Bull trout. A Char. The ultimate Rocky Mountain river predator. While fishing a small Cutthroat stream a friend and I spotted two of these meat-eaters at the tail end of a small pool. They were lying tight to a log jam (structure) simply hovering in the shadows. This is not an uncommon sight on many clear SW Alberta Cutthroat streams. Walk enough river miles and you will find some.

One of Bulls slashed twice at a small streamer but no hook-up. Then repeated drifts with large nymphs were ignored. My friend returned alone a few days later with several Roosterfish flies I had tied for a recent Baja trip. He risked navigating the rough, narrow forestry road with potholes that could pass as archeological dig sites in his super-sized truck camper rental. No small feat. The Bulls were calling. When he hiked to the river he found them in the same location. He enticed both Char to take a large saltwater fly and managed a few photos…