take my 9ft pontoon and my baitcaster spooled up with 15 lb test and throw crankbaits.
For me, my 10’ or my 9’ Outlaw and an 8 wt…
Have a good friend from calgary that fishes that. I may be off but Im pretty sure that is the lake he also pulled what at the time was the record bull trout out of. Went 34ish lbs in memory is right.
In talking with him one of the hot streamers they use is polar bear hair. Runs him 10 to 20$ per streamer to tie. And they bring in monster fish. Been bugging me to take a trip up and fish it.
One of these days 
Yep, Bmarsh, that’s the one. Polar bear hair, and many also use peacock. You’re right, they are pricey, around $8-13 Canadian, if I remember correctly. And yes, there are monster dolly vardens (their term). We stop at the Gill and Gift in Balfour for the latest info and fly/lure info. The fellow there is always in the know, and the most helpful person you will ever meet. They have a web site with current info. Mike
Do these fish need the extreme depths of lakes like Pend Orielle and Kootenay, or will they do good with depths of say 100’-140’? And if they eat Kokanee, maybe small bass, and chubs. I might know a place…
The Canadians might say that the most important factor is pristine, gravelly spawning beds. The Gerrard strain of Kamloops in Kootenay spawn in a 1000-foot stretch of one river. The reason they get so big is a rich diet of kokanee instead of insects, etc., and that they live approx. 8 years instead of the other strains of kamloops. By the way, thank some jerk for planting lake trout in Pend Oreille for the demise of terrific kamloop fishing there. The lakers wiped out the kokanee, along with terrible practices utilized by the Corps of Engineers. Thus the current regulations that require the killing of all mackinaw and kamloops in the lake. As far as planting them, it has been tried in lots of places as I mentioned before, and with little success. Mike
They need cold…not sure how bass would deal with that.
There are in some lakes that do get warm however.
Jealous of you being able to go up there. Dollys=Bulls, my ole man here in SE ID calls em dollys too. Correction on my other post, his record was only 28.4 lbs that came out of Koot. Looking like I may get to fish it this winter while Im up there on a snowmobiling trip! Be nice to tie into some hogs like those that you caught!
Heres a pic of his bull he pulled out of there.
You don’t often see the words “only” and “25 pounds” next to each other!! Sure hope you get to go up there. If so, report to us, of course. Mike
Jealous of you being able to go up there. Dollys=Bulls, my ole man here in SE ID calls em dollys too!
Heres a pic of his bull he pulled out of there.
[.IMG]http://i99.photobucket.com/...y.jpg[/IMG]
![http://i99.photobucket.com/...y.jpg[/IMG]](http://i99.photobucket.com/...y.jpg%5B/IMG%5D){kind=link}
Just an FYI–Dollies are not Bull Trout. Two different species. Bull trout are “endangered” in the US.
[left]Bull trout and Dolly Varden look very
[left]similar, and were once considered the
[left]same species. Both have small, pale
[left]yellow to crimson spots on a darker
[left]background, which ranges from olive
[left]green to brown above, fading to white
[left]on the belly. Spawning adults develop
[left]varying amounts of red on the belly.
[left]Both species also exhibit differences in
[left]size, body characteristics, coloration,
[left]and life history behavior across their
[left]range.
[left]Taxonomic work, published in 1978 and
[left]accepted by the American Fisheries
[left]Society in 1980, identified bull trout as
[left]distinct from the Dolly Varden. Compared
[left]to Dolly Varden, bull trout are
[left]larger on average, with a relatively
[left]longer and broader head. Bull trout are
[left]mainly an inland species, while
[left]Dolly Varden are more common in
[left]coastal areas. In Washington, both
[left]species are present in the Puget Sound
area.
i strongly believe they are the same fish. if one disagrees catch a dolly varden put it on a stringer and show it to the f&g and tell me what happens…
true dolly’s are in alaska and canada right? might be a few in montana? but our bulltrout is a diffrent but simalar species correct me if im wrong?
I’m certainly not an expert, but I remember reading once that they are bull trout until they go to the ocean, then they are dolly varden. Like rainbows and steelhead.