First River Bull of the Season.......On The Bow!

[Daceminnow]

well the first river Bull of the season has come a little early this year. didn't have to wait till June 15th to hook my first of the year on the fly. not the biggest fish but very healthy looking and out of the Bow river, well lets say i was pretty stoked. my first Bully out the Bow made for one memorial night on the river. enjoy the pics, this guy got my juices flowing when he hit the net. cool stuff.

Dace

[Dust1n]

Fish of a 1000 casts on the bow! Nice catch Dace

[gl2]

very cool, congrats buddy. were ya swinging streamers?

[tacklerunner]

Leave it to you Dace... if anyone can do it, it would be you. Didn't I just ask you recently if you ever got a bull in the Bow?

[BeeGuy]

Awesome, great catch!

Always cool to see a Bow River Taimen!

[BobLoblaw]

Nice lookin' bull, Dace; well done!
I've only ever caught one bull in the Bow, right under Calf Robe bridge...

[ReconWilly]

Thats a beaut!! right on Dace nice catch.

[WayneChristie]

How'd it taste? nice pics

[commieboy]

Fantastic! I'm in a slump (last nine outings I have been either completely skunked, or hooked up but failed to net), so it's good to know someone is landing fish.

A bit too much information on the "juices flowing", though...

[Kyle]

Sure looks like a brook trout to me! Either way rare catch!

[Steven Noel]

Just had to sneak a few inches on mine, didn't you. Congrats on the beautiful fish.

[TyreeUM]

Dace do you have any pics of the dorsal fin? I would almost bet that is a brook bull hybrid! I have not seen one in person yet but several pictures...

[BeeGuy]

The tail does look pretty suspicious.

How compatible are the two species? Are hybrids fecund?

[ReconWilly]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

The tail does look pretty suspicious.

How compatible are the two species? Are hybrids fecund?

Interesting looking spots for a mature bull as well.Some appear to have halos around them.

[TyreeUM]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

The tail does look pretty suspicious.

How compatible are the two species? Are hybrids fecund?

I don't know much about them Bee, but I would venture a guess that a brook bull hybrid could successfully reproduce. Although it isn't 100%, a suspicious looking fish can be identified as a hybrid of the two species if the dorsal has light colored spots. I want to say I can almost make out spots like this in the picture showing the netted fish.

[jstelfox]

It sure looks like some of the brook X bull hybrids that I've handled from Quirk Creek. The dorsal fin is the best diagnostic feature. Brook X bull hybrids have distinct pale spots on their dorsal fin.

Not all hybrids are infertile. Genetic analysis has confirmed that some hybrids are F2 (second-generation) hybrids.
Jim

[ESOXangler]

Congrats on the beauty!!!

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by jstelfox

It sure looks like some of the brook X bull hybrids that I've handled from Quirk Creek. The dorsal fin is the best diagnostic feature. Brook X bull hybrids have distinct pale spots on their dorsal fin.

Not all hybrids are infertile. Genetic analysis has confirmed that some hybrids are F2 (second-generation) hybrids.
Jim

Thanks for that tid-bit Jim, that is exactly what I was wondering.

It may only be a matter of time before gene flow does its dirty work on the population.

[fishstix]

Originally Posted by BeeGuy

The tail does look pretty suspicious.

How compatible are the two species? Are hybrids fecund?

I would say bull brook hybred. The colorful dots arent on plain old bulls. Either way nice fish!

[jstelfox]

For those who are interested, here's an excellent poster, prepared by the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game, which shows how to use the dorsal fin to differentiate brook X bull hybrids from bull trout and brook trout, and a recent paper on the subject.

Jim

[gl2]

Originally Posted by jstelfox

For those who are interested, here's an excellent poster, prepared by the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game, which shows how to use the dorsal fin to differentiate brook X bull hybrids from bull trout and brook trout, and a recent paper on the subject.

Jim

thanks for sharing that info. i found it to be a very good read.

[icefever]

Seen lots of colored spots on bulls, if you've ever seen the ones in Lower K they have pink halos. Nice fish Dace

[TyreeUM]

Originally Posted by jstelfox

For those who are interested, here's an excellent poster, prepared by the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game, which shows how to use the dorsal fin to differentiate brook X bull hybrids from bull trout and brook trout, and a recent paper on the subject.

Jim

Excellent, thanks for posting this!

[walking buffalo]

Thanks for the info Jim, Very helpfull.



This thread should be merged with the "Kill Alberta's brook trout" thread.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=130579

[Albertafisher]

Nice catch! It looks like a Bull/Brookie Hybrid though. Either way congrats!

[goldscud]

Looks like some nice blue halos on those spots. I'd say it's a mutt.

[kissarmygeneral]

Dace,
I pulled this little bull out last week, first i'v ever caught in the Bow also. It's clear that what you have is a Bully, I included a pic of a little brook i pulled from the Bow, very distinct colouring. (Please no flak about fish handling on the brook, this photo is from six years ago, my releasing techniques are more educated now )

[tacklerunner]

Originally Posted by kissarmygeneral

Dace,
I pulled this little bull out last week, first i'v ever caught in the Bow also. It's clear that what you have is a Bully, I included a pic of a little brook i pulled from the Bow, very distinct colouring. (Please no flak about fish handling on the brook, this photo is from six years ago, my releasing techniques are more educated now )

Unfortunately you can't see the dorsal fin clearly in the pics but the spots definitely had halos around them and mimicked that of a brookie. Waiting for a pic of the dorsal for final verification. Pretty sure it's a hybrid.

[TyreeUM]

without a doubt, the fish you have in that picture is a crucian carp

[Daceminnow]

first off thank-you very much Ty and Jim for all the knowledge and information shared here regarding this fish.


Jim at anytime please chime in with the "good stuff". there's more than a few of us here who really enjoy and benefit from the data you share. thank-you.


it seems that my cool and unique catch out of the Bow has now become something even more special.


these are the best two photos of the dorsal fin from last nights fish. i think i see what we're looking for.

pic 1



pic 1 zoomed in



pic 2



pic 2 zoomed in




Dace