Cutthroat Trout
Oncorhynchus clarkii
The native trout of the American West, marked by a slash of orange-red under the jaw. Fourteen subspecies, one continent, and a story that mirrors the recovery of the Western wild itself.
Browse the Woodcut Wild shop →Habitat
Cutthroats are creatures of cold, clear western water — high mountain streams, beaver-pond meadows, alpine lakes, and (for sea-run subspecies) coastal estuaries. The Lahontan cutthroat of the Great Basin desert lakes is one of the more remarkable native fish on the continent, adapted to high-alkaline water that would kill most salmonids.
Behavior
Cutthroats feed opportunistically on aquatic insects, terrestrials, and smaller fish, with the big lake-dwelling subspecies (Lahontan, Yellowstone) becoming heavily piscivorous as they grow. Spawning happens in spring in clean gravel runs of feeder streams. Where introduced rainbow trout have invaded native cutthroat range, the two species hybridize freely, producing the so-called 'cuttbow' — a major conservation pressure that has reduced genetically pure cutthroat populations across much of the West.
Marginalia
- Named for the orange-red 'slash' marking under the lower jaw — the most reliable field mark separating cutthroats from rainbows.
- Designated the state fish of seven U.S. states: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. No other native fish comes close.
- The Lahontan cutthroat is the largest cutthroat subspecies — historical records from Pyramid Lake, Nevada document fish over 40 pounds.
- Where wild cutthroats survive, they're often a measurement of the watershed: clean cold water, intact riparian habitat, and the absence of introduced rainbow trout.
- Lewis and Clark first described the species in 1805 near the Great Falls of the Missouri, and the scientific name honors William Clark.
