Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout

Rio Grande Cutthroat have been eliminated in much of their former range in the Rio Grande by hybridization with nonnative rainbow trout. However, they can still be found today in many of the small headwater tributaries of that river in Colorado and New Mexico. This map of New Mexico's public fishing waters may be handy.

Other opportunities may soon make it even easier to find these fish. The New Mexico Game and Fish Department has recently restored Rio Grande cutts to the Rio Capulin in the southwest slopes of the Jemez Mountains near and in Bandelier National Monument. They are currently monitoring the situation. If the population becomes self-sustaining, it will likely be opened to angling. They are also trying to restore these fish to Comanche Creek and Costilla Creek.

You may also want to try El Rito, Rio Vallecito, and Rio Tusas, in Rio Arriba county. The New Mexico Fish and Game Department also stocks these trout in Comanche Creek on the Valle Vidal and in the Rio Grande above Pilar. Catch and Release fishing is also availabe on Nabor Lake and Nabor Creek on the Edward Sargent Wildlife Area and several other streams on the Valle Vidal.