Bull Trout Amaze Biologist

By Danielle Schiff and Mike Demick - Idaho Department of Fish and Game Idaho's spectacular trout streams, rivers and lakes are legendary across the nation and one of the most important parts of this wonderful resource is Idaho's largest native trout: the bull trout. Bull trout, frequently called Dolly Varden, have declined both in abundance and distribution across their historic range. As a result, they have made national headlines after being listed as a threatened species by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. But several state and federal agencies and concerned citizens have united across the west to help conserve this important part of our native heritage. In Dworshak Reservoir and the North Fork Clearwater River basin, Danielle Schiff, fisheries research biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), has studied bull trout for the last three years. During this time, she and her work crew have captured and radio-tagged more than 500 bull trout. The study is designed to determine the extent bull trout live in the reservoir and what areas are used in the basin at different times of the year. Captured bull trout have a small radio transmitter implanted in their stomachs. The transmitters allow the crew to locate the fish throughout the basin as they migrate during the year. Schiff has found radio-tagged bull trout migrating from Dworshak Reservoir, where most spend their winter, to the headwaters of the North Fork, Little North Fork, and Kelly Creek, where most spawn. She has radio tracked individual fish migrating more than 275 miles from spawning areas to overwintering areas and back again. "When I started working on this project, I never imagined bull trout would migrate as far as they do or into so many places," she said. "Every year I tag a few more fish and every year I find them in new locations; they never stop amazing me." Schiff's study also looks at how many bull trout are being hooked during the sport fishery in Dworshak Reservoir and the North Fork Clearwater River. Schiff would like to obtain an estimate of the numbers of fish being caught and compare the current catch numbers to historical creel information. "It's okay for anglers to be catching more bull trout because this should equate to more bull trout in the rivers. But it also might be that few anglers are catching bull trout and reporting it more frequently," she said. Schiff's goal is to find out how bull trout are being caught. As a result, anglers should not be surprised if a creel clerk stops by and asks them what they are catching. "They're not out to check your license or get you in trouble for catching a bull trout," she said. "We just want to collect information so we can better understand what is in the river so we can ultimately better manage the system." The overall goal is to achieve an accurate estimate on how many bull trout are in Dworshak Reservoir and the North Fork Clearwater so the Fish and Wildlife Service can delist the population segment. Only then can IDFG return to managing the resource to provide anglers the opportunity to harvest bull trout again. "I want anglers to see how much fun it is to land a four- to seven-pound bull trout and not think of them as a trash fish' anymore," Schiff said. "They are simply an awesome fish that has a bad rap at the moment." Mike Demick - Clearwater Region Conservation Educator Danielle Schiff - Fisheries Research Biologist