Gorgeous (and huge!) Wild Cutts and Rainbows

Fishing in the middle of the week hasn't happened for...well, a long time. Since I started a new job, my weekdays are stuffed full of actual work, and I haven't had the opportunity to visit my favorite holes on a Wednesday for a very long time.

That is, until today.

Thanks to a lucky break, I had a few free hours Wednesday afternoon and decided to make a drive through gorgeous country to a few spots that haven't had enough attention from me in recent weeks.

The weather was gorgeous and I was excited! 

After seeing some fabulous cutts from my good friend Justin (his post is here) I got the cutthroat fever and realized it was high time I find some. 

My first stop yielded a very yellow tiger trout, not what I was after, but a pretty fish nonetheless. 

After that fish, I turned my attention to some water I'd heard held some hefty fish. After walking through some outrageously gorgeous country, I arrived at the small stream which wound its way lazily through the pristine landscape. 

A few casts into the action, I was able to bring this nice fish to hand for a few quick photos. Gorgeous coloration on this guy! 

I'd heard big fish swam in this creek, and I assumed this fish was on the bigger end of things. 

I was wrong, but I didn't know it yet. Regardless, this fish was gorgeous! Just amazing coloration on this guy. 

The other best part? He fought like crazy! Each fish I caught on this adventure ripped line off my reel a few times as they made runs either up or down river. Hooking into such aggressive fish on a small creek is one of the best feelings in the world! 

A wild rainbow came next. Didn't expect to catch these, but they were welcome! 

This next fish is the largest cutthroat I've ever caught. Granted, I haven't fished for cutthroat extensively, but he's still a gorgeous, huge fish. 

I threw my gold Blue Fox size 2 spinner up the creek from me and began to reel. As I came into some choppy water, I felt a nice sharp tug. I set the hook, and I felt a fight on the end! I had a fish! 

Then my reel screamed. The fish swam up river against a decently tight drag with ease, and that's when I knew I had a fish on. 

I played the fish for a few minutes, tightening the drag when I could. Finally, he broke the surface. I hollered, amazed at how big the fish was for such a tiny creek! 

Then the fish took off down stream, and I had to follow. I was about 300 yards up from a small bridge, and the cutt on the end of my line was fixing to take me right under the bridge. 

After tripping over bushes and rocks, and sliding in mud for more than 5 minutes, I finally netted this beautiful wild cutthroat. 

Just to give you some scale - my net is 16 inches across. Those extra 4 inches hanging off the end give the fish a length of about 20 inches. 

The girth was incredible! I couldn't believe how fat this fish was! 

My hand is wrapped all the way around the back of the fish, and my fingers still don't come up over his back! This was easily a 3.5 pound fish, and he fought like one too. The bright orange slashes and beautiful purple on his gill plate made the catch even better. 

He swam off after some coaxing, as tired from the fight as I was. Seeing and holding that fish for a few brief moments as I snapped pictures was incredible. 

I finished the day off with another pair of wild rainbows. 

Just amazing. 

After a hard few weeks for me personally, this was a much needed day of rejuvenation. Forgive me if I sound like I'm waxing poetic, but this was an incredible experience. I'm incredibly blessed to live in such a gorgeous place where equally gorgeous trout stuff the water everywhere. Being able to take part in these adventures is the best part of my life, and I enjoy every second I spend getting a line wet. 

This weekend, I'm headed to Boulder Mountain for some brook trout action. Hopefully I'll have an equally epic experience there!