(Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri)
Physical Description
The fine-spotted Snake River cutthroat trout have the smallest spots of any western North American trout. The Snake River cutthroat have yellowish-brown bodies, highlighted with purple and silver tones. This coloration makes the orange or red lower fins and heavy speckling of dark spots highly visible.
Range
The Snake River cutthroat trout inhabit waters from the watershed below Jackson Lake to Palisades Reservoir in the Snake River of western Wyoming.
Habitat
Snake River cutthroat, like many other trout, require cool water at temperatures less than 59 F and a high dissolved oxygen level. These trout prefer streams but are also found in lakes. Overhanging vegetation and riffles are desired areas for cover and feeding.
Spawning Habits
The Snake River cutthroat trout require the stream’s clean, silt-free water and specific-sized gravel for spawning beds. Spawning occurs between March and July depending on water temperature.
The female chooses a site for the nest site or redd depending on stream velocity, water depth, and gravel size. She digs the redd by flipping her tail back and forth over the gravel to make a depression. The action attracts competing males to the site.
After a period of time, the female deposits the eggs. A male then comes along side her and releases the sperm. The female moves slightly upstream and repeats her actions in making the redd which then causes the moved gravel to cover up the redd downstream.
The size and number of eggs is directly related to how large the female is.
Food Usage/Selection
Due to the long, cold winters and the short feeding season of the Snake River environment, cutthroats are opportunistic feeders consuming both insects and live fish. The juvenile trout depend more insects than the adult.
The trout like to feed in, or just downstream of riffles, where the aquatic invertebrates are the most abundant. Many of the invertebrates eaten are in the larval and pupa stages such as mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies.
Trout also eat crustaceans and zooplankton. As the trout grow, their diet becomes more diverse and the food items become larger.
Sporting Qualities
Due to the aggressive opportunistic feeding of the fine-spotted Snake River cutthroat trout, large dry flies, such as Turck Tarantulas, Stimulators, and Jay-Dave's Hoppers, are a preferred approach. If fly-fishing streamers are preferred, JJ Specials, Woolly Buggers and Muddlers are commonplace, as well as nymphs, such as Hare's Ears, Pheasant Tails and Yuk Bugs. This highly opportunistic feeding makes the Snake River ideal for the beginning or young anglers. The fight of the cutthroat also attracts the seasoned fisherman.
Notes
· Currently there is no scientific name for the Snake River cutthroat trout, according to fisheries biologists, because they have not been classified as a subspecies of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The Snake River cutthroat are genetically Oncorhynchus clarki bouvierior, the fine spotted form of Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
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