[bulletsnhooks]

I have been catching a few cutthroats in headwater streams on the West Side of the Cascades that more closely resemble Westslope Cutts than the Coastal Cutts. I'm no fish biologist, so the comparison is purely from pictures and what research I can gather on the internet. Both streams are in the headwaters of the Cowlitz, and the fish are wild. Is there anybody else that has run into this on the West Side?

 

[Brookie_Hunter]

Upper most sections of the Snoqualmie SF and some tribs have them.

 

[Split Bamboo]

They do exist on the west side...planted years ago....and the Cowlitz is one of the drainages where they exist.

 

[Capt. Awesome]

Some populations of Westslopes on westside streams may be naturally occurring due to headwater capture/headward erosion. Patrick Trotter mentions this possibilty in his book "Cutthroat: Native trout of the West". It's certainly possible that the Westslope population in the Upper Snoq & Cowlitz are actually "native". I've caught Westslopes in another Westside stream that has no record of being stocked with them, though there were plenty of records of them being stocked with brookies.

Just a thought.

 

[Preston]

At one time WDFW extensively planted high lakes with "Montana black-spots", which was a common name for the westslope cutthroat. Most of these fish were derived from Twin Lakes stock. Fish from Twin lakes, in the headwaters of the Napeequa River (a Wenatchee River tributary) drainage have been used by WDFW as a source for westslope cutthroat broodstock since 1915. There remains some controversy as to whether Twin Lakes fish are native or were introduced from the Stehekin River at a very early date. Many of the high lakes stocked with these cutthroat drain to the headwaters of west-draining creeks and are the most likely source of "westside westslopes".

 

[Brookie_Hunter]

At one time WDFW extensively planted high lakes with "Montana black-spots", which was a common name for the westslope cutthroat. Most of these fish were derived from Twin Lakes stock. Fish from Twin lakes, in the headwaters of the Napeequa River (a Wenatchee River tributary) drainage have been used by WDFW as a source for westslope cutthroat broodstock since 1915. There remains some controversy as to whether Twin Lakes fish are native or were introduced from the Stehekin River at a very early date. Many of the high lakes stocked with these cutthroat drain to the headwaters of west-draining creeks and are the most likely source of "westside westslopes".

Interesting info! Thanks.

 

[bulletsnhooks]

The reason we were fishing this particular stream was that my father-in-law said it was stocked 35- 40 years ago with goldens. He fished the stream several times back then and that is all he ever caught, and we were hoping that there maybe an outside chance that some had persisted. I talked to him last night and he was surprised just how much the stream had changed in the last forty years. When he fished it, there was only one hole that held fish at the base of a large waterfall. Now, there are holes and pocket water that hold fish all the way up to the waterfall. It's a long hard hike, but you can bet I'll be going back.