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Imagine a time when an angler can cast into a high country lake, hook a native cutthroat trout and keep one of Colorado's finest for dinner or for mounting.
That's the ultimate goal Division of Wildlife aquatic managers have for Colorado's cutthroat trout: the Rio Grande cutthroat, Colorado River cutthroat and the greenback cutthroat that was named the state fish in 1994.
"Our ultimate goal is to have native cutthroats as components of the division's sportfish recreation program," said Tom Nessler, a DOW aquatic biologist, who works with non-game and native fish recovery programs.
"This would imply cutthroats are so stable we can move past protecting populations and move on to providing sportfish recreation with harvest," Nessler said.
"It would mean cutthroats are well distributed and abundant enough to sustain harvest mortality."
Although significant progress has been made in resurrecting the state's native cutthroat populations, the division is not yet at the point of allowing harvest of Colorado's only native trout.
But, anglers can get a flavor for native cutthroats using catch-and-release methods. Not bad, considering greenbacks were thought to be extinct until the 1960s, when some remote populations were discovered.
At the time, Rio Grande and Colorado River cutthroat were thought to be the only remaining native trout populations, and they were at critically low levels.
As ubiquitous as rainbow, brook and brown trout may be in the Rocky Mountain West, they are relatively recent arrivals. Little more than 100 years ago, the only trout found east of California through Montana, and south to northern Mexico were cutthroats.
All of Colorado's rivers renowned today for rainbow and brown trout fishing, such as the Gunnison, South Platte, Colorado and Arkansas, were inhabited by cutthroat trout.
Researchers say the species existed in what's now Colorado for about 8,000 years.
Colorado's native cutthroat thrive in clear, cold, clean streams. For anglers who invest the effort to see backcountry locations, all these fish can be caught using catch-and-release methods.
"We allow catch-and-release of these species to evaluate the ability of these populations to provide sportfish opportunities," Nessler said. "We have not lost a native cutthroat population to angling mortality. That gives us reason for optimism." High-country cutthroats feed ravenously when the ice thaws and the water begins to warm. The best fishing usually involves a fly or a fly-and-bubble rig.
In clear lakes, cutthroats can be easily seen cruising along the banks in the shallows looking for insects. A small spinning lure can also be effective.
With the help of wildlife managers, Colorado's native trout survived the perils of encroachment and over harvest. And, today, Colorado anglers have a special opportunity to experience a link with an important part of Colorado's historical past.
