Salvelinus confluentus

7/12/20
Central Idaho
My wife, 3-year-old daughter, and I stalked Bull Trout high in the mountains of Central Idaho in a stream up which salmon and steelhead run for a good few days, and on the last morning before we broke camp, with many Westslope Cutthroat already to our names, we both pulled 20"+ Bull Trout within a few minutes of each other out of a deep undercut bank made by a bend in the stream. This one was 21" and weighed a little over 3lbs. Fighting it took 15 nail-biting minutes using the 2lb line and barbless spinner we were throwing, but we each brought our fish in for measurements, a quick picture, and then a speedy return to their haunts.