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The bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a species of char native to western North America.
As with all chars, they are a cold water species. They prefer clean, fresh water.
The bull trout and Dolly Varden have long been confused with each other, especially where their range overlaps. The two species will hybridize with each other as well as with brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).
Their current range includes the Columbia, Snake, St. Mary, and Klamath river drainages, Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, and waterways of the Olympic Peninsula, Their historic range includes the upper Sacramento River drainage, namely the McCloud River, of which they have been extirpated from. Fossil records indicate they may have been present in the Bonneville Basin.
In Nevada, bull trout can only be found within the Jarbidge River drainage.
Bull trout. Caught in Nevada.
Challenges
Bull trout are included Western Native Trout Challenge but only catches in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada qualify.
Bull trout are included in the Nevada Native Fish Slam.
This article was authored by Kurt Zeilenga as part of our Western States Trout Species series.
Suggestions on how to improve this article may be sent to Kurt@TroutAdventures.org.
Additional Reading
Trout and Salmon of North America by Robert Behnke
Oregon Native Fish Status Report, Volumes I and II, by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
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