Is this a cutbow?

[netboy]

I've seen many rainbows with white tips but the strange thing about this one was how smooth and slick the skin was compared to

other rainbows. The purebred cuttys I have caught over there have that same feel.

[Al Agnew]

That's because the scales are smaller on cutthroats. If you look at the close-up of the back part of the rainbow above, you'll notice the spots are kind of X shaped, because they fit onto the base of 1 to 3 scales without covering any whole scale. Spots on Yellowstone cutthroats are more round, because they cover whole scales with overlaps onto surrounding scales. As a fish artist, I've noted that rainbow spots fit into the edges of scales, while Y. cutthroat spots have less to do with the scale structure. The spots on the tail of Y. cutthroats are more round and larger, as well.

But fish are individuals. It's probably a rainbow that just happens to have spots more like a cutthroat.

[Big Brown Trout]

i caught a rainbow a couple of years ago that instead of a pink lateral it had a very obvious orange one, it was very odd and very very delicious. i'll look later and see if i can find a pic of it.