Cobow and Cutbow
A cobow combines Oncorhynchus kisutch with Oncorhynchus mykiss. A cutbow instead includes cutthroat trout ancestry. The similar spelling is an easy source of confusion, but the crosses are biologically different. A stocking record or hatchery identification is stronger evidence of parentage than assuming a fish’s color proves the cross.
What Hybrid Research Shows
A published salmonid experiment produced viable rainbow trout–coho salmon hybrids by inducing triploidy, meaning three sets of chromosomes. Untreated hybrids in that experiment did not survive to the same assessment point. This demonstrates that chromosome treatment and the particular cross matter; it does not establish that every fish called cobow has identical fertility or performance.
Interpreting a Fishery
Neither a coho maximum nor a rainbow maximum establishes a cobow maximum. Likewise, a research cross does not demonstrate a stocked population in a particular lake. For an angling opportunity, consult the actual water’s stocking information and fishery description before assuming abundance, expected size or behavior.
Confirm the Parentage
One letter separates cobow from cutbow, but an entire parent species changes. Preserve the hatchery or fishery identification with the catch record.
All Lakes With Cobow Trout
Browse all lakes and reservoirs with confirmed Cobow Trout records in our database, listed alphabetically.
No published lakes are currently linked to this species in our confirmed records.