Coastal Cutthroat Trout Observation

I recently went stream sampling with someone from Trout Unlimited to try and discover evidence of anadromy in far stretches of tributaries to Fish Creek on North Douglas. We hike and bush wacked a few miles upstream to the study site. There, we set traps and walked with hand nets to find juvenile Coho Salmons for evidence of anadromy. Although we did not find Coho, we found plenty of cutthroat trout. The only type of cutthroat trout we find in Southeast AK is the Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii), so that is how I knew what type of cutthroat it was. However, distinguishing them from a juvenile Coho Salmon is much more difficult. Identifiers of cutthroat trout include a small orange dot under their lower jaw that eventually turns into the distinctive red lines (hence cutthroat), a larger mouth than juvenile Coho, more spots on their fins, more circular parr marks and Coho have a dark fin ray on their anal and dorsal fins. This information comes from ADF&G's juvenile salmonid ID guide (Weiss 2003), but also from Trout Unlimited researcher Mark Hieronymus who was out there with me. Coastal Cutthroat trout care used by people for several reasons. They are a really fun fish to try and catch in almost every stream in Southeast Alaska. Recreation is a big part of Alaskan culture and past time, being more connected to those around you and to the land. When fishing isn't accessible or populations of other fish are down like this years Coho run, cutthroat provide accessible and fun fishing for all skill levels (Schwanke 2018).

Schwanke, Craig. "Cutthroat Trout in Southeast Alaska Lakes." The Great State of Alaska website. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Sept. 2018. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=881#:~:text=The%20cutthroat%20trout%20subspecies%20found%20in%20Southeast%20Alaska,Alaska%2C%20especially%20in%20drainages%20with%20a%20lake%20system.

Weiss, Ed. "Juvenile Salmonid and Small Fish Identification Aid." Version 1.1. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Habitat and Restoration Division. 27 March 2003. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/home/library/pdfs/habitat/adfg_hr_id_cards_v1.1.pdf

Posted on September 24, 2022 12:02 AM by gcadenhead gcadenhead

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii)

Observer

gcadenhead

Date

September 22, 2022 10:36 AM AKDT

Description

In the first picture, there are juvenile cutthroat trout found in a 2nd order tributary to Fish Creek on North Douglas. In the third picture, there is an adult cutthroat trout caught in the Peterson Creek Salt Chuck. A more thorough write up will be done in my journal.

Comments

No comments yet.

Add a Comment

Sign In or Sign Up to add comments

Gracias al apoyo de:

¿Quiere apoyarnos? Pregúntenos cómo escribiendo a snib.guatemala@gmail.com