. Pure strain will have higher density of spots near the tail and the pinkish colour rarely runs the entire length of the body. The only way to tell strain purity is by the presence of the hyoid teeth near the back of the mouth on the tongue since that is a purely recessive trait. But even then, being almost genetically identical to cutthroat (you have to be in order to interbreed), and having interbred for 70+ years (or whenever rainbows were introduced). Finding hyoid teeth on a rainbow trout would be like blues eyes on a black person---rare but totally possible. It really only indicates that sometime in that fish's history both sides of the genetic tree got some sexy time with a slutty cutty.

 

EDIT: colour is not a great indicator. Cutties have a pinkish colour to them, but tend to have green backs over the darker or silver backs of a rainbow. But still, colour is not a great indicator.

[monger]

Cutty from the Oldman....perhaps limited rainbow in this one

 

[Dxh]

Whatever it is what a beauty !

[Flyfisher]

Cutty from the Oldman....perhaps limited rainbow in this one

 

 

Outstanding photo! Beautiful cutthroat.

[bowbonehead]

Surprisingly enough I observed cutties still paired up and in the spawn mode on the weekend..... everything seems a little behind this year....maybe not a bad thing....