How to entice bull trout

Idaho Fishing Forum Idaho Fishing General
1

Very frustrating… it seems like I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at them as far as lures go, they won’t touch it. I am talking about groups of 10-20 bull trout in Redfish and Alturas lake inlets, as well as a bunch of about a dozen I located yesterday on the upper salmon. Some real lunkers, 25inches. I know this because I do snorkeling reconnaissance before I fish. Heck the other day at Alturas I was fishing underwater with my rod and lure, put it right infront of their faces, 0 reaction.

Do I need to go out and kill a female rainbow, get some eggs and put it on a hook? Powerbait!?? Help on summer bull trout strategies!

Thanks

2

If you fly fished I would try a nymph, or even a Chironomid. Good luck and stay in touch on your quest.

3

Rainbow trout spawn in the spring, so you’re unlikely to find females that are still gravid with eggs. You’d be better off trying cured eggs (aka Pautske) if bait is allowed.

Bull trout, by nature, are aggressive predators. If you’ve tried a variety of lures and retrieves with no luck, you might be out of luck (unless bait is allowed). They could be engaged in some pre-spawn rituals or maybe they’ve been hammered/harassed a lot. In my experience (quite a few years chasing them) it’s not too often that bull trout won’t eat a spinner/lure or a streamer fly.

4

Roe is the answer. I keep some cured in the freezer.

5

How to entice bull trout? With a cow trout! [sly]
Ron

6

Roe is the answer. I keep some cured in the freezer. [.img]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/happy.gif[/img]

Mike Roe? IN YOUR FREEZER???
Man, I gotta see that episode!:laughing:

7

Is this a joke?

Bull trout are a threatened and protected species under federal and Idaho state laws.

8

Never tried Redfish much, but the Alturas inlet - seen quite a few pulled out (and put back).
Gotta be on the bottom
Roe, Salmon eggs. No doubt - they are finicky fish.

Seen 'em caught on worms too even. Caught one on sucker meat (squawfish).

To my knowledge - there’s no restriction on Alturas about bait. Some of the rivers around, yes.
Are they up in Stanley? We had a great stop at Stanley’s inlet. I had some hit-hit-hit bow action on a fly there. Anything with “red” seemed to be the ticket.

9

Is this a joke?

Bull trout are a threatened and protected species under federal and Idaho state laws.

So are sturgeon. What’s your point? He didn’t mention eating them.

10

Is this a joke?

Bull trout are a threatened and protected species under federal and Idaho state laws.

So are sturgeon. What’s your point? He didn’t mention eating them.

I hear they taste kind of like spotted owl.

11

I hear they taste kind of like spotted owl. [.img]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/happy.gif[/img]

Here’s an interesting story…
No, on second thought never mind.

12

Is this a joke?

Bull trout are a threatened and protected species under federal and Idaho state laws.

So are sturgeon. What’s your point? He didn’t mention eating them.

Isn’t it illegal to intentionally fish for them?

“Bull trout are protected by both state and federal law. It is illegal to fish for bull trout in Idaho”:

http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/wildlife/sensitive_species/bull_trout.html

13

Isn’t it illegal to intentionally fish for them?

“Bull trout are protected by both state and federal law. It is illegal to fish for bull trout in Idaho”:

http://www.blm.gov/…_trout.html

I’d prefer to get my fishing rules from Fish and Game and not BLM.

Game Fish: Brook, brown, bull, cutthroat, golden, lake
(Mackinaw), rainbow (including steelhead), splake and Sunapee
trout; trout hybrids; Chinook, coho, Atlantic, and kokanee
(blueback) salmon; grayling; whitefish; cisco; crappie; perch;
bass; catfish; bullhead; sunfish; sturgeon; northern pike; tiger
muskie; walleye and sauger; and burbot (Ling). Bullfrogs and
crayfish are also defined as game fish

Bull Trout
• Bull trout limit is 0, catch-and-release
• No bull trout harvest is allowed

Limit is 0: Catch-and-release fishing is allowed but the fish
species listed in the rule must be released after landing and may
not be reduced to possession.

14

roe is the way to go. but if you want to be cheap about it use a yarnie with smelly jelly on it. i have landed many bulls on a yarnie.

15

I’d prefer to get my fishing rules from Fish and Game and not BLM.

Thanks for the clarification.

It seems a bit at odds with the federal laws BLM and other federal agencies are required to enforce. Federal law does not allow you to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct” with protected species.

16

roe or salmon eggs. the trick is to hit it before they get spooked. I have seen them stacked in there like you are saying. but it gets fished so hard that they get smart quick.

17

I’d prefer to get my fishing rules from Fish and Game and not BLM.

Thanks for the clarification.

It seems a bit at odds with the federal laws BLM and other federal agencies are required to enforce. Federal law does not allow you to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct” with protected species.

That is strange how much difference there is between the two.
But, my lisc. is issued by F&G. I’ll follow their rules until told otherwise by Big Brother.

18

I thought I read a short while back, that Bull are no longer on the protected or endagered list in Idaho, but remain C&R.

19

US Fish & Wildlife reviewed their status under federal ESA guidelines in 2010, but they are still considered a threatened species:

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=E065

Here is their final ruling from that review process: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-10-18/pdf/2010-25028.pdf#page=2

I fully understand Idaho Fish & Game issues state licenses and regulations (I get a new license and rule book every year), but this is an interesting disconnect because federal agencies are supposed to have “preemptive authority” over state and local regs.

20

Looks like USFWS implemented a special rule when they listed bull trout as a “threatened species” - they amended the definition of “take” per the Endangered Species Act to allow non-harvest angling for bull trout in accordance with state, local and tribal laws. Hence, IFG’s “catch and release” philosophy: