Camcam
1/21/2019 6:38:32 PMLooks like someone needs to sharpen their fish identification skills and re-read the regulations...
1. That big fish is not a cutthroat. It is a rainbow, and by the looks of it could very well be a steelhead.
2. It is clearly stated in the regulations that any rainbow or steelhead over 20 inches must be released. You clearly stated that fish is 23 inches.
AND... IF that is a steelhead, it's wild and is illegal to remove it from the water.
Do your homework before you post on the internet bud.
1. That big fish is not a cutthroat. It is a rainbow, and by the looks of it could very well be a steelhead.
2. It is clearly stated in the regulations that any rainbow or steelhead over 20 inches must be released. You clearly stated that fish is 23 inches.
AND... IF that is a steelhead, it's wild and is illegal to remove it from the water.
Do your homework before you post on the internet bud.
PatrickC
1/21/2019 7:01:06 PMI thought cutthroat had more spot grouping near the tail and rainbows had more of an even distribution of spot. That and a orange/red “strip” running from gill plates back. I could be wrong.
rjsorensen7
1/21/2019 7:05:23 PMI can assure you I identified the fish correctly. Just a few distinguishing factors: orange slashes under jaw, lack of spots on head, and congregation of spots near the tail. The only hint of rainbow may be the white fin tips, so potentially could be a cutbow. Next time don't be so quick to judge, the fishing community already has enough a-holes out there
Bent hook pontoon
1/22/2019 10:42:39 AMif you look at the photos on herefishy's report from the day before and compare those cutts to the one in this report it is clearly a cutty. The markings are the same from those fish to this fish. We are here to share information, knowledge, and stories. If Mike felt that that fish was caught illegally this report would of been taken down by now. What a toad!
jonb
1/22/2019 5:58:50 PMThis is a rainbow. Look at both pics you can clearly see the jaw does not extend much past the eye. That is a full stop identifier. Markings are decieving and should not be used to identify fish including the slash. Steelhead sometimes have a faint slash. The main identifier is the jaw. Cutties have jaws that extend well past the eye, have teeth on the tongue and generally are spotted top to bottom belly to back. Thats a rainbow my guy. Nice fish, but you shouldve released it.
rjsorensen7
1/23/2019 8:02:49 AMThanks jonb for the info. I was unaware of the jaw as a distinguishing feature; however, Im not entirely convinced it is a pure rainbow as it also had teeth extending well into its tongue. Between all of the other identifiers and what you have pointed out hybridization seems like a very real possibility. Another curious genetic trait about the fish was the presence of both a small egg row and sperm sacks. Regardless, the fish was caught and I feel i did the best i could to identify it with no intent to deceive anyone.
jonb
1/23/2019 10:29:17 AM Its understandable about the identification, its possible it could be a hybrid. Rainbows and cutties are tricky to identify sometimes. However you can't go wrong when you identify a trout based off its bone structure as opposed to its spotting. In the case of legality, assuming it is a hybrid, i would argue the fish would then still subsequently need to be released being that it is a hybrid rainbow trout over 20". At very least it would seriously fall into the grey area. If i were you id look for that as your identifier and release a fish like that in the future. I wont pretend that i havnt made an identification mistake in the past, i have, i think this has happened to alot of people at some point, so there is no point in shaming, as long as you've learned something from this then its all good.