ID help

[Tigger72]

My buddy caught this the other day and wasn't 100% sure I said ..Lake trout?
Any of the lake trout that I've caught before have been out of lakes in Ont. And they don't look like this but I don't think his looks like a bully either ( I've never caught one of those either)

[gnugen]

A good chart for trout and chars - http://www.tucanada.org/index.asp?p=2159

[Deer]

Bull trout

[wags]

Bull Trout 100%

Might help if want to divulge the body of water it came from, but it's a Bull.

Nice fish!

Cheers

[RisingRainbows]

You know it's a char and not a trout because of the lack of black spots and the white on the front of the lower fins. It's not a laker because the tail is not deeply forked. It's not a brookie because of the lack of markings on the dorsal fin and doesn't have the typical colouring. That leaves a bull trout.

[binnzer32]

100 percent bull

[BeeGuy]

Where'd he catch it?

[CanadianBadass]

1000 % Bull, ( No Black , Put it back )

[jacenbeers]

My buddy caught this the other day and wasn't 100% sure I said ..Lake trout?
Any of the lake trout that I've caught before have been out of lakes in Ont. And they don't look like this but I don't think his looks like a bully either ( I've never caught one of those either)

How did it taste?

[Tigger72]

Bow river within city limits .... And it was thrown back....when in compare the pic off of ifish it looks more like a laker... This is why I'm confused

[Tigger72]

Here is the bull ifish picture

[RisingRainbows]

Bow river within city limits .... And it was thrown back....when in compare the pic off of ifish it looks more like a laker... This is why I'm confused
Sometimes pictures can be very misleading. It is just like identifying a bird, instead of comparing to a pic you need to look at specific characteristics. In this case it is the fork on the tail and lack of white spots on dorsal fin. When you compare pics it's easy to focus on colour which can vary a lot.

[BeeGuy]

Sometimes pictures can be very misleading. It is just like identifying a bird, instead of comparing to a pic you need to look at specific characteristics. In this case it is the fork on the tail and lack of white spots on dorsal fin. When you compare pics it's easy to focus on colour which can vary a lot.

Disagree.

Those are not good characters.

[Deer]

It doesn't look like a lake trout at all. Check out the tail. It is a dolly

[RisingRainbows]

Disagree.

Those are not good characters.
Disagree with what? The lack of spots on the dorsal fin or the shape of the tail? What species would you say it is? And using what characteristics?

[BeeGuy]

Both Lake trout and Bull Trout can have forked tails.

It is the lack of pigmented maculations on the dorsal fin which are the primary indicator for bull trout, not white spots.

ie. No black, put it back.

[BeeGuy]

forked tail
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8J2VuvOJx41iqFc7ps9g9HeZ6YUbIA bTRizOPIiGqpsandWVo

forked tail
http://www.mackdays.com/essentials/BullTroutID/files/stacks_image_7267.jpg

[BeeGuy]

I don't think the picture provides adequate info to determine if it is a laker or a bull.

The lakers in the bow are often very grey/silver and the dorsal fin markings can be very very pale.

[CanadianBadass]

when I compare it to 1000's of bull trout and laker pics on google, I find it pretty easy to see this is a Bull.... To me its the mouth and tail that really give it away !

[CanadianBadass]

here is a larger bull from the Bow for comparison

http://www.bowriverfishing.com/Doug%20and%20Rick%201BULLID.jpg

[tight line]

Hard to tell from that pic. But the tail looks more squarish to me, leading me to say Bull. Marking wise i cant see enough detail from that pic, but bulls usually have more pale halo markings than lakers.. Its tough to tell sometimes. But that tail is pretty square.

[tight line]

http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t485/shortsvm/Picture006_zps2f97d01c.jpg here is a juvenile Lakers forked tail, alot more forked than that one i would say.

[BeeGuy]

Well, regardless of what it is, and I have caught more than a hundred lakers in town and no bulls, it has to be released.

Such as it is.

[Chief16]

Well, regardless of what it is, and I have caught more than a hundred lakers in town and no bulls, it has to be released.

Such as it is.

Just because you have not caught a bull trout in the city doesn't mean that nobody else has either

[EZM]

Another indicator is the facial bone structure (Lacrimal) projection which gives bull trout the look of sunken eyes or "fat faces" .......... this fish is a Bull.

[BootScoot]

Definitely a bull...can tell by the mouth

[lakerfisher]

Definitely a bull...can tell by the mouth

X2

[J D]

Bull