Hi! My husband just caught this beauty last weekend in the Rio Grande Gorge. We were admiring what we thought to be a beautiful rainbow, but after inspecting further thought it might be a cutbow.
I know there is not a one-size-fits-all idea of what a cutbow is, so I was curious as to what you all thought based on this beauty’s features.
Thanks all!
Posted by _WeWereNeverHere_
10 Comments
Looks like a raibbow to me— did it have a slash under its jaw?
Squeezed to death!
Looks rainbow to me.
Rainbow. No cut
Rainbow, and tell your husband to learn how to handle fish without killing them
The spotting looks cutthroat-y to me, especially with the heavier spots near the tail. That’s a westslope cutthroat hallmark. Rainbows often have more even spotting all over their bodies and fins, but not always. The white fin tips are a dead giveaway for rainbow genetics (pure cutthroat don’t have them). A lack of a red or orange chin slash doesn’t mean it’s pure rainbow – it could have cutthroat genes without it. All in all, it has some signs of cutthroat and some for rainbow. If both species are present and spawning naturally in that system, I think cutbow is a safe bet.
Is that an indicator keychain? Gangster
NM!
Choke me, daddy
Just a rainbow. If it doesn’t have the orange slashes on the jawline, it probably doesn’t have any cutthroat genetics. They’re usually less pronounced on a cutbow, but they’re still there.