Redband or rainbow?

I decided to go out and do some ice fishing this morning for the first time out at Little Hyatt Lake. I've heard that native Redband trout are present there and that's what I was hoping to catch. Started off the day of fishing with a bite but unfortunately due to my sloppy and rushed knot tying the fish broke me off. Thankfully the fishing gods blessed me with another chance and this time I made sure to diligently tie my knot so I wouldn't break off again. I ended up pulling up a good sized trout but I couldn't tell if it was a Redband or not. The fish had much fewer spots then most rainbows I've seen but other then that it looked like a rainbow. Any help would be much appreciated ill add some pictures of my catch!

Little Hyatt lake, that place brings back some memories. Used to fish up there in back in 1969 t0 1971. We would cross the dam and camp on the far side. Is the dam still there, I heard there was talk of removing it?

The lake at that time was stocked with rainbows, and also proved a great location for duck hunting. The fish in the picture looks to be a nice rainbow. Redband or Redsides are a subspecies of rainbow so hard to tell but that is a nice looking fish.

They look like rainbows to me, but I'm not an expert.

Thank you for the the feedback! As for the dam its still there I believe they were able to repair it in 2008 with the help of federal and private funds. Another question does anyone know if its legal to fish Keene Creek Reservoir just down stream of Little Hyatt Lake? I've been wanting to give it a shot and haven't seen anything that says you can't fish there.

Haven't been down there in a long time, so I'm not sure about Keene Reservoir. ODF&W regs might have it or give them a call. We used to have a great time fishing for crappie at Emigrant Lake in the spring.

@FishinSquatch I just checked the new reg book. Lakes are open all year. And Keene is NOT listed in the Exceptions, for the SW Zone. So it appears to be open to me.

Looks like two different fish in your pics. But they look like typical 'bows IMO.

troutdude said:

@FishinSquatch I just checked the new reg book. Lakes are open all year. And Keene is NOT listed in the Exceptions, for the SW Zone. So it appears to be open to me.

Looks like two different fish in your pics. But they look like typical 'bows IMO.

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Awesome thanks for the info i'm heading that way tomorrow so ill be sure to wet a line there and see what I catch!

@FishinSquatch good luck and let us know how you do.