Want a summer adventure? Try the Trout Challenge!

There are few better ways to enjoy summer than hitting the road for a summer fishing trip whether close to home or venturing to new uncharted waters. A highlight of those trips is often the chance to take in some beautiful country and have a chance to catch an equally beautiful native trout! If this sounds like your idea of a good time, we’ve got a great way to plan your future fishing adventures and aid in native trout conservation at the same time!

The Western Native Trout Challenge is a multi-state trout slam hosted by our friends at the Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI). WNTI is part of the bigger National Fish Habitat Partnership program, working across 12 Western states to conserve native trout. They work hard to fund conservation efforts such as habitat restoration, removing migration barriers, fish population surveys and trout education/outreach. 

By taking on the Challenge, you can support native trout conservation. From the $25 registration, $23 of that goes directly back into funding trout habitat restoration projects! This is a win-win for angler and trout alike! Idaho has 5 native trout eligible for the Challenge: Redband, Westslope cutthroat, Yellowstone cutthroat, and Bonneville cutthroat, and Bull trout. But this challenge goes beyond Idaho, you'll need at least 6 species from 4 states to complete the basic achievement level. So you may find yourself targeting Gila Trout in the Southwest, Rainbows in Alaska, Golden Trout in California or a variety of other species across the west! 

Tackling the Challenge is all about making an adventure that is all your own. You’ll get to experience some of the best wild places throughout the West while you try to catch native trout in their original habitats. Along the way, you'll learn about native trout, where they live, and some of the many challenges they are facing these days.  If you are lucky, you might even find a new secret spot.

For more information and registration details, visit the Western Native Trout Challenge website. 

Find fish distribution by filtering for species in the Idaho Fishing Planner

See maps of where these fish live on the Trout Challenge Maps Page