They’re the only native trout species in the Yellowstone River drainage and certainly one of the most beautiful fish in the West.
They were native to the river I was fishing, but the local population has long ago become extinct, due to predation and competition from rainbow, brown and brook trout.
The one I caught on this day was a rarity, it must have come downstream into the river from one of the few tributary streams that still hold a remnant population of cutthroats.
While not the toughest fish in the world, it’s a true beauty and an important part of the heritage of the West.
The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is definitely a fish worth preserving.
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