Click on the fish below for a detailed view.

Bull Trout
Salvelinus confluentus

The bull trout, also known as a salmon-trout, is not actually a trout, but a char. It looks a lot like a Dolly Varden, however, and the two fish are frequently confused.

What do Bull Trout look like? Bull Trout can grow very large, up to 103 centimeters and 14.5 kilograms. Their heads are blocky, and they have a large jaw that curves upward towards the nose. The bull trout tail is unforked with a very straight edge, and the anal and pelvic fins have cream-coloured leading edges. Bull trout have broader, flatter heads than the Dolly Varden. Their mouths are larger and their bodies are more slender.

Where does the Bull Trout live?

The Bull trout is found on both sides of the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to California. They live mostly in cold lakes and streams in the interior of British Columbia. Their location is the best way to tell them apart from Dolly Varden, fish that live mostly in coastal waters.

Food for Thought… Bull trout populations are very vulnerable to habitat degradation and the introduction of other fish species. For this reason, they are the only fish species currently considered in the British Columbia Forest Practices Code. What kinds of things could foresters do to keep Bull Trout safe?

What is the Bull Trout life cycle? Mature bull trout spawn in the fall in the streams where they were born. The water must be quite cold, below 9°C. Their eggs are laid in clean gravel. The eggs hatch in about four months and then the young fish stay in the stream for a year or two. When they are bigger, they will move into larger lakes and streams.

Did you know that … Bull trout have relatively long lives and some may not even spawn until they are ten years old.