You
can distinguish the lake trout from the other trout by its deeply forked
tail. Their dorsal fin may have white spots and their body sports white
spots.
Lake
trout are not native in western Montana, except for the St. Mary and Belly
River drainages east of the Continental Divide. In fact, they compete with
bull trout for space and food, and may prey on bull trout. In general,
angling bag limits are very liberal for lake trout. In Flathead Lake in
northwestern Montana, anglers can keep 15 lake trout under 30 inches in
length and one lake trout over 36 inches in length. FWP and the Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes have a management plan in place that seeks to
control or reduce lake trout while increasing the native bull trout and
westslope cutthroat trout. |