Northwest Fishing Reports

I think i've only caught rainbows, but i dont have the slightly clue.....

how can you tell them apart?

Hey FishingFool,

I use the WDFW pamphlet pictures. I cut them out and have them in plastic page protectors in my tackle box. I have only been fishing now for two years and still refer to them...less all the time as I get better at identifying them.
Here is the link: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/2007/2007sportregs.pdf

You can, of course link the pamphlet from this site under links.

Here is a really good picture to contrast the two:

Good luck out there!!

fishingfool, cuttthroats around here will look similar to a rainbow but they wont have the red band and be mostly just black spots with maybe a little color. cuttthroats look different from each other no matter where you go, there are so many varyations. the easyest way to tell them apart is to look for a red or orange line right under the jaw bone which is were to name cutthroat comes from.

Fisherman_max wrote:the easiest way to tell them apart is to look for a red or orange line right under the jaw bone which is were to name cutthroat comes from.

That's really the best answer. A cutt will have a more silver body than say a bow. Bow's are usually aren't as silver and cutts have dark spotted heads. But as Fisherman_max alluded to, you must check for the orange band underneath their jaw. The expection to this would be juvienlle cutthroats, who at 8 - 13" may not have complete banding...this makes for tough identifcation. I've caught some cutt-bows that are hybrids...but for most lakes, like Margaret and other lowland lakes...use the orange band. They are hearty fighters!