Small Stream Cutties!

August 12^th, 2016

Small Stream Cutties!

A lot of people like to chase big fish.  I like to fish. I could care less if they are 2 inches or 20 pounds. I like to fish. I have caught fish in salt water and fresh water. Each experience has its own rewards! To me catching a 30 pound barracuda has the same reward as hiking into a relatively untouched body of water and catching 8 to 10 inch Cutties that have probably not seen another fly in their lives!

Today was a small stream Cutty day.  Cutthroat trout are commonly referred to as Cutties by many anglers.  Cutthroat are widely found throughout the Western United States.  They like cold fast water, which means they can usually be found in small, remote, high mountain streams.  Which is why I like to fish for them!

Heading up north into the Stillwater State Forest I pulled onto a road I had been on many times.  Today, like many times when I hit a new stream or lake, I pulled up Google Earth on my laptop to look at a stream I had fished many times to see if there was some accessible spots upstream from where I normally fish. But I wasn’t exploring new water today I was going into an area I had fished many times. I wanted to see if there was new water that I had missed when I first explored the areas several years ago.  I noticed what looked like a small pool with fast water above and below it.  I guess it might be a mile off the road with a small game trail running about 100 yards off the road. Driving to that spot I noticed a small pull off and stopped. Most of the time pull offs are there for a reason.  A small path ran down the hill to a small clearing about 200 or 300 yards away.  I thought to myself, wait, is this the same hole I was going to walk a half mile into?  Sure enough the winding road curved right past it and Google Earth made it look difficult to walk into the stream from that side because it looked very steep on my computer screen.  I grabbed my gear and off I went. Bingo! Great looking pool and lots of pretty water.  I rigged up and started casting.  Fish On!!!

Stillwater State Forest has a lot of Beautiful streams.  Many hold fish.  Not all hold Cutties!  Today I found them in a new spot.  A little effort with Google Earth coupled with a drive to where I thought I could access some nice fishing water worked.  I often couple a fishing stop with an exploration trip.  Granted, a drive through the mountains is peaceful and scenic.  But my motives are simple.  Find more water.  Today, the four or five spots I typically fish had no one in them, which they normally do not, but I drove right by them all.  When I have extra free time I explore. You never know what you will find.  Today I found a great spot.  Many times I find nothing good or terrain too hard for me to climb down into. The older I get the more I realize that just because there are fish down there does not mean I can always get there. Steep cliffs and embankments prevent me from getting to some spots that as a younger man I would have been able to get down too.  Today I scored big which means I will keep exploring and finding new waters. Those Cutties are not going to catch themselves!! So I have taken it upon myself to go find them!