Fish Types And Numbers

[yonderin]

While fishing the SW corner this weekend I had 3 different people report catching Rainbows in a Carbondale trib and the upper Castles. News to me. Has anybody else experienced or heard of this? Or might it be misidentification? Never aware of RB in these areas before.

 

Also a gent was catching about 50% Bulls in the Castle system using a spinner, quite a bit more than previously. Just unusual results or are they coming back after enough protection? Same lure he always used.

[jpinkster]

Last week Bulls were placed on the threatened species list which could be interpreted as a step back. That being said, we also ran into a unusually large amount of Bullies on our trip to the Oldman last weekend. Rumors of Bull trout demise may be greatly exaggerated.

[albertatrout]

It could be population recovery, you may also just be catching them congregated prior to the main spawning run. A large percentage of a streams bullies may be located in a relatively small area around this time of year. Bullies begin spawning migrations very early (mid-July in some areas) while the migration is generally started by August. I know of many creeks really full of bullies right now, doesn't necessarily mean they are recovering across the entire system. Also, they are extraordinarily easy to catch due to their aggressive nature, you may be catching every bully in a run. I once caught the same tagged bully 3 times in a single day, they aren't picky and catch rates can be deceiving. Just something to consider.

[yonderin]

I kind of suspected he was just having an unusual string of luck with the Bulls, 50% seemed really high (even allowing for some exageration). Mind you he didn't specify whether he caught 6 in total or 60.

 

It appears no one else has seen or heard reports of RB in those streams?

[trailhead]

I have caught rain/cuttbows up there for a few years. In the section around the Shell gas plant. Not sure how pure the cutthroat are in there.

[LastBoyScout]

More and more bow invasion up there, Carbondale has had plenty for ever sad to hear tribs are going the same way.

[Taco]

I have caught rain/cuttbows up there for a few years. In the section around the Shell gas plant. Not sure how pure the cutthroat are in there.

One hybrid or rainbow shows up in a population pure cutthroat those cutthroat are no longer classed as pure

[lad]

There are more and more Bulls being caught every year in the SW through out the season. I believe the shortage of Bulls is greatly exaggerated. If you look at the other forum more than half of their S.W. pictures being posted are Bullies and that is no coincidence. Many of the knowledgeable locals I know that fish the SW reports much the same. I do wonder what the natural ratio would be with out the touch of people in the SW? What would the weight and numbers of Bullies be compared to other indigenous fish with out people?