Huge Bull Trout

[critter]

I never did post this here, so figured why not. A few years ago we caught a 36 inch bull through the ice in no more than 7 feet of water, and we figured between 16-19 pounds? Not sure, but it had a decent build and a huge head. At the time we were toying with the thought of it maybe beating the alberta record of 17lb 15oz but who knows cus we just took an accurate length measurement and then released this old fish. Acouple other pics included from the same water body for food for thought. Any guesses on the weight? cheers

[Speckle55]

Yes in that range //you need a girth/length .. btw nice Bull and lakers

[Alberta Bigbore]

nice fish... hell of a good size

[rielbowhunter]

very nice fish.

[Jwood 456]

Nice! that is a hog of a bulltrout! Congrats

BTW nice lakers as well.

[JohnB]

Nice bull.

[ericlin0122]

OMG you catch these monsters in Alberta?

[critter]

yessir, within an hour and a half drive of calgary

[Dust1n]

thats a hog of a bull trout im guessing that would give the alberta record a run for its money 18lb?

[coyotekiller]

very nice fish

[Rockymtnx]

Wow that is a dandy!
Congrats.
Thanks for sharing with us.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Thats a nice lookin bull thats for damn sure . Nice catch thanks for sharing

[albertadeer]

Oh my!

[tuffymitch1]

Beauty Trout!

[Bound2Fish]

I would have to say thats in the mid to high teens, beauty of a fish. Congrats

[Freedom55]

I heard that there are no quality fisheries in Alberta.
Good job, critter. Hungry bugger, by the look of it.
the community too gated to Close.

Free (356421)

[critter]

The second and last picture are of different fish than the monster. It was about a 12 lb bull that had that laker in its yap. The water body is about 800 metres long, and 30 metres wide, with a max depth of 15 feet. You can see the far shore with the dead trees in the first pic (im standing in the middle) and then the other far shore in the 2nd pic. Those fish can swim the circumference in like 1 minute haha. Tiny little pond, lots of big fish at that time, but it must have winterkilled or all the big ones must have died of old age, because we routinely got 5+ lb lakers and big bulls a few years back, and then nothing but small lakers the last few years. Explore, where you dont think there would be fish, sometimes there are! Also, it takes about a 1.5 hour hike in ideal conditions to get there, and bait was used to catch em. cheers.

[TUFFBUFF]

Awesome fish !! sounds like you found a nice little lake

[jacenbeers]

Is that Mud Lake?

[Paul C]

A fish that big should be called " sir "

[critter]

Originally Posted by jacenbeers

Is that Mud Lake?

no

[Dust1n]

rock lake?

[critter]

nope

[Fishfinder]

MMMMMmmmonster!! Awesome Bull, congrats on a fine catch
Cheers, thanx for posting!

[The Fisherman Guy]

BEAUTY Bullie, great catch and thanks for showing us.

[Sundancefisher]

Maybe some day we can have some stocked rainbows that big in a lake near Calgary and Edmonton! I love catching bulls but they just don't fight like a big rainbow.

[Dust1n]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Maybe some day we can have some stocked rainbows that big in a lake near Calgary and Edmonton! I love catching bulls but they just don't fight like a big rainbow.

not as acrobatic but if you like bulldawg fights then stick to bulls bows are for people who like exciting fights and can get pretty hard when your 25incher jumps and trys to throw the hook. steelies are intence.

[critter]

Originally Posted by Fish Hunter7

not as acrobatic but if you like bulldawg fights then stick to bulls bows are for people who like exciting fights and can get pretty hard when your 25incher jumps and trys to throw the hook. steelies are intence.

On open water, rainbows tend to zip around alot more and are more acrobatic like you said, but under the ice, ive had bulls do some pretty crazy things. In my opinion, bulltrout fight just as hard or harder than rainbows, and are just as erratic. They rip line like nothin else, and bolt towards you like crazy, doin the snake roll and shaking their head constantly. In open water, they often thrash on the surface like a big chinook. Part of this is likely due to the fact that i use a small ugly stick ice fishing rod rated for 2-4 lb test that basically bends in half. They probably really dont know whats goin on when they are hooked and dont have too much to pull against. They do fight differently on heavy tackle though. Either way, bulls are a great sport fish for the number of people that disregard them as a fun fish to target

[Dust1n]

my first bull was on a big ugly stick on 20lb test at lower K when he bite i though i was snagged so i started walking a way to unsnag it and the line started screaming slow but powerfully. there was alot of dteails but he didnt splash one bit and was a hard steady pull.

[Geezle]

That bull may or may not have pushed the record...from a picture I'm not going to try to judge.

But either way, that's a hell of a fish man!