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The weather outside is frightful, but that’s just delightful for the cold-loving bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)!
Grab #Fishmas Day 17 by the horns to meet a fish who never let the cold bother them anyway #25DaysofFishmas
Grab #Fishmas Day 17 by the horns to meet a fish who never let the cold bother them anyway #25DaysofFishmas
Bull trout is part of the Salmonidae family + the genus Salvelinus, which is a group of fish adapted for life in very cold waters. The bull trout’s common name comes from its relatively large head compared to its body length #25DaysofFishmas
Bull trout were historically found throughout northwestern North America, but today, the main populations remaining in the lower 48 states are in ID, MT, OR, and WA, with a small pop in northern NV (they’ve been extirpated from California) #25DaysofFishmas
Despite the name, bull trout is not a “true” trout, but a member of the char genus. One difference between chars + trouts? Char (like bull trout) have light spots on a dark background, while trout/salmon (like brown trout) have dark spots on a light background #25DaysofFishmas
Bull trout can be either resident (stay in small streams where they were born) or migratory (move to bigger water bodies to overwinter + back to streams to reproduce). Residents are usually smaller than migrators, who can grow to 35 in (90 cm)/30 lbs (14 kg) #25DaysofFishmas
Bull trout have some of the most specific habitat requirements of salmonids, needing what biologists call the "Four C's": Cold, Clean, Complex and Connected habitat. Because of this, they’re very sensitive to habitat changes like higher water temps #25DaysofFishmas
Bull trout were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999, in part due to the effects of development (like logging and road building) on their habitats #25DaysofFishmas
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Inviting bull trout to #Fishmas dinner? Be prepared: during juvenile salmon migrations, some adult trout "binge" by eating up to 12% of their body weight in baby salmon a day. That’s like a 180 lb human eating 22 lbs of food (in a day)! #25DaysofFishmas https://blog.nature.org/science/2016/07/26/new-research-remarkable-binge-eating-bull-trout/
