Arizona’s White Mountains share geography with California’s White Mountains. They’re both located near the eastern borders of their states.
They also share pockets of autumn beauty as color spotter Philip Reedy found when photographing fly-fishing locations.
He was in search of Arizona’s elusive Apache Trout, one of only two native species in Arizona and the official State Fish. It is boldly polka-dotted across its olive-yellow body with golden belly.
Growing as large as 20 inches, few Apache Trout that big are caught because of the smaller streams in which they live. Most live in shallow waters that meander through marshes and beside forests of conifer and aspen in the White Mountains. This constrained habitat limits their size to 9 inches.
Apache Trout were once nearly extinct, though conservation efforts reversed the decline. The specie remains Critically Threatened, as it has the unfortunate habit of hybridizing with rainbow and cutthroat trout.
Phil did not say if he was successful at catching and releasing an Apache Trout, though he did send these images of Patchy color among the aspen of the other White Mountains.
