Customer Reviews

Sierra Trout Guide

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Ralph Cutter has done a superb job with his revised edition of "Sierra Trout Guide". The book was originally published in a much smaller format with only a fraction of the information contained in this edition. The ten years between editions was well worth the wait.

Ralph introduces you to the various species of trout and char that you will find in the Sierra, along with valuable information on their preferred habitat and environmental preferences. His chapter describing the fishery will help you understand why the Sierra Nevada enjoys such a wide mix of trout, and will give the history buff a load of trivia to share at the evening campfire or while moon-watching from a granite bluff.

Backpacking is a minimalist's sport and yet fly fishers have a reputation for carrying everything with them but the kitchen sink. The chapter "Into the Backcountry" gives great guidelines on what to take, what to leave, and what to expect to run into on a fly-fishing/backpacking trip. The chapter on "Trout Foods" includes information on all the major insects on the Sierra trout's menu and includes a hatch chart with some general recommendations to compensate for elevation differences. Ralph again takes the well seasoned backpacker's approach to his recommended fly assortment. You really can imitate most of the available insects in the Sierra with just a handful of flies.

The chapter "Locating Productive Waters" will enable you to make an educated guess about where to find trout by analyzing the features of the 7 1/2 minute maps of the areas you wish to explore.

As if that was not enough, the book includes distribution charts (listed by county) of all the rivers and lakes found in the Sierra that hold trout. These charts also tell you which USGS map they can be found on, the watershed they belong to, the elevation, and even the species of fish you can expect to find in the area you're considering. For example, if you want to fish lakes in the EL Dorado County area of the Sierra for Golden Trout, you can use these charts to plan your trip. My brother and I used this information to find a lake a few years ago that contained golden trout at 8100 feet of elevation and only a 6 mile hike in. The full moon illuminating the granite cliffs over the lake that night, and a sparkling jewel of a 14" golden trout the next day, quickly made me forget any soreness from the effort it took to get there.

The book is printed on top quality glossy paper and the pictures alone make the book worth buying. The 8½" x 11" pages are easy to read and handle, and the softcover allows you to easily slip it into your backpack. Don't go into the Sierra without it.

Cutter's Sierra Trout Guide is more than just a how to catch fish book. It is a lovingly illustrated and highly readable narrative about the Sierras, the varieties of trout found there, where trout feed, and on what and when, how to know what the trout are eating and what best imitates today's insect selection. Equally important, Cutter provides a compelling history of each strain of Sierra trout and how man has done his best --luckily so far unsuccessfully-- to ruin this splendid fishery. Read this book and you'll weep at what our forefathers did to the once abundant Lahontan Cutthroat. But you'll also see the Sierras and their wild trout populations with a whole new appreciation for their magnificence.

This little book is jam packed with all sorts of useful and very informative information. Some of the Best drawings of the different species of Trout I've ever seen, not to mention the many, many photos contained inside the covers. My hat's off to this author and his dedication to the genre of Trout Fishing, at it's best!

As an author of a book that uses a fishing metaphor to illustrate how relationships work, I was approached by someone about this book. So I bought it and must say that it truly gives the more serious angler a better understanding about what fly fishing for trout is all about. Having read about a dozen books on trout fishing (in doing the research for my fishing analogy), I think this one is one of the very best. The pictures are beautiful and something that every California trout fisherman should have in his personal library.

This is a well written book with beautiful photographs of fish, insects and the lakes and streams. This book covers a lot of material:beautiful drawings of the trout of the Sierra's, some biology and history of each species of fish, the fish's environment with some great underwater photos, finding productive waters, ethics, flies, back country advice, entomology and even a list of maps and equipment you might need for travel into the Sierra's. Ralph is a great writer and photographer. He is not afraid to go underwater to see what is happening (see- Flies of the Underworld).

Vast amount of information. After a summer of backpacking (2010) I found that the trout distribution tables were very helpful when planning my hikes. Caught rainbow, brown, cutthroat (not a Pauite though) and golden trout based on Cutter's information. Lots of information about fly selection, trout behavior and natural history. The illustrations and photos are top notch.
The author writes a monthly column for California Fly Fisher magazine and runs a fly fishing school in Truckee www.flyline.com. He seems to know his stuff. I hope to take a class from him someday.

I just got the book today and I have to say that I am extremely disappointed. 85% of the book's content can be found free online.

I bought the book to help me plan a trip to the Sierras to fish for golden trout. When I saw the charts in the appendix that list the Sierra's waters and their respective trout species, I thought I had found at least some value. Unfortunately, my copy has a number of typos that make it impossible to know which species live in what waters.

Finally, the book has not been revised in sometime as there are no web sites listed nor is there any email addresses to contact agencies, outfitters, or the author himself.

If you are looking to plan a trip to the Sierras, don't bother with this book. Stick to the internet.