Montana State Fish

Blackspotted Cutthroat Trout Salmo clarki Adopted: February 10, 1977

State Fish: Blackspotted (or Westslope) Cutthroat Trout
Credit: Wash. Fish & Wildlife

Montana Law

The following information was excerpted from the Montana Revised Statutes, Title 1, Chapter 1, Part 5, Section 1-1-507.

TITLE 1. GENERAL LAWS AND DEFINITIONS
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Part 5. State Symbols -- Official Designations
Section 1-1-507

1-1-507. State fish. The blackspotted cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki, is the official Montana state fish.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 6, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 19-125.

Sources...

Montana Code Annotated - 2007. Montana Legislature. 2009. 4 March 2009
Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001.

Additional Information

Trout posters and prints

State Fish Blackspotted Cutthroat Trout: Montana Kids - Montana Office of Tourism.

Montana Trout: Montana Kids - Montana Office of Tourism.

Westslope Cutthroat Trout: Species of Concern - Montana National Heritage Program: Animal Field Guide.

Fishing & Hunting in Montana: Everything you need to know about fishing and hunting in Montana.

Website: Department of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Westslope Cutthroat: Western Native Trout Initiative.

Oncorhynchus clarkii (cutthroat trout): Uniersity of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web.

Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi - (Girard, 1856): NatureServe Explorer: An Online Encyclopedia of Life.

Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi (Girard, 1856): Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Here you will find authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

State Fish: Complete list of official state Fish.

More symbols & emblems: Complete list of official Montana state symbols.

A Field Guide to Montana Fishes
by George Holton, Howard E. Johnson

Field Guide to Montana Fishes, by George Holton, Howard E. Johnson. 104 pages. Falcon Distribution; 2 edition (January 28, 2001) A well-organized handbook with helpful tips on identifying fishes in the field.

Montana Fly Fishing Guide West: West of the Continental Divide, by John Holt. 304 pages. The Lyons Press; 1st edition (June 1, 2002) An irreplaceable reference that offers everything a fly fisher needs for the ultimate western Montana fishing experience; illustrated with great maps and hatch charts.

Trout and Salmon of North America
by Robert J. Behnke

Fly-Fishing Western Trout Streams, by Jim McLennan. 160 pages. Stackpole Books; 1 edition (February 2003) Author Jim McLennan takes readers out on the water to show in detail how best to fish trout streams in the West from Canada to Mexico. The lessons come directly from McLennan's experiences on the water. Covers tactics for dry fly fishing as well as fishing from a drift boat.

Trout and Salmon of North America, by Robert J. Behnke. 384 pages. Free Press (September 24, 2002) Behnke, professor emeritus of fishery and wildlife biology at Colorado State University, has brought his more than 50 years of studying, and fishing for salmon and trout, to wonderful effect. He provides readers with an authoritative compendium of the evolution, biology, ecology, habitats and behaviors of these prized game fish. A capsule legend that includes scientific name, other common names, habitat, size, life span and diet accompanies each entry, amazingly illustrated by Tomelleri, whose fish seem to shimmer on the pages. Habitat maps, which include coastal waters, rivers, streams and lakes, are detailed and specific enough to be taken on fishing excursions. The book includes a good deal of fishing lore, as in the notations that describe the best flies, bait and lures for specific types of fish and locales.

Native Trout of Western North America , by Robert J. Behnke. 275 pages. American Fisheries Society (December 1992) This book results from almost four decades of research and practical experience with this group of fishes. This work addresses the evolution, taxonomy, and present distributions of members of this group of fishes (cutthroat, rainbow, Gila, and related indigenous trout of the West), and proposes a conservation philosophy to sustain them.

About Trout: The Best of Robert Behnke from Trout Magazine, by Robert J. Behnke. 272 pages. The Lyons Press (September 1, 2007) Behnke brings scientific expertise, a sense of humor and a flair for drama to this collection of 43 essays previously published as his About Trout column in conservation organization Trout Unlimited's Trout magazine. Behnke considers the evolution, historic and current distribution, biological characteristics and defining physical traits of various species of trout and salmon-from the common brown trout and well-known Atlantic salmon to the rare Apache trout and the once-presumed extinct, now-endangered Alvord cutthroat trout.

Trout Rigs & Methods
by Dave Hughes

Trout, by Ray Bergman. 576 pages. The Derrydale Press (October 25, 2000) Trout is arguably the finest single volume ever produced on how, why, and where to catch trout. In spite of being originally published in 1938 (Penn Publishing Company), it remains utterly relevant.

Trout Rigs & Methods, by Dave Hughes. 322 pages. Stackpole Books (January 10, 2007) Clear and simple instruction and explanation describes 18 trout rigs and 81 methods to fish them. In moving water: rigs and methods for dry flies and emergers, nymphs, wet flies, streamers, and dry flies and droppers. In stillwater: dry flies and sunk flies.Fly fishers learn the specifics of the rig--types of fly line, lengths and tapers of leader and tippet, the flies, and split shot, putty weight, strike indicators, droppers, point flies, and indicators--and the full array of methods to present the rig to the trout.

Essential Trout Flies, by Dave Hughes. 92 pages. Stackpole Books (April 2000) A core list of flies that will catch trout anywhere, in every season, this collection includes the most important patterns in a wide range of styles, from dry flies to streamers. The tying steps for each pattern are illustrated in step-by-step photos with detailed captions, followed by photos and recipes for the six most useful variations-217 patterns in all. Each chapter features a description of the insect the pattern imitates as well as expert information on how and when to fish the fly.

Complete line of fishing equipment including rods, reels, rod and reel combinations, fly fishing gear, bait and spin casting rods and reels, ice fishing equipment, lures and flies, and other accessories. All major brands.

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