Having trouble identifying this one. Came from a stream with brook, bull, and brook x bull hybrids

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9 Comments

  1. sorryabouttheclocks on

    I think it’s wild that people will pull a bull trout out of water to take a two handed pic like this when they don’t even know what it is. Suffocating a threatened species…

  2. Fish biologist here. Based on your photo I would say that fish is a hybrid and possibly a pure Brook Trout. The body shape and head angle is not right for a Bull Trout. I would expect a pure Bull to be thinner bodied with a flatter head. As for its pattern, you can see slight vermiculation on the back and tail that tells me this fish has Brook Trout in it. The presence or absence of blue halo spots is not reliable as I have caught Brook Trout that lack them. Also for what its worth, unless you are in a water with special regs against removing fish from the water, your fish handling looks fine. You can see water dripping off it.

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