Best Bull Trout Story
 

Hello folks, lets hear your best Bull Trout story!

the best one is that
















On no day, I never caught a bull trout

This happend almost 2 decades ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday! My father, a family friend, and I were fishing the Crowsnest river. Fishing was very slow which is quite unusual, and neither of us had caught anything in the three days we had been there. This was very frustrating, because the Crow has always been good to us! On the third night, we had just finished eating a late dinner, and being that it was mid September, it was already dark, and not just dark with a bright moon, but very dark. I heard something splashing around in the water earlier on in the day, and I thought to myself, maybe I should throw on a giant hopper, and go give it a try, after all you will never catch fish if your fly is not in the water, anyways after my very first cast I heard a super splash, and as I could not see what was going on, I pulled back my rod as if setting the hook, and low and behold, I had a giant! I screamed like a school girl, not even knowing. My Dad, and friend came rushing down to the river to se me retrieve a beautiful 24" bull trout. This is not the biggest bull trout I ever caught but definately the most memorable!

How we saved a Cutthroat Trout(Pic Heavy) by Timo can't get the copy to paste sorry. It's on this forum guess maybe I'll bring it back to life for you Cheers Andy

I'm just waiting for Ben to chime in with his!

Since Timid asked... :-)
 

Well it was a bit of a struggle to tie into them. We started off our trip to the Abraham area trying to wade a section of the NSR below the dam.

No luck though we did see other people fishing. We moved closer to the damn and caught a couple small lakers as well as a small rainbow trout. We then moved up the dam and tried to shore fish the reservoir in a few different places with no luck.

Eventually I suggested we move to the Cline river where it dumped into lake Abraham. I had heard of some big Bulls and the occasional Cutthroat being caught there so figured why not. It was also getting pretty windy on the main lake and I figured the tree-lined river would offer more protection.

We get there and almost immediately I caught a nice chubby 17" lake trout. Probably my 2nd or 3rd cast. We were right near the mouth so the lakers do come and go through the lower section of the river I guess.

We kept fishing and within an hour or so I had 3 lakers on shore and one had broken me off in close (using 6 pound test) and Jeff had caught a few by this time as well. All around the same 17-20" range.

Just as the sun was setting and it started to get dark, I tied on a chartreus Blue Fox spinner, and tossed it into a juicy looking pool right behind a big rock ledge. Two cranks of the reel and I had a solid thump. Fish on. He fought well, I was standing on a ledge over hanging the bank and the Bully had my rod bent right over as he dived into the cut-bank underneath me and back around the side of the rock I was on. Jeff managed to scramble down to the shore and grab him.

He was solid muscle, big head with a slim body. The feel of their skin is so weird. He was about 20" or so, and had a huge scar on the top of his back where it looked like maybe a hawk or some bird of prey had grabbed him before dropping him. We put him back and I ended up getting another one about the same size the next day using a brown trout colored rapala in the same spot! It also had some big scars on its back.

It could have been the same one, last year I caught the same Bullie same day maybe an hour and a half apart.

Hey, one day you will get one, they are pretty easy to catch if you know what to do :)

We thought the same but the scar was a little different looking and the second fish was a bit smaller too.

Bulls
 

In the past 2 weeks we have landed 2 30+ inch bulls out of the Sheep river in Okotoks. Both times the bulls attacked small fish on our lines and wouldn't let go until they were netted and released. Very healthy bull numbers in this river. Great to see them.

There are many for memorable ones for sure. First one still stands out. I was new to fly fishing and had never caught a bull trout before or even really knew where they reside. I know I had just read an article on the AthB in Jasper and the author talked about a 10 lb ish bull trout attacking the rocky white on his line. I thought “that would be something…”. Other than that though, just not on my radar yet. I just wanted to catch anything on the fly rod.

Same year I read that article, I was fishing the McLeod River in fall in a nice pool. I hooked around a 10 inch rocky white. Nice little fight on the 5 wt. Then I saw a huge shape rise up and start chasing the white on the line. I really had no idea what exactly it was at the time…I was thinking maybe a big brown but couldn’t tell. I was making a lot of noise to my fishing buddy who was probably thinking…whatever….another “SNAP jumbo…”. I see the big trout take another run and it connects with the RMW. The RMW flies off my hook and through the air for about 8 feet and about 3 feet in the air – that was a solid attack! At first I’m a bit ****ed about losing the white but then I feel the weight of the big trout. I only had a 5 wt and this trout stayed in the current and gave me a fight for about 10 minutes. Had my buddy finally net this trout and we finally realized it was a bull trout, and my first. Not a monster but a very solid 5 lber and over 20 inches for sure. It was hooked in the cheek too so it must of tried to grab the RMH but ended up hooking itself. The small dry fly I had was turned out at a ninety degree angle…

To this date, still one of the most memorable fish I’ve caught.

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing!

I grew up in the heart of bull trout country. When I was 7 my Dad took our family on a 10 day pack trip into the Willmore. We camped at several sites along the upper Sulfer river and found some beauty holes along the way. I remember casting into the middle of the stream and snagging the bottom . At the same time I happened to notice a bully sitting behind a log to my left. Unable to get my hook free I stuck my finger in the water and the bulltrout chomped it. Shortly after I got my spinner out and casted in the pool the fish swam into and caught a chunky 2lber.

One of these days I’m going to have to try fishing bull trout. Sound like an agressive fun fish to chase?

They are very agessive, they are a fun fish to catch

Arguably, maybe more aggressive than even pike at times.

