You are in a high mountain stream, playing a small cutthroat on your line,
enjoying the beauty of the surroundings, when all of the sudden the water explodes in front of you in a boil of grey
and white as your cutthroat gets attacked, and your line goes screaming out into the pool leaving you in shock. Welcome
to the world of the Bull trout, one of the most aggressive fish we have in Alberta.
Average sized Bull trout range from 15-25 inches, and there are several
streams with much, much larger fish. In Alberta there are currently catch and release regulations imposed on ALL Bull
trout, in order to help the populations recover. That being said, a number of our rivers now have exceptional populations
and are becoming first-class bull trout fisheries.
Our Bull trout can be found in almost any mountain stream, and sometimes
huge fish can be found in creeks less than 2 feet wide. They are also found in a few lakes, and grow to enormous sizes in
a stillwater environment.
Fishing for this unique fish can be done in a variety of methods, from
streamer fishing deep pools and pockets of rivers, or getting to one of a few lakes that hold good populations and throwing
big streamers out into the aqua-blue depths and holding on. Often when fishing for cutthroat trout in a small stream you will
have a few Bull trout chase a hooked fish. It is at this point that we try and get a streamer in the pool as quickly as possible,
and actually imitate a hooked or injured fish (tons of movement). The strikes can be violent!
Please be careful with these very special fish when you do get the opportunity
to hold one. Bull trout are one of our native species in Alberta and they are a treasure to be protected.
If you're interested in experiencing the excitement of doing battle with a bull, check out the rivers
listed below and give us a call.
