BULL TROUT - Salvelinus confluentus

The Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a member of the North American salmon family, which includes salmon, trout, whitefish, char, and grayling, and is one of four species of char native to western North America. On June 10, 1998, the Bull Trout was designated as threatened in the Klamath and Columbia Rivers, and on November 01, 1999 was listed as threatened in the contiguous US under the ESA. A threatened species is defined as one that is considered likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Bull Trout depend on very clean, cold water and therefore are a prime indicator of the health of forest ecosystems and watersheds.

Identification:

Bull Trout have a white leading edge on their fins and small, pale yellow to crimson spots against a darker background of olive green to brown on the back fading to white on the belly. Their tail is slightly forked and the dorsal fin lacks spots. They look very much like the anadromous Dolly Varden, but are larger and have a longer and broader head and exist mainly inland. Check out the bulltrout links section on our links webpage for more information on identifying Bull Trout.

Life History:

Spawning maturity occurs at four to seven years and they can live 12 years. Unlike salmon, spawning adults survive to spawn again every two or three years. They spawn in fall after the temperature drops below 48 degrees Fahrenheit. The incubation period for their eggs is 4 to 5 months and they hatch in late winter to early spring. They like cold, clean, undisturbed waters. The young eat aquatic insects switching to mainly whitefish, sculpin and other trout as they grow. Bull Trout that live in streams rarely grow to more than 4 pounds, but lake inhabitants can weight above 20 pounds, with the U.S. record Bull Trout weighing in at 33 pounds.

They are known to exhibit four distinct life history forms:

Adfluvial Bull Trout rear from one to four years in their natal stream and then migrate to lakes, returning only to spawn.
Fluvial Bull Trout mature in their natal streams much like their adfluvial counterparts but move to large streams and rivers after maturation.
Resident Bull Trout complete their entire life cycle in the tributary (or nearby) streams in which they spawn and rear.
Anadromous Bull Trout rear in natal streams and migrate to marine environments to mature. This form is reported only near Puget Sound in Washington where anadromous Bull Trout grow large in the salt water and then migrate to mountain tributaries to spawn.

River Data

Real time elevation, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and electrical conductivity at the Harris Bridge on the South Fork of the Walla Walls River

Downloadable Graph or Data Table.
Note: This data is provided by USFWS and is provisional.
PTAGIS has two PIT tag detection sites near the Harris Bridge Gauge:
- WW1 - Instream detector at Harris Park Bridge, S. Fk. Walla Walla River
- WW2 - Instream detector at Burnt Cabin Creek Bridge, S. Fk. Walla Walla River (5 miles upstream from Harris Park)

USGS

USGS - Water Resources of Washington State - Lower Columbia (Gorge) River Basins
- Real Time Flow data for Walla Walla Area
- Study and Interpretation of the Chemical Characteristics of Natural Water - U.S. Geological Survey, Water Supply Paper 225

Bull Trout PIT tag detections 2002 to present

Interrogation (Obs) Site Codes	Interrogation Site Name	Year	Number of Detections
BGM	Burlingame Diversion Dam	2007	4
CCP	Catherine Creek Acclimation Pond	2004	1
KCB	Kiwanis Camp Bridge	2007	74
LTR	Lower Tucannon River, near the river mouth	2005	10
LTR		2006	8
MCD	Mill Creek Diversion Project	2007	15
MRB	Lower Methow River Basin below Twisp	2007	2
NBA	Nursery Bridge Diversion Dam Fishways	2004	2
NBA		2005	8
NBA		2006	5
NBA		2007	14
UM1	NF Umatilla River at Forks Campground Bridge	2005	14
UM1		2006	8
WW1	S. Fork Walla Walla, Harris Bridge	2002	11
WW1		2003	35
WW1		2004	51
WW1		2005	19
WW1		2006	13
WW1		2007	8
WW2	S. Fork Walla Walla, Burnt Creek Bridge	2002	11
WW2		2003	102
WW2		2004	94
WW2		2005	14
WW2		2006	19
WW2		2007	7

Data last updated 11/02/2007

Note: At a given site each tagged fish is counted once; however, the same fish may occur at other sites and be reported in the counts at those sites. The fish is counted once by site for the first year it was seen at that site.

Bull Trout data from the Smolt Monitoring Program

Query for Bull Trout data gathered at SMP sites from 1998 to present

Bull Trout observations at Adult Ladders for Rock Island, Rocky Reach, Wells, McNary and Ice Harbor Dams.

Query for Bull Trout Counts at adult ladders. This information courtesy of Chelan and Douglas County PUDs and the Army Corp of Engineers.

Miscellaneous Bull Trout data

Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council

Fish Telemetry Study - Walla Walla River Bull Trout & Summer Steelhead Radio Telemetry and Monitoring
Walla Walla Basin Summer Steelhead and Bull Trout Radio Telemetry Project 2001-2002 Progress Report.