Cutthroat trout in Montana

Montana waters

Most fished first. A species missing from an agency list does not mean it is absent; this page lists only waters whose list names it (at least 5 are needed for a page).

• Madison Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Yellowstone Riverlisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Blackfoot Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Clark Fork Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Bitterroot Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Rock Creeklisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Beaverhead Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Big Hole Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Ruby Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Gallatin Riverlisted as “Westslope Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• Boulder Riverlisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• DePuy Spring Creeklisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout”Agency list: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Identification

• Cutthroat trout get their name from the red slashes near the lower jaw.[2]
  What the source says

  “Cutthroat trout are so named for the red slashes near the lower jaws.”

• Utah DWR says that, except for the Bear Lake form, cutthroat are best told by the crimson slash along the lower jaw, and that they lack the rainbow trout's iridescent pink stripe and white-tipped pelvic and anal fins.[3]
  What the source says

  “Except for the Bear Lake cutthroat trout, cutthroats are best distinguished by their crimson slash along the lower jaw. Cutthroat trout lack the iridescent pink stripe or the white-tipped pelvic and anal fins of the rainbow trout.”

More on identifying cutthroat trout

Status, protections and rules

As each agency stated them on the date read; a rule applies only where its agency says so. Check the current regulations for the water before you fish.

• Westslope cutthroat: Montana FWP says it has been designated a Fish of Special Concern in Montana.[2]
  What the source says

  “it has been designated a Fish of Special Concern in Montana.”

• Yellowstone cutthroat: non-native lake trout caused a dramatic decline in Yellowstone cutthroat in the early 2000s.[4]
  What the source says

  “Nonnative lake trout caused a dramatic decline in YCT in the early 2000s.”

• Colorado River cutthroat: Colorado Parks and Wildlife lists its status as State Special Concern.[5]
  What the source says

  “State Special Concern”

• Greenback cutthroat: Colorado Parks and Wildlife lists it as federally threatened and state threatened.[6]
  What the source says

  “Federally Threatened, State Threatened”

• Lahontan cutthroat: listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (CDFW).[7]
  What the source says

  “Lahontan cutthroat trout are a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act.”

Water temperature in Montana

• Under Montana FWP's 68°F lineMontana FWP cites a study in which trout “caught and released from water with a temperature above 68 degrees F were far more likely to perish than those taken from cooler water.” Water warms through the day: “Fish in the cool morning hours.”
• Warm for released troutAbove 68°F, released trout were “far more likely to perish than those taken from cooler water” (the study Montana FWP cites). FWP: “Fish in the cool morning hours — low water flow and rising temperatures combine to stress fish.”
• 66°F: Montana's cutthroat triggerMontana rule, cutthroat trout waters only: “In cutthroat trout waters, angling restrictions occur when the temperatures reach at least 66 degrees for three consecutive days.”
• 73°F: Montana's hoot-owl triggerMontana rule: FWP's drought policy provides for angling restrictions “when maximum daily water temperatures reach at least 73 degrees for three consecutive days”; hoot-owl restrictions “prohibit fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day.” FWP sets them reach by reach: check the current list.
• 77°FMontana FWP: “Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout.”

Sources: “Giving a hoot”, Montana Outdoors (July–August 2024) (Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks); Drought and fishing (Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks); Additional fishing restrictions begin July 22 on several Montana rivers (21 July 2026) (Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks); Current waterbody restrictions (Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks).

Destination hubs

Hubs that list one of these waters, or that a water page is near: each has guides, shops, licences and trip planning for the area.

• Bozeman & Livingston, Montana5 cutthroat trout waters
• Ennis & the Madison Valley, Montana4 cutthroat trout waters
• Missoula, Montana4 cutthroat trout waters
• Island Park & the Henry's Fork, Idaho1 cutthroat trout water

Hatch & season charts

• Northern Rockies8 sourced rows

Sources

Every fact on this page is our paraphrase of the page cited beside it, read on the date shown. Rules and seasons change: check the agency's current regulations before you fish.

1. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read Oct 24, 2026.
2. Westslope Cutthroat Conservation & Restoration | Montana FWP Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, read Oct 24, 2026.
3. 2026 Utah Fishing Guidebook Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
4. Fish Ecology - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service, read Oct 24, 2026.
5. Colorado River Cutthroat Trout | Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado Parks and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.
6. Greenback Cutthroat Trout | Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado Parks and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.
7. Lahontan Cutthroat Trout California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.