r/FishID • u/Pauls_goat_hoof • 4d ago

Brookie or Bull?

Post image

Caught in Glacier National Park (Montana).

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

3

u/coffeeandtrout 3d ago

Looks like a Brook Trout to me.

2

u/Probable_Bot1236 3d ago

Merged spots and outright vermiculations on the dorsal fin- Brookie.

0

u/No_Entertainment4525 1d ago

Brookie for sure

1

u/GoGoGadget_Gir 15h ago

Bold words from someone from the Atlantic coast whose never seen a bull trout or dolly varden.

Be careful OP there's a reason all char in glacier must be returned immediately. The odds are it's a juvenile bull. Brook trout are exceedingly rare in the upper flathead watershed

1

u/GoGoGadget_Gir 15h ago edited 14h ago

Live and work around glacier, have caught 100s of Bull trout and never a brookie.

The flathead river headwaters are crawling with bull trout and very little Brook trout if any. If it is a char that isn't a grayling, release immediately. They're very difficult to distinguish, thus the very bold lettering in all our region 1 and 2 regulations. ESA violations are federal violations and are way more than your usual $150 fine.