--- J&A Burbank <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
Congrats on the Bull Trout (aka Dolly Varden) I have yet to get one myself.
JIM,
NOOOOOOO!!!!! Please do not set the clock back 50 years with such a statement. We've come along way at realizing that there is a Bull Trout & there is Dolly Varden. They are Not the same thing... Closely related, but not the same species. be the same as saying Rainbows & Cutthroats are the same species...
BULL TROUT (Salvelinus Confluentus) ranged from the Yukon & Mckenzie Rivers in Alaska & Canada south to the McCloud River here in California , with the southern most Stronghold origianlly in the Columbia basin, Islated Pockets of them exsist in the Upper Klamath drainage & the population in the McCloud river is extinct...
DOLLY VARDEN (Salvelnus Malma) Range from Puget Sound North up & around the Alaskan mainline, to the Arctic Sea..the mouth of the Mackenzie River being the furturest eats they get along the Arctic Ocean coast... There are actually two distinct populations of Dolly Vardens, the Southern group from the Kenai Peninsula south to Puget Sound & the Northern Group from the Kenai pennisula North & east the Mackenzie.. the Northern Group shares the same range & waters as the Artic Char..
For the layman, the big difference between the Bull Trout & the Dolly Varden is that the Dollies have a "Normal" trout shaped head, where as the Bull Trout has a Flatter, somewhat longer head. Also Dollies tend to be more colorful then Bull Trout...
If anyone is Serious about learning how to tell the differnece between the Various Trout, Salmon & Char species of North America...then I Strongly recommend finding ,buying & seriously reading & re-reading:
"Trout and Salmon of North America" by Dr. Robert Behnke
This is a Fantastic Book with easy to understand descriptions & you get the joy of having Joe Tomelleri Paintings to guide you... A Must Have Book on the Subject....
DEAN.....
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