Wyoming Cut Slam Program

From the Wyoming Gane and Fish Department.

A program designed to encourage anglers to learn more about Wyoming's cutthroat sub-species and develop more appreciation and support of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's cutthroat management program.

What you do:

• Catch Wyoming's four cutthroat sub-species in their native range in Wyoming
• Complete this application and submit the application and the pictures to a local Regional Office Fisheries Section, or to the Cheyenne Headquarters located at:

   Wyoming Game and Fish Department
   5400 Bishop Blvd
   Cheyenne WY 82006

What we do:

• Once we receive documentation that you have caught all four sub-species, the Wyoming Game and Fish will send you a color certificate featuring the four sub-species recognizing your accomplishment. One certificate per person, please.

LINK

Comments

[sdh]

Not sure this is the best idea. Send dudes off chasing sensitive strains of cutthroat on a grip n' grin quest.?

[Jeremy]

Been around for...what...15 years now? I see it more as an opportunity to raise awareness of what these waters and these fish face.
I've got mine, how about you?

[deerhawk]

Fished Wy last year....nice, but that's all yer gittin outa me...
(heh heh)

[LP]

sdh what do you purpose to help raise money? I thinks its a good idea and which still supports catch and release. I think its more important to lose a few fish and raise money for habitat to support better populations of those fish don't you?

[Suckit]

Idaho is doing somewahat of the same thing. When we were up there last year we got checked by fish and game twice in one day to make sure we weren't keepin the cutties. Support catch and release! Keep track of the species to give info to those who keep track of where there at.

[wvangler]

If you think keeping substrains a secret and keeping anglers away from them is a good idea then you have got to be kidding me. I totally dig this program. My best fishing pal has completed it. He is going to New Mexico this summer to go for all the substrains there. In '08 we caught all 3 subspecies in Colorado (and made up our own certificate based on the WY one.) I live in West Virginia and will donate $ and fight hard for cutts far more now that I've been exposed to these adventures.

[sdh]

While lurking on Utah on the Fly I read a bad review of the cutt slam
From UTOF
"In regards to the dark side that Rodrick is referring to. This past summer I fished the Grey's River for an extended period of time and got my fill of Fine Spotted Snake River Cutts. One evening I decided to bust through the pass (Wyoming range) and fish Cottonwood Creek which has native Colorado River cutts. That evening there were two different groups of anglers hell bent on completing the cutt-slam and catching a CRC. They were dragging fishing through the water, through the brush, etc. just to get to the guy with the camera so they could get their damn picture taken so they could submit the paperwork. I have no doubt those anglers would have never fished Cottonwood Creek except for the Cutt-Slam certificate. And I have no doubt a fish or two died unnecessarily because they were being dragged around just to get the photograph."
http://www.utahonthefly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20029&highlight=cutthroat+slam&page=2

I'm not completely opposed to it, like I said - I'm just not sure it's the best idea. I think cutthroat are not a very hardy species of fish and some subspecies numbers are not that great. I'm a little apprehensive about sending dudes after them in droves to places that probably won't take a whole lot of pressure very well. I like seeing the discussion on it.

Where does the money come from? I didn't see any reference to it in the post.

[Patrick Sievert]

Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but I've got to disagree with SDH. In the 15 years that the Cutt-Slam program has been in existence, somewhere around 600 anglers have completed it. 600. In 15 years. There are a lot of rivers that see that many anglers in 15 hours.

The truth is, it's raised a lot of awareness about Bonneville, Colorado and Yellowstone (to a lesser extent) Cutthroats that wasn't there before. And due in part to that awareness (and appreciation), steps are now being taken to restore these fish to the waters they used to inhabit before we screwed them all up (if it were up to me, rainbows would be eradicated east of the continental divide).

While I'm sure there are some exceptions (you seem to have encountered one on Cottonwood Creek), I highly doubt they're the norm.