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| Bull
Trout
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Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are one of four native salmonid species to the Flathead River Drainage. The other native salmonids are: westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi), pygmy whitefish (Prosopium coulteri) and mountain whitefish (P. williamsoni). Bull trout were listed as "threatened" in June 1998 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. Therefore, they receive special consideration in our management actions as we "consult" with the USFWS. |
A graphic of a Bulltrout by Joseph Tomelleri |
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| Bull trout are actually chars that can grow to three feet in length. There are three different life forms: Some spend their adult lives in lakes such as Swan, Flathead and Hungry Horse Reservoir and spawn in tributaries; others spend their adult lives in rivers and spawn in tributaries; still others spend their entire lives in small tributary streams. Bull trout are highly piscivorous, that is they like to eat other fish. Many anglers have recounted stories of bull trout clamping onto a smaller cutthroat trout that they were reeling to shore! They spawn in the fall as the aspen turn gold and deposit their eggs deep into nests that biologists call "redds". |
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| Biologists can monitor bull trout by counting the number of redds in tributary streams. From these counts, biologists have determined from trend data that bull trout populations are strong in Hungry Horse Reservoir and the South Fork Flathead River system and Swan Lake. However, populations have declined in the Flathead Lake system which includes the Middle and North Fork Flathead River drainages. In fact, Swan Lake is the only water body in the State of Montana where an angler may catch and keep a bull trout. Past and present threats to bull trout include over harvest, habitat loss and degradation, hybridization with brook trout, drought, competition/predation by lake trout, and changes in the food web of Flathead Lake. We ask that you help us in conserving this rare Montana fish by learning to identify this fish. Bull trout do not have black markings on their dorsal fin like brook trout and have a square tail rather than a forked tail like lake trout. In addition, their spots are more pink and orange than lake trout. |
Bull Trout pair on Redd
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