2nd story, same river but now fast forward to 2015, I bring two rods with me. One for nymphing the rocky whites and dry fly fishing for whatever I can get and a 2nd rod with a full link line and a 4-5 inch white rabbit strip streamer. I hook a RMW on a nymph and the fight suddenly increased 10 fold, usually a signal that the RMW is being chased or has been grabbed by a bull trout. I see the RMW and, yes, a decent bull in pursuit. I manage to maneuver the RMW away and land and let it go back. Grab the 2nd rod with the streamer, cast out, and strip fast through where I last saw the bull. Sure enough, grabs the streamer and it is game on time. By now I've done this successfully countless times. What makes this story unique for me as I'm fighting the bull trout when a 2nd bull trout of approximately the same size as the one on the line grabs the bull trout on the line fully on the side and clamps down....
Looks like the predator knows what it is like to be prey :)
Now I'm fighting two decent sized bulls. They are swimming in a circle now as the one clamped onto the other bull is pushing hard....kind of comical to watch and crazy at the same time. The 2nd bull finally lets go as I'm getting the fish near my feet.

I gave the first one hooked on the line a much longer recoup before releasing. It had the bite marks on it but seemed fine otherwise.

This underscores for me how a struggling fish, anything type apparently, triggers a predator instinct in these bull trout that is like an unstoppable force in them. They just have to try and strike. Even if it means taking on one of it's own size. Crazy aggressive!

My Grandfather used to tell me that bull trout were regarded as a garbage fish at one time and anglers would catch them and throw them on the banks and leave them, that they wanted them gone to make room for “better” fish. He seemed quite amused when bulls became a fish of concern and restrictive fishing regulations were placed upon them. They sound like a very interesting fish to me. Geez now I want to C&R a big one and get a replica mount made!! :)

I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors :sign0111:

I know I used fly fishing examples but a light action spinning rod with say a 5-6 inch floating rapala on it - preferably white to silver sides and grey back - will work wonders. Heck I used to cast a rapala on my sinking line just like that...not easy, but, I switched to the streamer as I found the single hook in the jaw left the bull to fight that much better.

Was fishing the NSR where it enters Abraham lake in 1976 using what's now called a drop shot with a Snell hook and bacon for bait. The guy I was fishing with hooked and broke off on a nice approximately 22 in Bull. He moved upstream and I remained. Two casts later and I was into one as it got closer I could see it was the same size as my friend had just lost. He came over just as I beached it and we both saw something that defied imagination and certainly the odds. My drifting hook was not taken by the fish, rather my hook had passed through the loop of the snelled hook he was using that broke off and was dangling outside the trouts mouth. Lottery tickets didn't exist in those days or I definitely would have bought some. In those days we could keep them and ironically he ended up in bacon fat that night.

I’d love to get one on my fly rod. I have a 9’ 8wt set-up and no shortage of streamers in every configuration and colour imaginable. I have a couple 5” clouser minnows in the colours you mentioned that would probably work well.

Oh yeah! For sure.

Good luck!

Thats pretty sweet! Meant to be!

Crazy story

x2

i kind of like that it ended up in consumption :)

I've never tasted a bull tr, drake, any good?

I've only caught one, so here's the story.

I was camped on the side of the upper Clearwater River with my old britt Pee-J. He made fishing difficult as he liked to chase the fly line, but I went out anyway. After walking downstream for about an hour I hadn't caught anything so I decided to turn back. I was walking upstream, casting the entire time, trying to keep the dog from getting the line. I dropped a dry fly just upstream of a small eddy, and while I wasn't expecting a bite, I was surprised by the near instant hit and my fly reel screamed!!! It was about a 16" bull trout that took off upstream and took a while to land. The dog didn't know what to make of the fish and ran back up the back to finally leave me alone! I unhooked the fish and watched it swim back upstream to the same eddy.

I was maybe 8-9 years old. We went on a camping/fishing trip with my cousins and a few other families we knew. The campsite was along what I remember to be small to mid sized river. There was a bridge over the river there.

The first morning we were there, all the "boys" got up early and headed to the nearby lake to catch fish, I don't recall anyone catching anything all morning in the lake.

We got back to camp around lunch time, somewhat discouraged but not yet broken, so my cousin and I grabbed a rod and went to the river right under the bridge. I'm pretty sure I had a plain old spoon on the rod.

First cast, maybe cranked the reel once and bang, Bull Trout, so of course we start screaming like the forest is on fire just making a racket. Another cast or two and then another Bull, and another cast or two and bang another Bull. By this time, with the both of us who were screaming and yelling and jumping around like idiots my uncle, dad and some others came over to see what we were yelling about and just had a great laugh.

We probably landed 20-25 bulls in the next hour or so, 50 yards from camp. lol.

I have never caught so many trout, so easily, making so much noise, in such an obviously "poor" fishing area right under the highway bridge right in the camp site ...... lol.

Was an amazing memory and we still laugh about this every few years when we bring it up.

Back whenthey were considered a garbage fish and people would chuck em on the bank we ate them all the time they were superb very light watery meat. I miss them!

Short story,

Here goes,

Caught both these beauties on size 18 zebra midges today and yesterday, you know that feeling when you set the hook and it's definitely not another white!!...

Can't wipe this grin off of my face.

Earlier this week i had s similar sized bull inhale a white i had on the line, i nearly had him in the net when ANOTHER LARGER bull shot out from under a log and inhaled the bull that inhaled my white and snapped my 9 pound tippet like nothing, losing all three flies and all three fish...what an intense moment.

Great story! Thanks for sharing