Trout Fishing in Montana
Yellowstone Cutthroat
The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is one of two cutthroat trout subspecies in Montana. They have a golden coloration and larger spots more widely distributed on their sides than the westslope cutthroat trout. The Yellowstone cutthroat trout, as the name implies, is native to the Yellowstone River drainage of southwest and south-central Montana. Only 32 percent of their historical range is now occupied by this subspecies; genetically pure fluvial (stream and river) populations occupy less than 10 percent of historical range.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout inhabit relatively clear, cold streams, rivers, and lakes. Optimal temperatures have been reported to be from 4 to 15 degrees C., with occupied waters ranging from 0 to 27 degrees C.
Yellowstone cutthroat trout are a Montana Fish of Special Concern. Much of their spawning habitat in tributaries of the upper Yellowstone River has been lost to irrigation withdrawals which de-water the streams before spawning and egg-incubation are completed in July and August. The Big Timber trout hatchery of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks maintains a pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout broodstock.
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Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout
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Westslope Cutthroat
Cutthroat trout are so named for the red slashes near the lower jaws.
The westslope cutthroat trout's historical range was all of Montana west of the Continental Divide as well as the upper Missouri River drainage. This trout has been seriously reduced in its range by two primary factors: hybridization with rainbow trout and/or Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and habitat loss and degradation. Genetically pure populations of trout are thought to occupy only 2 to 4 percent of their historical range. Spawning and rearing streams tend to be cold and nutrient poor. Westslope cutthroat trout seek out gravel substrate in riffles and pool crests for spawning habitat.
Management of this species of trout involves protecting the population strongholds and making tough decisions on restoration priorities for the depressed populations. The State of Montana has altered trout fishing regulations to reduce fishing mortality. Montana has also developed a Conservation Agreement signed by nine government agencies and conservation groups.
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Westslope Cutthroat Trout
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Rainbow Trout
The rainbow trout is Montana's number one game fish. Rainbow trout were introduced from numerous hatchery stocks into virtually every suitable habitat in the state, beginning in 1889. Scientists believe that only the rainbow trout of the upper Kootenai River drainage are native to this state. This small group of native trout are a Fish of Special Concern.
Rainbow trout introductions have caused a severe reduction in the range of the native cutthroat trout through hybridization and competition. Rainbow trout fare well under a wide range of habitat conditions from ponds to reservoirs, lakes, and streams. Rainbow trout are efficient at feeding on plankton, aquatic and terrestrial insects, and occasionally some smaller fishes. They spawn in early spring in running water, usually April or May, and maintain themselves quite nicely if the habitat is not degraded.
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Rainbow Trout
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Brown Trout
The brown trout belongs to a different genus than our native trout species. They evolved in Europe and western Asia and were introduced to North America in 1883 and to Montana in 1889 in the Madison River. Today brown trout are found throughout most of Montana except the northwest and parts of the east. Generally, brown trout prefer lower gradient, larger streams than cutthroat trout and rainbow trout, and they also do well in many reservoirs.
Brown trout were widely stocked in the first half of this century, but today most come from natural reproduction. Brown trout are great competitors and generally are more tolerant of dewatering and other environmental disturbances than our other trout species. Brown trout spawn in gravel redds like our native trout but their spawning season is in the fall. This gives them a distinct advantage in some habitats since their spawning and incubation period lies outside the irrigation season.
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Brown Trout
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Cutbow Trout
This is the hybrid of native cutthroat trout and rainbow trout. It is thought that most populations of cutthroat trout in Montana have genes that reflect this interbreeding.
Rainbow trout readily interbreed with both Westlope cutthroat trout and Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and the offspring of these trout also interbreed with both each other and genetically pure individuals of all three trout species.
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Cutbow Trout
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Brook Trout
The "brookie" or brook trout was introduced to Montana from eastern North America in 1889. It, too, was extensively propagated and stocked in the early half of this century, although seldom so today.
Brook trout favor small, cold, headwaters streams and ponds, particularly those that are spring-fed. Brook trout are common throughout most of the western two-thirds of the state in all major drainages. Brook trout are frequently able to spawn successfully in ponds which have upwelling springs. Brook trout will eat nearly any living organism, and larger fish can be voracious predators on other fish and even their own young. Brook trout out-compete native trout (like cutthroats) for habitat and food, resulting in further reductions in native trout populations. If you catch and kill a brook trout in Montana, you do native trout a favor.
Brook trout will readily breed with other types of char, including native Bull trout and the introduced Brown trout. The offspring of a brook/brown interbreeding, called tiger trout, have the markings of a tiger or giraffe. They are very rare since mortality of eggs and newly hatched fish is high and hybrids reaching adulthood are usually sterile.
Brook trout prefer small spring fed streams and ponds with sand or gravel bottom and vegetation. Spawns over gravel in either streams or percolating spring areas in lakes. Often overpopulates, resulting in trout too small to attract anglers.
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Brook Trout
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