1. A valid fishing license is required in Idaho for everyone age 14 and up.
2. If you’re fishing, it’s your job to be able to identify what fish species you can keep. Native Bull Trout are strictly catch and release, and keeping them can result in a $1,000 fine. Check out our fisheries guide for more information on species and what you can keep.
3. Healthy waterways don’t just help fish, they protect the native ecosystem and help us all. As you interact with our waterways, keep the 4 Cs in mind:
Clean: Native trout need clean water with very little fine sediment in the stream bottom. Fine sediment fills up the spaces in the spawning gravel, restricts oxygen flow, and can smother eggs.
Cold: Cold water temperatures are very important for native trout. If water temperatures rise above 59 degrees, it creates a thermal barrier that restricts migration and use of available habitats.
Complex: Native trout need complex streams with intact shoreline vegetation to provide shade, woody debris, bank stability, and deep pools.
Connected: Connected watersheds allow the fish to migrate. Bull trout spawn in stream habitats. At about two years of age, they migrate from their spawning stream to mature in lakes or rivers, traveling up to 150 miles. They return to their natal stream to spawn, but unlike salmon, make the journey between stream and lake many times in their life.
