Today I drove up Mill Canyon checking out Mill Creek. Mill Creek was treated with Rotenone to kill all the trout years ago, and then restocked with Bonneville Cutthroat Trout to restore the creek with its original native fish. Mill Creek is a small, brushy creek with lots of downed trees in it to provide great spots for trout to survive and flourish.
I drove high into the canyon and then worked downstream, stopping at every picnic site and turnout to check, and hopefully fished each section thoroughly.
How good was the pool I found? It had steps down into the water!
As always, I floated a hopper through the middle of this pool and got a rise from a fish. After many refusals, I put on an Elk Hair Caddis and immediately got a huge strike / hookup. The rocks on the shore had a crevice, filled with water, that held my net and the fish perfectly to allow good photographs of the fish.
The fish looked almost like a Brown Trout, but after many comparisons with online photos I’m sure this is a Bonneville Cutthroat. Of the 7 photos I took of this fish, this is the only one that shows a little orange throat under the chin of the fish. (Also, Brown Trout don’t have spots in their tails, have many more spots to the belly, and the spots are usually encased in white circles).
I have completed the Utah Cutthroat Slam, assuming they accept blurry pictures of the Yellowstone and Bear River Cutthroats submitted.
I’ll be taking some time off to get my air conditioning fan replaces ($850 Aarrgghh) and to bond with Gwen, my grandbaby. Next stop is Colorado in the near future, going for a Gila Trout.
Tight Lines!