Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
It has been a grinchy Christmas and New Year’s. Will remain that way until I am able to pull a fish through an ice hole.
But, that does not mean I have not been fishing!
Spent some time out west for some holiday time with family, and made another trip that direction for business. Had a great time and managed to sneak away for some fishing while I was at it. May not have pulled them through a hole in the ice, but I managed to dry off a few anyway!
This was the purdiest one:
This was the biggest one that I landed. You know the story. . . a bigger one got away (it was entirely my fault–a topic for another blog some time).
You have to notice the difference in the coloration of those two fish. It is not obvious from the photos, but I can tell you from handling them, that they were both cutbows. The purdy one was a male and the silvery one likely a female.
I caught a few pure rainbow trout that day as well. The coloration on those fish was similar to the silvery cutbow, but just a little bit different.
Everyone always wants to know where? If you cannot figure it out by studying the photos, I will guarantee you the water is mentioned in the 2026 Fishing Forecast.
Those two fish plus several others were all released. I intend to catch them again and in that water they will be even bigger next time!