Techniques

Simply put, the most important factors in ocean fishing for cutthroat are the tides. They are the key that unlocks the door to Queen Charlottes cutthroat trout. Cutts feed when tidal currents are moving food around. After much trial and error, you will find some beaches fish best on the falling tide, others on a rising tide. Some beaches fish well on both tides. Either way, a tide table is the most important part of a cutthroat angler's tackle.

The Queen Charlottes have some of the largest tidal changes in the world. The water level on a beach can change 17 feet or more over six hours. The flowing water often creates tiderips, where fast-moving water is next to slow or slack water. Cutthroat trout lurk along those rips.

Fishing the rivers for resident cutthroat trout is a different story, and is great year round. Queen Charlottes cutthroat will often run up rivers to steal salmon eggs out of redds and eat the flesh from decaying salmon carcasses.

Five types of cutthoat trout inhabit our rivers and estuaries. There is the sea-run variety, which spends most of its time in the ocean, but will enter fresh water to feed occasionaly and also to spawn. There is also a resident river cutthroat that lives in the larger rivers such as the Yakoun year round. Another type lives in the large lakes of Haida Gwaii for the entire year. Lastly, another variety moves from the lakes to the rivers foraging for food. This fifth cutthroat is the true nomad of the species. They actually live in the lake, river, and ocean at different times throughout their lives.