First Kentuckians to Complete Wyoming’s Cutt Slam: ‘It was an Epic Trip’

Before 2023, Kentucky was one of two states without a resident to complete Wyoming's Cutt-Slam, but now only Rhode Island remains.

First reported by the Game and Fish's weekly news, Kentuckian Walter Montgomery learned about this in Wyoming Wildlife magazine and decided to do something about it.

He and two friends, Steve Kuric and Michael Broome, drove from Louisville to Wyoming to get the job done. They documented their catches on the Colorado River, Snake, Bonneville and Yellowstone. It took about nine days and 4,022 miles round-trip.

"It was an epic trip and absolutely wonderful," Montgomery said.

It wasn't all Sunshine & Rainbows

The last leg of the trip proved to be somewhat stressful with a summer rainstorm and several other anglers in the area.

“Where we were on the Smiths Fork River, a lot of it was dammed up by beavers. We were fishing in all these beaver ponds, and that was challenging to me,” said Kuric.

The trio had something to talk about when they got back to their Louisville Derby City Fly Fishers club.

Maybe it inspired more people from the Bluegrass State to head West for an adventure.

The Master Angler program was created in 2019 and awards anglers for catching certain species of game fish of specific lengths.

Last year 965 anglers achieved Master Angler status, which brings the total to 5,113 since 2019.

Among that total were 289 Trophy Anglers and 44 Ultimate Anglers. Trophy Angler is given to those who catch five species of game fish at a qualifying length.

Ultimate Angler is 10 game fish species at a qualifying length. Brayden Baker, a 15-year-old from Lander, joined the Ultimate Angler Club in 2023.

Learn about other challenges here.