Getting in to Wild Cutthroat in Durango with Justin Meyer

Join Justin Salem Meyer -- a fly-fishing enthusiast, photographer, and web designer based in Des Moines, Iowa -- on a trip to Southern Colorado in search of wild Cutthroats.

I made my way to southern Colorado in search of wild Cutthroat trout. My friend Andy, from Duranglers took us out to one of his favorite undisclosed spots. Maybe it is because I am from the flat-lands so hiking in 2 miles, down at least 1000ft. was brutal. But we were handsomely rewarded when we got onto the stream. I won't soon forget wet-wading a cold mountain stream, catching wild cutty's on a local favorite, the chubby Chernobyl with a hairs ear tied below.

I probably landed 12 fish, the biggest being 14 inches. Andy managed to pull a 17" out of a hole made above a beaver dam. The hike out was rough, and my Iowa lungs forced us to stop often and rest, but stopping often isn't such a bad deal in the beautiful mountains of southern Colorado.