Cutthroat trout or cut-bow?

Thought I caught a cutthroat, now that I look at it I’m not sure. Anyone know? Cutthroat or cut-bow.

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Kaila wrote:

Thought I caught a cutthroat, now that I look at it I’m not sure. Anyone know? Cutthroat or cut-bow.

What about the mounted fish makes you question your first thoughts?

Was it caught in a water where cutthroats are stocked? Was it a wild fish?

Buffalo Fishhead

It was caught at Henerys Lake, Montana. They stock it with brook trout, Cutthroats and Cut-bows, although cut-bows are among the rarer fish in that lake but still possible to catch.

No matter what it is, it’s a fantastic trophy!
Any pics of it alive, pre-mount?

Yes I do, but they are photos about an hour of two after we caught them, so the colors are very very faded.

The fish mounted is the one on the left.

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Spot pattern looks like a cutthroat. Sounds like cutbows have white fin tips but they’re not visible in the photograph. The mount however is showing a white tip on the anal fin.

I would say cut-bow IF the mount is an accurate representation of what the fish looked like that day when you caught it. The photos don’t show that, but like you said they fade with time. You’ve got a lot of cutthroat features: spot patterns, obvious throat/gill plate coloring, and the white-tipped fin. But then you’ve got the long pink band all the way down the lateral line and to me that screams rainbow.

Okay, Thank you. And they did have a long pink band but its very faded in the pre mount photo, only because that photo was taken a couple hours after.

Kaila:
The article link below has some information on rainbow, cutthroat and cut-bows that is interesting, but may not answer your question.

The Difference Between Rainbow, Cutthroat, and Cut-Bow Trout

Buffalo Fishhead