Tennessee to start stocking cutthroat trout into tailwaters

Dr. Strangelove

Senior Member
Nice.Will be interesting to see what happens.
 

Coenen

Senior Member
Any other rivers with Cuts East of the Mississippi? That'd be a selling point. Behavior-wise I don't think they're terribly different from the Browns, Rainbows, and Brook Char already stocked.
 

northgeorgiasportsman

Moderator
Staff member
Any other rivers with Cuts East of the Mississippi? That'd be a selling point. Behavior-wise I don't think they're terribly different from the Browns, Rainbows, and Brook Char already stocked.

They've been stocking them in the Cumberland river for a few years now.
 

Meriwether Mike

Senior Member
Nothing wrong with a new type of trout to pull on my line!!
 

GTMODawg

BANNED
LOADS of difference between Cutthroats and Rainbows/Browns/Char. At least in their native habitat....they are dumber than a sack of rocks LOL. They will eat ANYTHING fished ANYWAY. No where near as selective as stocked rainbows and the difference between them and wild rainbows is night and day. They tend to be slightly bigger in the same environment that rainbows and they fight a little better in my opinion but most people disagree. They eat really well!

Lots of rivers in the PNW have no limit on Rainbows and Cutbows because they are breeding them out of existence....probably isn't a pure strain of cut throat left in the US but there could be. Even in those systems its not unusual to catch 2-3 throats to every rainbow.....they are EXTREMELY aggressive feeders when they are feeding and in my experience they eat ALL of the time....
 

northgeorgiasportsman

Moderator
Staff member
As an invasive to these waters, what native species will they be displacing?
Nick, I'd say they only plan to stock them in tailwaters that are already hatchery supported. Except for the native Brook trout, ALL trout in the eastern United States are invasive.
 

Doug B.

Senior Member
I have caught stream raised cutthroat in Colorado in the same water as brook, rainbow, and browns. They are a pretty fish for sure. There are several different sub-species of cutthroat. The ones I caught were Colorado Greenbacks. I wonder which ones will be stocked here. 20180925_132157.jpg
 

Dirk

Senior Member
The Cumberland and TN Rivers are large rivers both loaded with HUGE Striped Bass, Flatheads, Drum, etc... Probably more freshwater LARGE Striped Bass in those 2 river systems than the whole rest of the Country. Striped Bass LOVE TROUT, and if a Striper sees a trout he WILL try to eat it. Seems stupid to me to stock trout of any kind somewhere they will get eaten probably in the 1st year, quit possibly in the 1st month or week. It makes more sense to me to stock trout(not cheap to raise to fingerlings) in smaller creeks where they are the dominant species, not where they are food for various larger species. That just seems like common sense to me, but whatever I guess...???

On a positive note, I guess it will largely increase the food source for the Striped Bass and other large predators. Those are what I am normally after so I guess its a good thing for me. Just seems like a waste of money.
 

lampern

Senior Member
They are not being stocked into the Cumberland or TN rivers as I understand it.

Probably the Holston, Watauga or Elk tailwaters
 

Meriwether Mike

Senior Member
They will probably put them in the Hiawasse Tail Water.
 

Timberman

Senior Member
They will eat ANYTHING fished ANYWAY.

I fished for them in the Selway wilderness. It could have been the remoteness or whatever but you literally could catch every cutthroat in a pool or run one behind the other.
 
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