Fishing for a Bonneville Cut Throat, The Second of My Quest for the Cut Slam Award, 2015

At our first stop, George and Val had caught and released their Bonneville Cut Throats, (also called the Bear Lake Cut Throat). So arriving at a new stretch of water, the rest ate lunch but I chugged some water and then took off for a nice looking spot.
Making my first cast a large cuttie rose up and took my parachute dry fly. I set the hook and fought the fish for quite a while before the hook pulled free. Another cast and another cut was on. This was a smaller but still nice fish, however it also came off as I was reaching for my camera. Soon I was on a third one but it made a quick release before I could snap an image.

Disgusted I headed downstream, where Renita was patiently casting a grey mosquito. I suggested she switch to a parachute dry, and made sure she had two of them before I headed further down stream. George and Val were both at the next hole and I could see that they both were smiling.
Of course they had caught and released more Bonnieville's but it was no surprise. George is the best nymph fisherman I have ever met, and at age seventy nine can still lay out the line. Val, his wife is the best dry fisher person I know and they compliment each other while arguing endlessly over the merits of wet versus dry.

I decided to walk downstream to the next bend, and worked a couple of ripples to no avail. Going to the next set I made a couple of casts before a small Bonnieville rose and slurped the dry fly. I fought it in and took a quick picture before I gently released it back into the stream.
Wading a little further upstream I made another cast and caught another cut. Two more holes and two more cut throat's all allowing me to take their image before I safely released them into their home.

Now it seemed simple and the jinx was off. I walked back upstream and just missed George landing a fifteen incher. He caught it on a giant muddler minnow dry. It was one he had tied years ago, and to me at least it resembled a mouse. As I watched him throw it out another large cut came up and took it but he somehow missed the hook set.
Further upstream I met Val and Renita. Renita was learning the tricks of her new five weight rod and was getting the roll cast down perfectly. However the fish had quit biting and so we decided to head back upstream to a place where flooded beaver dams prevailed. There the fish were plentiful but between the still water and banks of willows fishing was almost impossible.

Deciding to call it a day, we headed back home. It had been a great day on a new stream. If you ever want to catch a Wyoming Bonnieville Cut Throat, try Smiths Fork or Salt Creek. Notice I am not telling you which one we fished. Clear skies.

The Bonnieville cut throat was originally in Lake Bonnieville, now the famous salt flat. The remnant lake is called the Great Salt lake, and the trout only survive in a few of its tributaries.