Utah Cutthroat Slam reaches 1,000th slam milestone | News, Sports, Jobs

Courtesy Utah DWR

The Utah Cutthroat Slam marked a significant milestone this fall. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced last week that the 1,000th slam has been completed. 

The Utah Cutthroat Slam is a fishing challenge where participants are required to catch all of Utah’s four native cutthroat trout subspecies in their native ranges. Money collected during the slam is used to find cutthroat trout conservation projects. 

“We are thrilled to have reached this milestone and to have contributed so much to conservation efforts in Utah,” said Brett Prettyman, with Utah Trout Unlimited, in a press release. “But the real magic of the slam is the stories we hear from anglers about spending time with family and friends in pursuit of the fish to complete the slam. The memories they have created are helping fund the cutthroat fishing memories of the coming generations.”

Since the program’s inception in April 2016, the Utah Cutthroat Slam has raised over $78,000 from registration fees and 22 conservation projects have been completed using those funds. 

“There was a time when there were few cutthroat trout populations in the state,” said Randy Oplinger,  DWR Sportfish Coordinator, in a press release. “We have done a ton of restoration work to bring cutthroat back, and they are now a true conservation success story in Utah. The Utah Cutthroat Slam helps fund projects that continue our restoration of cutthroat trout.”

Courtesy Utah DWR

Terrance Cook, a South Jordan resident, completed the 1,000th Utah Cutthroat Slam on Sept. 19.

“When I was young, my dad took me fly fishing often but I never really became interested in it until a recent trip with family and friends to try and catch the Yellowstone cutthroat,” Cook said in a press release. “I was hooked on the slam after that trip. I’ve learned so much about cutthroat trout identification, habitat conservation and had a lot of fun visiting new places. My thanks to the DWR and Trout Unlimited for creating this program. I’ll be doing it again for sure.”

In honor of 1,000 completed slams, the DWR and Trout Unlimited will release four new cutthroat medallions over the coming years. Starting with the Colorado Cutthroat Trout, the Bonneville, Bear River and Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout will all be represented in medallions that will be created by artist Tim Johnson once other slam milestones have been reached. 

These new medallions will replace the original that was launched at the beginning of the slam in 2016. These medallions, along with certificates, will be sent home with anglers after they complete the challenge.

Newsletter