Dillo Posted June 21, 2016 Posted June 21, 2016 I hiked to lower Mohawk lake near Breckenridge, CO today and caught a few cutthroats. It is my understanding that these are all wild, native fish. These aren't the best pictures but these two trout are very different. Anyone know what they are? 1 Quote
Super User Jar11591 Posted June 21, 2016 Super User Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Top looks like a cutthroat, bottom maybe a golden? Tough to tell, but definitely either cutthroat or golden, or one of each. Nice fish! Edit* I see you said cutthroat in your post, are you asking which subspecies of cutthroat? Edited June 21, 2016 by Jar11591 Quote
Super User flyfisher Posted June 21, 2016 Super User Posted June 21, 2016 definitely not a golden as they are only native to another area and they look completely different. The both look like colorado river cutthroats to me but the top one could be the greenback. 1 Quote
Super User Jar11591 Posted June 22, 2016 Super User Posted June 22, 2016 1 hour ago, flyfisher said: definitely not a golden as they are only native to another area and they look completely different. The both look like colorado river cutthroats to me but the top one could be the greenback. Yeah the bottom one is not a golden, but it does look similar with the red gill plate, red belly and red fins. But now I think its a Colorado River cutthroat. To me they look like different subspecies. The top fish's spots are larger and denser, and the red on the gill plate isn't as intense. But color can vary from fish to fish obviously. Hybrids are always a possibility as well. I am definitely curious now. Colorado River cutthroat: Quote
Super User flyfisher Posted June 22, 2016 Super User Posted June 22, 2016 The golden i caught didn't have that red gill plate at all but it wasn't spawning time either. I think the top one is a greenback after some more searching. 1 Quote
Super User Jar11591 Posted June 22, 2016 Super User Posted June 22, 2016 2 minutes ago, flyfisher said: I think the top one is a greenback after some more searching. I'm thinking you are right. By the images on google it appears to be. Quote
Dillo Posted June 22, 2016 Author Posted June 22, 2016 According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Colorado River cutthroat is the only trout native to this area, so now I'm pretty sure both are that subspecies. every fish other than the bottom one looked like the top one, so maybe the top one was just a little different. Maybe the difference is male vs female? Quote
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