McCloud River Rainbow Trout 



tends from early February to May. A curious change in the season 

 has occurred with those cultivated in the East. In Colorado the 

 season is from May to July, while at Wytheville it extends from 

 early in November to the end of February. 



The males are good breeders at 2 years old, but the females 

 rarely produce eggs until the third season. 



The number of eggs produced depends upon the age and 

 size of the fish. The maximum from 3-year-old fish, weighing 

 ^ to i| pounds, is 500 to 800 eggs; from 6-year-old fish, weigh- 

 ing 2 to 4 pounds, it is 2,300 to 3,000 eggs. 



The eggs vary in size from 4^ to 5 eggs to the linear inch, 

 the larger fish usually producing the larger eggs. 



All that has been said regarding the game qualities of the 

 typical rainbow trout (Salmo iridetis) can be said of the rainbow 

 trout of McCloud River. It may lack a little in the wild gameness 

 of typical in'deus, but that is made good by its larger size. 



There is, however, no comparison between the rainbow in- 

 its native California mountain streams and those introduced into 

 eastern waters, where the warmer temperature has enervated 

 them, and where they have grown large and fat and sluggish. 

 In the cold waters of Colorado, however, they have lost none of 

 their wild nature and superb game qualities. 



Head 4; depth 3f; eye 5; D. 11; A. 11; scales 20 1024-145- 

 20, about 65 before the dorsal. Body comparatively short and 

 deep, compressed, varying considerably, and much more elongate 

 in males than in females; head short, convex, obtusely ridged 

 above; mouth smaller than in most species of trout, the rather 

 broad maxillary scarcely reaching beyond the eye, except in old 

 males; eye larger than in the steelhead; vomerine teeth in 2 irreg- 

 ular series; dorsal fin moderate; caudal fin distinctly though not 

 strongly forked, more deeply incised than in the typical cut-throat. 

 Colour, bluish above, the sides silvery; everywhere above profusely 

 but irregularly spotted, the spots extending on the sides at least 

 to the lateral line, and covering the vertical fins; top of head 

 well spotted; fins usually not red; almost always a light dash of 

 red on throat; much red or rosy on cheek and opercles; belly 

 partly red in males; side with a broad but more or less inter- 

 rupted red lateral band, brightest in males. 



