Quick summary. The Lahontan Cutt historically live in the Truckee system and ran between Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake. These were incredible fish...salmon sized beauties that grew past 40 pounds. The fish lived in Pyramid where they grew huge feedin on Tui Chub and Cui Ui. They spawned up the Truckee River from Pyramid, but some also existed in the river and in Tahoe year round. So white man settles the area and wipes out the species. Non native fish introductions, commercial fishing, and most importantly the Derby dam on Truckee led to the extinction of the Pyramid Lake strain of Lahontans. Smaller strains of Lahontans from Summit Lake were introduced, and the Pyramid Lake Piutes managed the fishery with them for decades The Summit Lake fish were awesome, but didn't grow to the huge size that the original Pyramid Lake strain did.

At one point, biologists were sampling trout and testing genetics from small streams. They discovered a unique fish in a small stream on Pilot peak and determined it wasn't a Bonneville Cutt. Genetic testing showed it was a Pyramid Lahontan. They captured these fish, started breeding them, placed them in a pond out i the desert, and immediately observed incredible growth rates. It really was the strain, or very close to the strain lost from the Truckee system.

In 2006 the fish were reintroduced into Pyramid and very rapidly put on incredible size. I'e caught them on a fly rod up to nearly 18 pounds. The fish is now being found spawning in the Truckee again, and last year Nevada started a project to modify the Derby Dam to allow passage of migrating Lahontans up the system. Hopefully soon we will have 30-40 pound Cutts migrating up the Truckee to Tahoe. It's an amazing project, and one I'm really excited about. Huge success story on what is, in my opinion, the coolest fish in the US.