Lake Billy Chinook’s cool, clean waters make it one of the only places in the country where fishing for bull trout is legal, and the ability to do so draws anglers from across the region.
“It’s about the fight,” said frequent fishermen Stacy alongside fishing partner Scott, who regularly seek bull trout and other fish on Lake Billy Chinook. “It’s one of my favorite takes to fish. They’re a beautiful fish, and a great fight the whole way up.”
The bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, is a char, and native to the Northwest, ranging from Alaska to Northern California. They’re listed as a threatened species on the Endangered Species List. Because of this status, targeting them for fishing is not legal in most places. The populations remain too unstable to support it.
Thanks to careful monitoring by PGE and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs at the Round Butte Dam, fish for bull trout remains legal in all three arms of Lake Billy Chinook.
In fact, Lake Billy Chinook holds the top three state records for fish, the largest at the lake officially weighing in at 23 pounds and two ounces. An angler in 2023 caught a fish estimated at about 30 pounds but didn’t keep it to officially weigh.
The bull trout are a predatory fish, eating many of the smaller Kokanee and other small fish on the lake. They mature between four and seven years, and most stay within the lake area since the dam prevented moving up and down stream for many years. Bull trout can live for over 20 years.
Now, the Selective Water Withdrawal structure at Round Butte Dam attracts and collects these fish, among the other many species in the lake. The fish are brought in from about 30 feet below the lake’s surface, where they pass through a system of tubes where smaller fish are re-released. Then, what looks like a large colander is used to lift the large bull trout for scientists to measure and count.
The large, green and gray fish have yellow and white spots along their sides, with white edges on their fins. They are lifted out of the water, alongside much smaller kokanee, in a wriggling, slippery group.
“Bull trout are an important species for the ecosystem here, and we have to really carefully monitor them,” said Round Butte biologist Becky Burchell. “The numbers often fluctuate alongside other populations like the Kokanee.”
The bull trout brought up by the fish colander are returned to the same lake level after they’re measured. The teams at the fishery take a count at least once a day during the season, sometimes more frequently. Bull trout fishing season runs in the early spring on Lake Billy Chinook.
While most of these fish remain in the lake and river systems above the dam year-round, when the hatchery gets juvenile bull trout, they move them downriver alongside other juvenile fish species. Burchell says seeing a juvenile in their system is not common, and not nearly as regular as they see other fish.
Another aspect of fish management and data collection PGE and the Tribes take up is surveying anglers about their catches during bull trout season. Sidney Minnick waits near the boat launch on Lake Billy Chinook during the day, catching fishers as they return. He asks them questions like where they caught the fish, how many they caught, and if they caught any large enough to keep.
Regulations around keeping bull trout in Lake Billy Chinook are strict, mandating the fish must be over 24 inches to keep. Many of the fish don’t meet the requirement, but the longest bull trout ever reported was 40.5 inches, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Tribal fishing permits are needed to fish the lake.
Some people fish bull trout for food as well, while others say the taste isn’t great. For those that monitor the fish, keeping the population strong is important for the longevity of the species, and the entire ecosystem of the lakes.
“Having this predator is important because it keeps populations balanced,” said Burchell. “They eat the Kokanee, which keeps that population manageable, and it’s a ripple effect from there.”
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