Parker-Hawes Fly Rods

[Dean Romig]

Actually James Prosek is a fantastic painter of fish and in his book "Trout, An Illustrated History" and in fact, even the cover illustration is the Greenback Cutthroat Trout. I was not questioning your identification of the fish in your photo - it is unquestionably as you describe, a Greenback Cutthroat.

I do see however that Prosek paints his with slightly rounded upper and lower 'corners' of the caudal fin where in your real life photo they appear to be sharp corners... probably due to finning in the water. Also worthy of note is that they in fact do not have a forked caudal but have a very shallow V and almost square across.


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[Tom Flanigan]

Dean, forgive me please. I am not trying to disagree, but the greenback is my favorite trout and I am very partial to it and the incredibly beautiful area it inhabits. I’m sorry to say this but I have never ever seen a greenback trout that looks anything like that painting. Even though greenback coloration differs a bit from creek to creek or alpine lake to alpine lake, that painting does not look like any of them.

The tail is all wrong. Greenbacks have a square tail. The colors on the side of the fish are all wrong. Greenbacks are not that color green but rather a light copperish tan color to a more cream color. And all have a faint pinkish to red line from tail to gills. Not as pronounced as the rainbow but there nevertheless.

The multi-color fins are laughable and the spots are all wrong. Except for the tail area, greenback spots are above the lateral line and much less profuse than in the picture. In fact, most have very few spots other than the cluster of spots in the tail area.

Greenback is a misnomer. The trout has no true green on it, although many are of an olive sort of color but it is always light. I don’t know how greenbacks got that name.

That is an impressionistic rendition and bears no resemblance to a true greenback. That picture reminds me of Partker’s flying turnips. It’s that bad.

I shouldn’t care about incorrect renditions but I do because it does tend to confuse people. If someone paints a greenback trout, it should be from life and an accurate representation of nature. The problem is that few care to endure the pain of climbing to high altitudes. Few have ever seen or caught one.

I trek to their environs every year and have been for many years. I fish them in July after ice out and again in October most years. I have caught hundreds of them. The greenback and its environment are in my soul.

When I get a moment, I’ll post a few greenback pictures for you so you can see what they really look like. They are an absolutely incredible fish. They were listed as extinct in 1936 but in the 80’s, they were found by an expedition that took samples of the fish back. DNA testing proved that they were in fact the greenback that was thought extinct. The categorization of the fish was changed to endangered.

Fishing for them is allowed but all must be returned to the water unharmed. Of course, law or not, I would never dream of killing one of those jewels. I haven’t killed a trout for about fifty years except for the brookies I bring to altitude to provide substance over the five days that I spend with the greenbacks and bighorns.

[Tom Flanigan]

Dean...just one more tidbit. The greenback is not a fish of the west slope drainage. There are none west of the continental divide. The Colorado cutthroat sub species inhabits areas similar to the greenback but at lower altitudes west of the continental divide. The Colorado cutthroat and the greenback look a lot alike.

Its funny that there are no greenbacks west of the divide but they are close to it. I hike the divide and then turn east after five miles to get to my greenbacks. I have to hike a total of about ten miles to get to them with much elevation gain. But its well worth it. They are absolutely enchanting.

[Tom Flanigan]

This is a July male greenback in spawn colors. He does have a few spots below the lateral line but its not common. I'll post an October male shortly

[Tom Flanigan]

This is a picture of a male greenback in October. This is typical coloration which varies somewhat from lake to lake and creek to creek. But this is what they look like.

[Dean Romig]

Impressionistic for certain Tom. I'm sure you have noticed that paintings of fish, in this case trout, can't possibly portray the wild strength of the life within - can't possibly portray the luminescense that life gives to a fish's aboriginal being, the shimmering colors and pulsating hues as he struggles to gain freedom. Kill that fish and the luminescense immediately disappears and the colors go flat. Seconds earlier it was quite a different being but in death it is nothing more than a meal... with some color.

I rarely kill a fish anymore either. In fact, I can't remember the last fish I killed but I think it was a mess of white perch my grandson and I caught at my place in Maine to fry up for breakfast with blueberry pancakes... or should I say, "Downeast Crepes"

Anyway, you'll get no arguement from me Tom - you've been there and done that while I have never fished those Rocky Mountain environs and have never seen a Greenback Cutthroat Trout other than in pictures. My trout of choice is wild brookies in New England and eastern Canada.





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[Tom Flanigan]

I'm right with you Dean on brookies. They are a wonderful fish. Pictured below are a couple of my Rocky eating trout, a male and a female. It really hurts to kill a wild brookie.

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by David Dwyer

I purchased an Orvis Battenkill split tonkin bamboo rod in the mid 60s. It has a broken tip and would like to have it"repaired" I believe that would involve having a new tip made. Whom would y'all suggest ask to do that??
David

It is better to have the maker, if still in business. make any repairs. Orvis cane rods, while at the lower end of market value because there are so many out there, can do the work and at a reasonable cost.

I have an Orvis 7/4 rod built by Ron White. I had an extra tip made for the rod and the sets taken out of the tips that came with rod. It cost $350 and I had the rod back in three weeks.

The market is not kind to impregnated cane rods. But, from a price / performance perspective, many Orvis cane rods are sold for bargain prices.

[Dean Romig]

But for a 'working' cane rod it is hard to beat an Orvis impregnated rod for durability with a minimum of care and maintenance.





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[Tom Flanigan]

For sure Dean. I've used them for years. although my Leonard's are my go to rods. I have a few Orvis Ron White rods that I am attached to. My 7/4 built by Ron White is a favorite. I tend to buy rods based on the person who built them. All but one of my Leonard rods were built by Ted Simroe.

If someone wanting to start fishing cane asks my advice, I always point them to the Orvis Battenkill's. They are truly great rods that won't break the bank. I never understood the market's aversion to impregnated rods. The Leonard Duracane and the Orvis rods are workhorses but they both take a hit for being impregnated. Not valid in my opinion.