Like I said, cutts love to take the dry fly, and that is always what I reach for first when I go to a cutty river. Their favorite food in my experiance is mayflies, with green drake, PMD's, and BWO's being the most important. The standard CDC mayfly and parachute adams' are the flies of choice, with sizes in #10-#20 Stoneflies are right there too. Golden stones are the first obvious choice, but yellow sallies are pretty important too. Stimulators in the chosen colour and in sizes #8-#16 will work fine. Sometimes a LeTort Hopper is what you will want to use, due to its lower profile in the water. You also whant to be prepared for caddis' flights and midge hatches. Nymphs should be a GR Hares Ear and your favorite Golden Stonefly nymph pattern. Pretty simple. #8-#18.
Now, when you get to the stream, you will have a variety of types of water to fish. But where do you start? Pools. Plain and simple. They have the large size which is able to grow large trout. When you fish a pool, always start at the bottom first. If you start at the top, you stand a good chance of putting those fish down. A weighted stonefly nymph is good to use if the fish aren't rising. If they are rising, use the right dry fly. Next in line is runs. make sure that the run has some sort of fish holding water. It can be a log, rock or just a water deflection, but there should be something there. Try to key on the deep outside bends.
Equipment selection, though not critical, can add much enjoyment to the trip. I like to fish a 7.5'-9' 4wt or 5wt. If you play the fish right, you should be able to land 20"+ fish. WF floating line is the rule, even for nymphs. If you want to streamer fish, you might want a 5'-10' sink tip, just in case. Leaders should be in the 7'-9' 3x range for nymph's, while 10'-11' 4x-5x is right for the dries. 20lb test backing is good, and you will never need more than 50yrds.
Where to catch them? In Alberta, I have had good success fishing the Castle, Livingstone, and North Ram Rivers. While friends tell me that the Elk River and its tributaries are good bets in BC. The St. Mary's is a good one too. Search around until you find a spot you like. But remember, the best spots for cutties are spots not many people fish. So get out your hiking boots.
I think it should be a
no-brainer that C&R should always be practiced. Cutts are easy to catch, and in many cases, can and have been fished out in only 5 years. So always be sure to read your regs. Go for it. There are many cutthroat trout streams out there calling your name.
