Originally Posted by
Natural Lefty
Yes, I only meant that all the fish are wild, not stocked. I know that Cutthroat are the only species of trout native to the entire Rocky Mountains area, unless one counts Apache Trout and Gila Trout from AZ and NM. (We did catch Apache Trout at Sunrise Lake in Arizona, which are amazingly said by biologists to be descended from Salmon that swam up the Colorado River during the ice ages.)
There are two types of Cutthroat in Yellowstone, the Yellowstone Cutthroat east of the Continental Divide, and Snake River Cutthroat on the west side. Sadly, though, Cutthroat have been extirpated, diminished or hybridized with Rainbows throughout much of their range. They are doing better in Yellowstone than most places. Even the Lahontan Cutthroat in Pyramid Lake, NV are probably only there because other kinds of trout cannot tolerate the alkaline water in the lake. (A few other specialized native species, plus non-native Sacramento Perch thrive there too.)
There might have been Arctic Grayling in some parts of the Rockies too, such as Yellowstone, and thus the efforts to restock them. I keep thinking about going back to Joe Wright Reservoir in CO where I caught them in July. The place is full of those critters and they are fun to catch.
National parks have a policy of not stocking fish, actually, unless it is to reintroduce native species. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park in July too, where all the trout are wild (but mostly non-native). Literature about the park mentioned that Greenback Cutthroats are being reintroduced into some waters, but otherwise, the park is not stocked. The same applies to national parks in CA. Many of the lakes are fishless, because the trout cannot spawn and they aren't stocked, which makes me all the more puzzled that some lakes in CA national parks are having all the fish removed by gillnetting in order to make more frog habitat. Anyway, one reason that I like to fish in national parks is because all the trout are wild, which I prefer to catching stockers, plus the scenery and good fishing. ;) And my wife has a lifetime national parks pass.