Bull Trout- What's the deal?

**eddyriffle** · 02-29-2016, 10:44 PM

What is the story on bull trout? I understood they were under protected status yet there is no shortage of bull trout pictures on everything from you tube, instagram, websites, etc. I am not asking for a list of where to fish for bull trout! I live and fish in western Colorado so bull trout are as foreign to me as coho or trevally. But would like some clarification on the whole matter. Is it okay in Alberta and BC to fish for Bull Trout? Are there certain rivers (no names, please!) in US where Bull trout are abundant enough and not threatened as to allow fishing for them?

http://www.drakemag.com/featured-con...ilderness.html

**Underoos** · 02-29-2016, 11:46 PM

Salt, pepper, lemon. Don't overdo it.

**teleee** · 03-01-2016, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Underoos

Salt, pepper, lemon. Don't overdo it.

Three shakes of lemon pepper
Any more and you are an asshole poser - most likely from Maine

**skifishbum** · 03-01-2016, 06:21 AM

trevalley are way fuckin cooler
aint there a drake forum?
i bet them guys no way more than a bunch of slow sniding dentists

**neckdeep** · 03-01-2016, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by eddyriffle

What is the story on bull trout? I understood they were under protected status yet there is no shortage of bull trout pictures on everything from you tube, instagram, websites, etc. I am not asking for a list of where to fish for bull trout! I live and fish in western Colorado so bull trout are as foreign to me as coho or trevally. But would like some clarification on the whole matter. Is it okay in Alberta and BC to fish for Bull Trout? Are there certain rivers (no names, please!) in US where Bull trout are abundant enough and not threatened as to allow fishing for them?

http://www.drakemag.com/featured-con...ilderness.html

Same as anything else. Can't target them on streams where the population is low but you can fish for them C&R where the population is robust. It's not like they are some great secret. Probably every angler in the panhandle knows there's lots of bull trout in the Clearwater drainage above Dworshak. I caught over two dozen up there (up to 26") as a volunteer angler doing a hook and line survey/tagging with IDFG biologists. The Metolius in OR is another river so famous for its bulls that it's absolutely no secret. You aren't going to change the game talking about it on the interwebs. Both fisheries are above large reservoirs with big populations of kokanee and lots of spawning habitat so the bulls are doing fine there. Bulls, like their sibling Dolly Varden, do well where they can follow strong salmon runs. You can talk about the Clearwater and Metolius and fish there guilt free (compared to the Flathead systems where a runaway population of invasive lake trout has crippled the kokanee and bull trout population). Bulls are highly migratory, though, so you need to know both the where and the when they are within a watershed at different times of the year. Good luck.

**Groomer Gambler** · 03-01-2016, 10:54 AM

Last summer fly fishing on the N Fork Clearwater, ID, my buddy caught a ~8-10" rainbow. Upon bringing it in this behemoth of a fish just latched on swallowing the rainbow whole. He tried landing it but it snapped off after about a 10 minute fight. We got a decent look though from about 8 feet out...easily a 30"+ bull trout. Scared the shit out of both of us haha

**Phall** · 03-02-2016, 09:45 PM

In response to the Montana Wild thing, This is hysterical.

http://www.jibjab.com/view/ElU7EUMyR...b&cmpid=jj_url

**CirculationSensitivityMotion** · 05-16-2016, 01:45 PM

up here in Canuck land, Bull Trout, in Alberta for example, are classified as "sensitive" under the current "General Status of Alberta Wild Species Report"; and "threatened" under the Alberta Wildlife Act.

much of this has to do with stresses from sport fishing, but also changing habitat - including changes to the thermal regime of streams. snow and glaciers in the Canadian Rocky Mountain eastern slopes are in decline and they both play a role in water temperature regulation for highly adapted species such as this fella.

i'm a newbie fisher, but headwater Cryosphere hydrology is my bread and butter and i've been working with some alpine, cold water ecologists recently.

glaciers and fish - Kokanee and beer, they go together

i've never fished down your way - some day.

CSM