Cutthroat trout in Wyoming

Wyoming 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).

• New Fork Riverlisted as “Snake River Cutthroat trout”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Salt Riverlisted as “Snake River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Wind Riverlisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Shoshone Riverlisted as “Bear River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Clarks Fork Yellowstone RiverAgency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• North Fork Shoshone Riverlisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Trout Creeklisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Flat Creeklisted as “Snake River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Pine Creeklisted as “Colorado River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• South Fork Shoshone Riverlisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Leigh CreekAgency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Yellowstone Riverlisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Horse Creeklisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Jones Creeklisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Little Canyon Creeklisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Meeteetse CreekAgency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• North Fork Otter Creeklisted as “Yellowstone Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• North Tongue Riverlisted as “Snake River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Big Sandy Riverlisted as “Bear River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Smiths Forklisted as “Bear River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Buffalo Forklisted as “Snake River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Crow Creeklisted as “Snake River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Greys Riverlisted as “Snake River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• North Cottonwood Creeklisted as “Colorado River Cutthroat”Agency list: Wyoming Game and Fish Department

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 Wyoming

• Under Wyoming's 65°F lineThat is under the 65°F above which Wyoming Game and Fish suggests keeping trout rather than releasing them. Water warms by afternoon: “Water temperatures are coolest in the morning, giving released trout the best chance of survival.” “Carry a pocket thermometer to monitor the water temperature.”
• Warming: consider keeping what you catchWyoming Game and Fish: “If the water temperature is above 65 degrees, consider keeping what you catch within the regulations.” “Focus your fishing between sunrise and noon.”
• 68°F in Grand Teton National ParkIn Grand Teton National Park the National Park Service recommends that anglers “cease fishing at 2 p.m. when water temperatures are likely to exceed 68°F.”
• 70°F: don't release troutWyoming Game and Fish: “Don’t release trout once water temperatures reach 70 degrees – often about noon on warm summer days.” “When water temperatures exceed 70 degrees, the chance of survival for any trout to be caught and released is greatly reduced.” “Please pause catch-and-release fishing after 12:00 p.m.”
• Over 75°FWyoming Game and Fish: “Trout die after prolonged exposure to water temperatures greater than 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and brief exposure to temperatures over 80 degrees are lethal.”

Sources: Fishing in the heat (Wyoming Game and Fish Department); Game and Fish announces voluntary catch-and-release fishing closures across the state (3 Aug 2026) (Wyoming Game and Fish Department); High water temperatures prompt fishing advisory in Grand Teton National Park (29 July 2022) (National Park Service); Anglers encouraged to adjust fishing practices as temperatures rise (Wyoming Game and Fish Department); Adjust fishing practices for heat (29 July 2024) (Wyoming Game and Fish Department).

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.

• Jackson Hole, Wyoming4 cutthroat trout waters

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.