Among the Trouts of the Pacific Slope 



English theory as applied to our Pacific 

 forms, Professor Jordan suggests the 

 name i\ gairdne?'i iridc7is for the rain- 

 bow trout, and, following in the same 

 line of anticipation, continues the 

 nomenclature of the other three varie- 

 ties as follows: 



.S". gairdneri stonei for the McCloud 

 river trout or " No vShoe " ; S. gairdneri 

 gilbert i for the Kern river trout, and 5. 

 mirdncri agua-boiiita for the Golden 

 trout of the Kern river region. This, of 

 course, eliminates the identity of the 

 rainbow as a species, and inakes it, as 

 well as the three other offshoots, vari- 

 eties of the steelhead. 



While this theory may eventually 

 prove to be entirely correct, and it 

 would be hardihood, indeed, for any 

 layman to question such distinguished 

 authority, even in his anticipations, 

 still it looks, perhaps, in view of the 

 unsettled condition of the question, as 

 though Professor Jordan may have been 

 a little previous. 



In following the process of concen- 

 tration now in hand, there remains 

 only to be shown that the S. inykiss is 

 the parent of all the Pacific salino, 

 when the irideiis and garidneri will 

 pass into oblivion as species, and the 

 matter appears to be complete. All 

 this may come to pass. 



The nomenclature of the five varie- 

 ties of the Pacific salmon, I found un- 

 changed. The prolonged stay upon 

 the Williamson had deprived me of 

 seeing the great catches of salmon at 

 Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia 

 river, where I hoped to see the silver 

 and dog salmon, two varieties I 

 had never observed. Unfortunately I 

 reached Portland on a Sunday, while 

 the salmon fisheries ceased on the pre- 

 vious Saturday night. 



The salmon of the Pacific, however, 



are of little interest to the angler, as 

 they rarely rise to a fly. A few are oc- 

 casionally taken in this manner, notably 

 in the Spokane river, in the neighbor- 

 hood of the Falls, but they are far too 

 uncertain to make the pursuit an object. 

 In any of the bays on the coast, or in 

 the salt-water mouths of the rivers fre- 

 quented by them, they will take a 

 spoon or minnow trolled at a certain 

 depth, and many are caught in this 

 manner. 



In 1893 I took six of them in Mon- 

 terey bay during one morning, and for 

 trolling with a rod it was good sport. 

 The heaviest weighed 25 lbs. 



The steelhead trout is in the same 

 category, so far as the angler is con- 

 cerned. More's the pity ; for he is cer- 

 tainly, in form, strength and average 

 size, probably the finest trout in the 

 world. 



The run in the Columbia average 1 2 

 lbs., and individuals are taken weigh- 

 ing 25 lbs. They run in the river late 

 in the season, and are caught with sal- 

 mon roe for bait, affording capital 

 sport. 



Having learned from you the exist- 

 ence of the grayling in the Gallatin 

 river, I concluded to stop there on my 

 way East, and have a look at this 

 beautiful fish, so seldom taken by 

 anglers in America. Finding there no 

 longer existed a station at Gallatin, 

 where you left the train, I went on 

 some five miles further to Logan, where 

 I found a wee bit of an inn, and the 

 usual boy who knew the river. ' ' Gray- 

 ling ? Well yes. .Guess we kin git a 

 mess." So after he had provided him- 

 self with ammunition in the way of 

 grasshoppers, he shouldered his long 

 bamboo pole, and off we went. The 

 river, a beautiful stream, pebbly bot- 

 tomed and swift of current, ran 



