What sort of trout is this?

[batts002]

Hey folks

Some buddies and I were down in Arkansas (Norfork River) catching some trout and caught one that we couldn't identify. It looked like a brown, but the spots weren't quite right (Small, no red/blue coloring). Doesn't really look like a cutthroat, and according to everything I've read, the stretch of river we fished should have rainbows, brown, cutts, and brooks. But this fish doesn't look like any of those.

The browns we caught looked like this...

But the strange one looked like this...

Am I missing something obvious? A hybrid of some sorts? The five of us are fairly experienced trout fisherman, but haven't seen anything like this fish. I tried getting an Arkansas forum to help identify, but they had all sorts of rules about posting images that were too big of a hassle.

Anyways, any help would be great.

[DriftlessFisher]

It could be a cutbow, hybrid between a rainbow and cutthroat. But most likely just a cutthroat. Not sure what subspecies though.

[fishfearme]

They look like Browns to me. I know they stock the heck out of them in Arkansas, when there are millions produced there are bound to be a few freaks.

[reinhard1]

it looks like a rainbow to me. a brown trout has more of a sqare tail. i can see a hint of pink in the cheek and lateral line. a brown also has more pronounced spots on it. good luck.

[OnAFly]

Did it have the bright orange stripe on the throat?

Looks like a cutthroat or a cutbow. The cutthroat gene pool has been watered down by the introduction of rainbows in many places. Most cutts have a little bow in them.

[sowbug1171]

its a cut used to live in ar fished river all the time

[Muskie456]

Snake River Cutthroat

[leech~~]

Top one is a Brown, bottom could be a cut throat or Cutbow like others have said since the dots are smaller?

[batts002]

Top one is a Brown, bottom could be a cut thoat or Cutbow like others have said since the dots are smaller?

Yep, I just put the brown in there for comparison. It did have the smallest orange slashmarks under the jaw which made me think some sort of cut, but the rest of the body didn't match the colorations of other cuts we've caught in previous years.

All things considered, I guess I'd put money on it being some subspecies of cut.

[sowbug1171]

muskies is right snake river cut stocked them in north fork river looks like you are at the goat bluff access from the pic next time go to mcclelans private access walk down straem and fish the c&r area below the little falls nice deep hole there

really miss that place!

[Swimmer]

muskies is right snake river cut stocked them in north fork river looks like you are at the goat bluff access from the pic next time go to mcclelans private access walk down straem and fish the c&r area below the little falls nice deep hole there

really miss that place!

Yup, I've never fished the Northfork, but just got back from the White River below the Beaver Lake dam. That was fun. I'm kind of a newb with a fly rod, but was still able to land some rainbows. Always the chance for a huge brown there too. Hard to believe Arkansas has so much nice (big fish) trout water. I won't even pretend to know what species that is...ok, subspecies of a cutthroat.

[deets22]

its different but i would say that it definitely isn't a brown. a funky rainbow or cut or hybrid.