If you've ever dreamt of catching an Apache and a Gila trout on the same mountain, your dreams might be coming true sooner rather than later. If you've never heard of either species, don't feel bad, but there is an interesting push to create a Gila trout season in Arizona.
The Gila trout and Apache trout are both subspecies in the family O. Gilea, both are relatively rare, and both are native to the Southwest United States. Average Gila trout are about 11 inches in length, but can grow to sizes as big as 20 inches. They are characterized by numerous dark spots on the upper half of their bodies.
Loss of habitat, among other factors, has threatened the Gila trout in recent years, but in Arizona, there is a push to create a season for them this year so that anglers can target them.
From an article published this week on the Fishing Wire:
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission on Feb. 4 is being asked to create the first-ever season on native Gila trout at Frye Mesa Reservoir on the Pinaleño Mountains in southern Arizona.
"Arizona has never had an open season on Gila trout. They were thought to have been extirpated from the state before we had regulated fishing seasons," said Fisheries Chief Kirk Young.
If the request is granted, and a season is opened with a one-fish bag limit, Mount Grahm in Arizona would be the only place on earth where anglers could target both the Gila and Apache trout. The feat would surely be one of the more obscure "slams" to complete.
Photo Courtesy US Fish and Wildlife.
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