KALISPELL — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has confirmed the detection of non-native brown trout at two different locations in Flathead County: Ashley Lake and Church Slough.
Brown trout can be devastating to native trout species, such as bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout, by outcompeting them for resources and preying on juvenile fish.
(WATCH: Non-native brown trout detected in Flathead Drainage)
The trout can be identified by their golden brown to yellow-brown color, with dark spots often surrounded by lighter halos, and sometimes with red or orange spots.
In Ashley Lake or other large waterbodies, FWP said these colors may be muted or nonexistent. Brown trout residing in lakes may appear silvery with a dark green back overlaid with large dark spots.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park Fisheries Biologist Kenny Breidinger said moving live fish from one water body to another is illegal in Montana and can result in fines or imprisonment.
“If you know of anybody who’s doing this or have any information that may be helpful in tracking down some of these criminals, it would be great to turn that into our law enforcement office and game warden,” said Breidinger.
Breidinger is asking anglers who catch a brown trout to kill the fish immediately and bring it to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks office in Kalispell to support ongoing monitoring.
