Gila Trout - A Southwest Native

Most people know about rainbow trout, brown and brook trout. But have you ever heard of gila trout? Don't feel alone if you haven't. I never did until I moved to Arizona (and I grew up trout fishing).

As you'd expect, this trout species gets it's name from the river drainage's it once occupied (the Gila River). Gila trout were once found all through the upper headwaters of the Gila River, Agua Fria, San Francisco, and Verde River drainage's in Arizona and New Mexico.

Gila trout are rare - so rare in fact, that they can only be found in two U.S. States (New Mexico and Arizona) and they're currently listed as "threatened" on the Federal Endangered List in 1967.

In 1975, the known distribution of the species consisted of only five relict populations restricted to headwater stream habitats in the upper Gila River drainage in New Mexico (Main Diamond Creek, South Diamond Creek, McKenna Creek, Spruce Creek and Iron Creek).

But in 1996, it was discovered that the Gila trout in McKenna and Iron Creek were actually hybridized trout (i.e., Gila trout had mated with Rainbow trout creating a hybrid). Hybridization is common threat to weaker trout species.

In 1998, Gila trout in the wild numbered about 37,000. Although these numbers are divided up into 14 distinct populations, there is only one place you can find Gila trout in Arizona today - Raspberry Creek near the New Mexico border.

Gila trout were once known to exist in Dude Creek on the Mogollon Rim near Payson, but post-fire flooding contaminated the water thereby destroying the Gila trout population.

Gila trout are easily recognized by the gold/copper coloring on their sides. The dark spots on the sides are irregular in shape and size. Gila trout are closely related to Apache trout.

Gila trout are small, often 7 to 8 inches in length. They are easily recognized by their golden and copper colored sides, and whitish to yellowish tipped fins. Like Cutthroat trout, they too have a "cut throat" mark under their jaws. They spawn between April and late May to early June (depending on water temperatures). Their eggs have an incubation period of 8 - 10 weeks.

They typically require cool, clean mountain streams with gravel beds above 4,500 feet.

Despite improvements in Gila trout populations, fishing for them is still prohibited by law. Most waters in New Mexico containing pure strains of Gila trout have been closed to anglers. And in New Mexico, it's unlawful to posses Gila trout. Same is true for Arizona.

With ongoing recovery efforts, this will hopefully change one day.

For more information about gila trout, click here.