Article Skagit Bull Trout Primer Chapter 5: Some Interesting Encounters

[Josh]

Skagit Bull Trout Primer Chapter 5: Some Interesting Encounters
By: @Smalma

Photo by @Matt B

A red flag fish
https://www.pnwflyfishing.com/forum...mer-chapter-5-some-interesting-encounters.36/
In the gin clear water of the North Fork Nooksack, a flash of red from a freshly hooked bull trout turned was puzzling. As the fish was eased into the shallows there was a bright red strand on the side of its face. Perhaps, a fish that had broken off from a steelhead angler using red yarn? No, it was a piece of gill. A closer examination revealed that the first gill arch on the left side of the fish had been severed near the point it would attach at the back of the mouth. The gill arch was sticking out of gill plate it had completely healed and the fish appeared to be thriving (caught the same fish again in the same place a week later). While I had seen a ling cod that had survived such injuries, I was shocked to see a trout had survived. That was more than 45 years ago...

This article wraps up @Smalma's awesome series on our native char, the bull trout. If somehow you have arrived here without reading the other articles, please click this link and check them out, you won't be disappointed. For everyone else, please enjoy these stories of some really interesting encounters with bull trout that Smalma has had over the years. They do a great job of showing just how amazing these fish really are. And no, the fish in the images do not match the stories. They are just some cool fish that our community have caught over the years.

Skagit Bull Trout Primer Chapter 5: Some Interesting Encounters

Skagit Bull Trout Primer Chapter 5: Some Interesting Encounters Editor's Note: This article wraps up @Smalma's awesome series on our native char, the bull trout. If somehow you have arrived here without reading the other articles, please click...

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