Cutthroat Lake Report: Going for the Grand Slam

I slipped away to Cutthroat Lake before the month of May could slip away. I was hoping to catch a fine Lahontan Cutthroat, thus completing the Grand Slam in May: Brook, Rainbow, Brown, and Cutthroat. I was planning a big beautiful photo set for the blog.

So I gave it a good shot. I trolled a lot. A lot. In the wind, and usually against it--if there's any lake where the wind is even more contrary than at Trout Lake, it's this one. And I waited for the chance that the lake would calm at dusk, and some good fish would come into the west end and start sipping mayflies. They've done it before, and I've caught them.

Everything fell into place. The lake calmed.

Midges swarmed, and there were even a good number of Callibaetis on the water.

But the good fish stayed down. Oh, they'd come up way out somewhere else and eagerly suck in a bug, but that was just so you'd know they were there, but were ignoring you and your petty dreams.

So I'd wait at the west end, then troll awhile, then come back and wait some more.

Vanity. All is vanity.

I did catch a fish. Just one. He and some other kids were chowing down on the bugs at the west end, with no fear of competition from the big folks.

I checked his throat, and there was no sign of red. I did a little research on the internet to see if I could find out whether juvenile cutthroats have a red slash, or whether it develops later, but I couldn't find anything conclusive. So I compared it to a juvenile Rainbow caught at Trout Lake, and on the basis of that scientific method I believe it's a cutthroat. Those are Lahontan spots.

So, if I'm right, I did meet my goal of catching four species of trout in May. But this little guy simply doesn't fit my concept of that big beautiful photo set.

Guess I'll just have to try again in June.