An original film from Huk about native fish, wild places, and the connections that keep us coming back.
The first time Martin Gerdin caught a bull trout, he didn’t know what it was.
Later that day, he brought a photo into a local fly shop. The person behind the counter lowered his voice.
“You caught a bull trout.”
There was something in that response. Recognition. Reverence. The sense that Martin had stumbled into a story much bigger than a single fish.
He would spend years following it.
Where the Bulls Still Swim, our latest Huk Original Film, follows the glass artist and angler into bull trout country with his dog, Lasso. Set against the landscapes of Washington and Idaho, the film introduces the people working to protect these native fish and explores how much a connection to the water can change a life.
From the furnace to the river
Martin has been blowing glass since he was 12 and fishing for even longer.
In his Colorado studio, those two pursuits come together. Over years of developing color techniques and making his own tools, he has learned to capture the details that make a fish recognizable: its shape, its markings, the way its colors shift.
His work brings him into contact with anglers and art collectors alike. It also gives him a window into how people understand fish, including how little many of us know about which species belong in which waters.
For Martin, native fish hold a particular significance. And none has drawn him farther into wild country than the bull trout.
Each summer, he turns off the furnace. The roar of the studio gives way to quiet, and his attention shifts to maps, rods, gear, and packing the truck.
Lasso knows the routine.
The fishing partner who won’t be left behind
As soon as the packing starts, Lasso takes his place beneath the truck. Sometimes, he won’t even come inside for dinner.
He knows where they’re going. He intends to be there.
Martin describes a dog who has learned to read the fishing itself. When Martin nymphs, Lasso watches the rod tip. When he fishes a dry fly, Lasso watches the fly. He has been there for nearly every bull trout Martin has caught.
“They talk about heart dogs and you only get one,” Martin says. “And this is mine.”
But Lasso is 10 now. The terrain is rugged, the miles are long, and he is slowing down.
“I’m just glad he’s here,” Martin says, “because it’s probably his last big bull trout trip.”
That possibility gives the journey a different weight. There are still rivers to explore and fish to find, but there is also the simple pleasure of another summer together, with an old friend close behind.
The wolves of the river
Bull trout inspire a particular kind of fascination.
They are char, relatives of salmon and trout, and formidable predators. Martin calls them “the wolves of the river,” describing fish quick to respond to any sign of weakness in their prey.
Finding them can require days of searching. Martin hikes ravines, explores waterfalls, and studies pools for the smallest indication of a fish. Sometimes, the white edge of a fin is all that gives one away.
The landscapes change, too. Logs shift. Rocks move. A stretch of water that held fish one summer may look entirely different the next.
That uncertainty is part of what brings him back.
But a fish capable of hunting so aggressively can still be vulnerable to changes in its surroundings. As the biologists in the film explain, bull trout depend on exceptionally cold, clean water and the ability to move through connected river systems.
When those connections break, the consequences follow the fish.
A misunderstood fish in a changing landscape
The film traces a history of rivers reshaped by logging, mining, dams, and development.
As salmon declined, bull trout became a convenient target. People blamed the predator and placed bounties on it, overlooking the larger changes taking place throughout the watershed.
Today, the work centers on understanding and repairing those systems.
For a migratory fish, a barrier can separate feeding water from spawning grounds. A bull trout may pass downstream through a dam, grow for years, and then find its return route blocked.
Warm water can create another kind of barrier, cutting off access to habitat even where no physical structure stands in the way.
The challenges are substantial. So is the commitment of the people working on them.
Recovery, one fish at a time
Some of the film’s most hopeful moments come from the practical work of helping fish get where they need to go.
Biologists Aimee Taylor and Zac Zacavish help explain the challenges facing bull trout and the recovery efforts underway. Through the film, we learn about work involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mid-Columbia Fisheries, and tribal partners.
In Washington, the team joined authorized research conducted by professional biologists. These efforts include moving bull trout above a dam so they can return to their spawning grounds.
The results are tangible: biologists are now finding offspring of fish they helped move.
The film also explores nighttime rescues of juvenile bull trout stranded in isolated pools as river stretches dry. Some are moved upstream to water that flows year-round. Others are raised in captivity before being released with a better chance of survival.
These are organized conservation activities carried out by authorized teams. They take expertise, coordination, and patience.
They also offer a reason for hope. People can help restore connections that would otherwise remain broken.
What the water gives back
For Martin, these annual trips carry a deeply personal meaning.
In the film, he shares how fly fishing became part of his recovery from addiction. Early in sobriety, someone handed him a fly rod and took him to a Colorado river. Kneeling in the water with a trout, he found something he had been searching for.
Since then, his bull trout trips have marked different chapters of his life. Time in these landscapes gives him room to reflect, reset, and return home with a different perspective.
That relationship runs through his art, his friendship with Lasso, and his concern for the fish themselves.
“Bull trout have created a lot of connection in my life,” he says.
A shared responsibility
One of the clearest messages in Where the Bulls Still Swim is that awareness matters.
People need to know these fish exist before they can understand what is at stake. Anglers can help by learning about the native species in the waters they visit, practicing responsible stewardship, and supporting the organizations doing recovery work.
Martin points to volunteering with groups such as Mid-Columbia Fisheries as one way to get involved. The biologists in the film also ask anglers to think about how they share their experiences, using those moments to encourage care for the fish and the places they live.
That responsibility shaped the shoot itself. The team kept to broad geographic references to protect sensitive locations and focused its recreational fishing on cool morning conditions.
Understanding the fishing in this film
The recreational fishing scenes were filmed in Idaho, in waters where targeting bull trout was permitted under the applicable regulations. The team used barbless hooks, handled fish carefully, and concentrated its fishing in the cool morning hours, stopping as water temperatures rose.
The Washington conservation scenes were filmed at a location where recreationally targeting bull trout is prohibited. Fish handling there was part of authorized U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research conducted by professional biologists under Section 10(a)(1)(A) recovery permits. These activities are distinct from recreational fishing.
Never assume bull trout fishing is legal based on what you see in the film. Before fishing, consult the relevant state wildlife agency and verify current regulations for the specific waterway. Where fishing is permitted, prioritize fish welfare. Support relocation and rescue efforts through authorized organizations.
Watch the film
Behind every encounter on the water is a larger story: habitat, migration, years of recovery work, and people whose efforts often go unseen.
Where the Bulls Still Swim brings that story into view.
Join Martin and Lasso in bull trout country, and meet the people helping ensure these fish have a future.