When a “trout” is not a trout: The common names used for fishes sometimes have little to do with how they are classified biologically.

Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are members of the “trout” family Salmonidae as are salmon, grayling, and whitefish. However, technically speaking, Bull Trout are actually classified as char (Genus: Salvelinus).

One general difference between trout and char is that trout have light colored bodies with dark spots and char have dark-colored bodies with light spots.

Since 1997, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office continues to work cooperatively with the Blackfeet Tribe, Glacier National Park, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to focus on gathering important information on the status and biology of the federally threatened St. Mary River Bull Trout population in north-west Montana.