Trout tv host hilary hutcheson spends independence day in missoula, mt with tony reinhardt of montana trout outfitters on the blackfoot river. Bull trout restorationconservation areas in western montana. Montana fly fishing film crew fined for violating bull trout wed. Cutthroat are worse off than bull trout in a lot of ways. Bull trout have been recorded measuring up to 103 cm 41 in in length and weighing 14. Flathead river bull trout flies 11 matching articles. Idaho angler sets catchandrelease record for bull trout. Catch cards keep bull trout fishery viable local news missoulian. Bull trout range throughout the columbia river and snake river basins, extending east to headwater streams in montana and idaho, into canada, and in the klamath river basin of southcentral oregon. Bureau of reclamation, alleging that its operation of waterworks on the east side of glacier national park harms bull trout and violates the. By nature, bull trout are vulnerable to specific fishing tactics and at. Each year over 200,000 hunters go out onto montana. Fishing montanas waters is enjoyed by many, but only a few anglers catch a record fish.
Jerry oconnell landed this 27inch bull trout on march 10, 20, while fishing one of the fabled holes on the blackfoot river. Its a way to restrict the harvest and record it when harvest occurs. The plan originally deemed bull trout secure if there were 300 redds among the flathead watersheds 31 spawning tributaries a redd being the hollow a female fish scours out of a riverbed to. A spectacularly beautiful fish, they once occupied an. The native bull trout has been determined to be a separate species from the coastal dolly varden. Bureau of reclamation sued over glacierarea bull trout. Congratulations to sawyer livesey of post falls on setting a new catchandrelease record for bull trout. Fishes of montana app brings field guide to mobile devices. The fate of montanas freshwater megafauna is threatened by the. All bull trout must be released immediately in montana unless authorized. Cutthroat silently slipping out of sight the spokesman.
The great flathead fish fiasco the great flathead fish. Bull trout are found in the clark fork and flathead drainages of western montana, and their slowly declining trend has led to their designation as a threatened species. Lake trout have more spots than bull trout and their tail fins have deeper forks, according to fishes of montana. In each state, bull trout must be immediately released after capture. Montana fly fishing film crew fined for violating bull trout. New catchrelease record bull trout from the kootenai. Bull trout s spots are a pale yellow on their back and red or orange going down. In this book the wisdom of the elders is passed on to the young as the story of the jocko river, the home of the bull trout, unfolds for a group of schoolchildren on a field trip. Like other species of char, the fins of a bull trout have white leading edges. Some worry the cutthroat may go from being part of the custom and culture of montana to a footnote in the states history books.
The state record bull trout is 25 pounds and was caught in 1916. Its head and mouth are unusually large for salmonids, giving it its name. A river runs through it was the first book of fishers. But due to habitat destruction, interbreeding with nonnative. Active or intentional fishing for bull trout can only occur on the main stem of the south fork flathead, and only by anglers in possession of a bull trout catch card, according to fwp regulations. Anglers must release bull trout, a native species of.
The fort peck reservoir had the most records at nine, followed by nelson reservoir with five and the tongue river reservoir with four. Sawyer caught the monster while fishing the kootenai river near bonners ferry on april 8. Koocanusa anglers caught close to 24,000 bulls in the same period, keeping 2,700. Bull trout are an iconic montana native fish that have existed in our rivers, streams and lakes for more than 10,000 years. The jocko river flows through the flathead indian reservation in northwestern montana. We love to chase lake trout mackinaw in flathead lake, but we also know and understand that the areas variety of fishing is worth sharing. The largest cutthroat trout was a 16pounder caught in red eagle lake, glacier national park, in 1955. Two anglersmade the record books twice brady miller and ray quigley. Bull trout are one of the largest native salmonids in montana, capable of reaching three feet long and 25 pounds or more.
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