Photo: Knepp Timothy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Oncorhynchus clarkii

How to catch Cutthroat trout

Cutthroat trout feed in 36–68°F water and bite best at 46–60°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 10 waters; in October they are at their peak in Wyoming fresh water, Montana fresh water, Idaho fresh water and 6 more.

20 pts · trophy at 18"Feeds 36–68°FBest 46–60°FIn season nowRiverCreek / streamLakeReservoir

About

The native trout of the Rockies and the Great Basin, slashed red under the jaw: Yellowstone and Snake River fine-spotted cutts that rise to anything, westslopes in Montana's mountain rivers, and Pyramid Lake's giant Lahontans.

How to fish it

A hopper or an attractor dry along the banks of a western river in late summer. At Pyramid Lake, stand on a ladder off the beach and strip a beetle in the cold months.

What it eats

big dry flies and hoppersspinnersstreamersbeetle and midge flies at Pyramid

Live bait for it

NightcrawlersWhole on a #6 to #2 hook under a bobber or on a bottom rig; threaded on a spinner harness drifted for walleye. The bait that catches everything in fresh water.

Salmon eggs (roe)A dime-sized spawn sac tied in mesh, or single eggs on a #10 to #6 egg hook, drifted along the bottom for steelhead, trout and salmon. Check the state's rule — bait is banned on many trout and salmon waters.