Species profile
Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Oncorhynchus lewisi
At a glance
Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi) is a bony-fish species regulated in 3 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
The strictest bag limit is 1 (Alberta); the most generous is 5 (Alberta).
Confirmed by 1,184 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Idaho, Alberta, and Montana the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Named for the vivid red or orange slash marks visible beneath each jaw.
- Native to the Columbia and upper Missouri River drainages of the northern Rockies.
- Typically reaches 8–14 inches in the wild, rarely exceeding 20 inches.
- Can hybridize with introduced rainbow trout, producing fertile offspring called cutbows.
- Spawns in spring over clean gravel beds in fast, cold mountain streams.
Where Westslope Cutthroat Trout are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Background
The cutthroat trout is a clade of four fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. These four species are the Coastal, Westslope, Lahontan, and the Rocky Mountain. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is in the Pacific trout group, which includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat…
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Westslope Cutthroat Trout article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other bony fish on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.