Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

We're still getting after it on the hardwater up in the alpines of Colorado! Let's go!

On days like today it’s hard to figure out what photos to even post! Magical day in the alpines ice fishing at 10,600 feet above sea level, 60 degree weather and 40 inches of ice. Put the boys in their first cutthroats!

After getting to the trailhead mid morning, I was surprised to be making fresh tracks in a few inches of fresh power after the first mile. The temperature never got above freezing, allowing the snow conditions to remain great all day. Waves of snow and wind blew through all day, but was tempered by intervals of relative calm and even some sunshine. With such prime spring snow, part of me wished I’d had a longer objective today, but good fishing made up for the relatively short 4 miles of skiing. Lake Haiyaha had about a foot of snow on top of 6 inches of crusty slush, on top of about 30 inches of ice. My goal was to catch one male Yellowstone cutthroat in spawning colors, as I’ve caught a lot of fish here, but never in spawning array (and saw that my friend Fishing with Lance caught some colorful ones lately). The second fish came close, with rosy red cheeks and some good body color, but it’s belly wasn’t red. Didn’t count. The fourth fish ended up being the one I was hoping to see: a solid buck with brilliant crimson sides! In all, I caught and released 10 Yellowstone cutthroats, 6 of them being decent sized! Upon descending to Dream Lake, conditions were looking good, so I decided to give it a shot. Dream had 20 inches of snow on top, with about 30 inches of ice. I caught and released 5 Greenback cutthroat there to make it a 15 fish day (this lake is catch-and-release only. Single barbless hook). All of them were small, but one was a male in spectacular spawning colors. It was a blessing to get up to the high country after a bit of a tough week. Hopefully I’ll be able to make a few more trips before the snow and ice melts.

Another based day icefishing the alpines! Took a buddy out for his first ice ever and we smashed! So thankful to be able to hike and fish like this! Tight lines y’all!

A most killer day in the park this morning. Took one of my employees up for an ice fishing session in one of the most pristine alpine lakes on the planet. We had the whole lake to ourselves and it wasn’t too windy either!

Biggun