Drawing Fish 52 Yellowstone cutthroat. For me, this fish symbolizes the American West, even more so than the rainbow trout. As a result, I decided to do the fish as a flag, with elements of shape and color that symbolize the fish and where it is found. At the bottom of the post, you can find a more realistic drawing from some years ago.

As a kid, I absolutely could not wait to get to Yellowstone country every year and fish the Yellowstone River drainage for it’s namesake fish. My absolute fondest fishing memories of Yellowtone revolve around times spent sight-fishing for these beautiful trout, and watching them rise—in the deliciously deliberate manner that they are know for—to Griffith’s Gnats, beetles, caddis, PMDs, and other dry flies. The threats that have been facing this all-American trout in more recent times are like a gut-punch to the many anglers who love this fish. To re-visit places where I once had truly memorable days of cutthroat fishing, only to find the occasional visible trout or even empty water, has been sobering. While there are still lovely Yellowstone cutthroat that rise deliberately to dries, those readers who experienced the Park’s cutthroat fishery in past decades likely understand that what you see now is not what once was. I can only hope that the efforts underway on behalf of the Yellowstone cutthroat can help to bring those special days back again for some future generations of fly fishers.

Notes: This is basically just shapes drawn in Adobe Illustrator and filled with colors and gradients as I felt suited the “flag.”

Tech Info: Vector art built in Adobe Illustrator.

Check out Jeff’s site for his Yellowstone cutthroat, plus a story.

Below: A more involved Yellowstone Cutt piece.