Reader Paul Huffman has entered a great shot of a tremendous Westslope cutthroat trout hooked and released in a Washington river east of the Cascades.
Huffman said he caught the fish several years ago, and catch-and-release regulations prevented him from entering this huge trout as a new state record.
This trout is big -- and beautiful, which is sometimes an elusive combination. Most of my rare big trout are older, battle-scarred monsters -- not sleek and clean and gorgeous like this fish. This trout is just special.
Huffman doesn't mention the river, and who can blame him? I would tie the man many flies to see the run where this fish was hooked....
Anyway, this westslope cutt would get lots of attention in any Montana or Idaho river.
Catching a wild trout like this one is a fabulous reward in itself, but Huffman is in the running to win one of the three prizes in the Fish Shot Photo Contest. First prize is 12 flies that work on Oregon's Deschutes River. Second place is six flies, and third place takes home three flies.
The contest deadline is Labor Day. Each person is limited to one photo.
My e-mail is [email protected].
