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Snake River
Cutthroat
Oncorhynchus
clarki unnamed
TEXT BY
ROSS PURNELL
The Snake River fine-spotted
cutthroat is what scientists call an unnamed subspecies. To anglers,
it's obviously a very unique, geographically isolated race of cutthroat
trout. You find these fish only in the upper reaches of the Snake River,
and their profuse, but very small spots, make them visually distinct
from any other species.
Snake River cutthroats have the smallest spots
of any North American trout species.
Taxonomists, however, need more to go on than a visual
identification, and have found that these trout cannot be distinguished
from Onchorhynchus clarki bouvieri (Yellowstone cutthroat trout),
either by meristic character analysis, or by protein electrophoresis.
In other words, if you count the gill rakers, the number of average
scales, the number of rays in the fins, or put tissue under the microscope,
it seems to be the same fish and as a result, it doesn't get its own
unique Latin name.
The two subspecies even share the same geographic
identities, with the native range of fine-spotted cutthroat trout lying
completely within that of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Snake River
cutthroat trout are found in the cold, clear upper reaches of the the
Snake River near Jackson, Wyoming, and downstream into Idaho.
The Snake River downstream of Pallisades Reservoir
is an artificially productive tailwater fishery with incredible hatches,
large trout, and huge numbers of trout per mile. Right now, this may
be the best place in the world to catch a native fine-spotted cutthroat,
but the fishery is a mixed blessing. Brown and rainbow trout have been
in the river for many years, and while the brown trout population is
a small, stable part of the ecosystem, rainbows make up a greater percentage
of the population every year. They are literally taking over the river,
by out-competing the native trout, and cross-breeding them out of existence.
While many anglers prefer to catch rainbow trout because
of their greater size and fighting ability, it's obvious this unique
race of cutthroat trout needs to be protected through its native range.
If Snake River cutthroat trout were to disappear from the Snake River,
it would be an ecological tradgedy. The Idaho Department of Fish and
Game is taking steps to protect the cutthroat trout, culling rainbow
trout through electroshocking, and encouraging greater angler harvest
of rainbow trout where the two species co-exist.
Ironically, while measures are being considered
to protect fine-spotted cutthroat trout in their native environs, in
other parts of the country, it's the fine-spots that are the "exotic"
species. In fact, it seems that when cutthroats are stocked in any water,
fine-spotted cutthroat trout are the preferred subspecies. It probably
has something to do with their ability to survive the hatchery, and
grow quickly to catchable sizes while sustaining a high angler catch
rate, but I prefer to think that the reason they are looked upon so
favorably is that they are a great looking fish.
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