Large heads and skinny bodies would make me think there's not enough natural food in the lake for the trout to survive on, and especially to thrive on.

Thanks for the report -My heart has a soft spot from Hancock. Spend many enjoyable days on the water in the past and my oldest son caught his first fish there more than 30 years ago

Without fail a lake with stunted fish - slow growing trout with large head and poor body condition - is one with excessive fish numbers not one suffering from over fishing. More fish than food if you will.

I my first fishing experiences on the lake occurred in the early 1960s and at that time the only fish were brookies and rainbows with many fish in the 10 to 16 range and the occassional larger fish. The downslide in the first began in the 1970s with the introduction of cutthroat into the lake. The cutthroat have been able to take advantage of the trib. streams you referred to for successful spawning. The cutts are much more able to take advantage of small streams than the rainbows. The secondary problem with the cutts is that they have hybridized with the rainbows and from the reports I have heard from long time anglers on the lake the number of "pure" rainbows is quite low.

Tight lines
Curt