Fine Spotted Snake River Cutthroat on the Salt River

Kevin pulled his truck off I-89 onto a dirt road headed toward the Salt River.  As we got out of the truck to string up our fly rods, a bald eagle flew overhead with a cutthroat in its grips.  On the cliff on the other side of the river was his partner.  As the first eagle began eating his prey, they both watched as we fished along the river.

 

Further downstream we saw a flock of geese which took off as we neared. 

 

This part of the river had been under water earlier in the season, but now in the fall the water was nice and low.  For the most part we were able to wade close to the shore, except for the few spots covered in silt in which we sank, feeling like we were trapped in quicksand. 

The fish we caught were all cutthroats, 6 to 16 inches long.  From the sparse, small black spots you could tell they were of the Fine Spotted Snake River Cutthroat variety (sub-species). 

 

We caught 15 or so as we fished up and down the river in the deeper pockets doing our best to avoid the wind fouling our lines. 

 

We fished from 4:00 to 7:00 and then headed to Kevin’s cabin for dinner.  Kevin had put some BBQ ribs in the crock pot to cook while we fished. By the time we got back, they were perfect.  We also had corn on the cob, chile that I had made and frozen the Sunday before, cinnamon rolls and peach pie.