September 19, 2024 — I cast the orange-and-black fly under the grassy bank and immediately a fish darted out and grabbed it. The fight was on in the small stream, but I soon reeled the fish into my net. It was an Apache trout. Finally! I had fished hard for several days on the West Fork of the Black River and had caught a few brown trout but not the elusive Apache.
In my net, the Apache trout measured about 11 inches long and was a light olive color with numerous black spots, somewhat resembling a rainbow trout. Its pectoral fins were mostly reddish orange with white tips. But the key to its identification were the two spots fore and aft of its pupil. The spots made it appears as if a line was drawn through its eye, the telltale mark of the Apache trout.
The Apache trout is found only in Arizona. It is one of the state’s two native salmonids, the other being the closely related Gila trout, which is also found in New Mexico. Due to habitat degradation, hybridization, and predation, the Apache trout was in serious decline by the 1970s. In 1973, it was placed on the endangered species list and subsequently moved to threatened status in 1975.
Due to decades of conservation efforts by federal, state, and tribal game and fish departments, the Apache has made a remarkable comeback. So good, in fact, that just weeks before I caught the specimen in my net, the species was officially removed from the endangered and threatened list by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Apache trout is a great success story, and after snapping a quick picture, I quickly released the elusive fish back into the clear waters of the West Fork.