Fish and Fishing in America. 



99 



abundantly in the Utah Basin, and in 

 Snake river basin above Shoshone 

 Falls. It is said by Dr. Goode to be 

 very destructive to the trout {Salmo 

 mykiss), as it ascends the rivers to 

 spawn at the same time as that fish, and 

 feeds voraciously on the spawn of the 

 trout. It has a stout body, and small 

 eye, fins quite small, large scales, which 

 only slightly overlap each other, and 

 lateral line decurved and placed rather 

 low. It is of darkish olive color, black- 

 ish above, the coloration formed of 

 small black points. The length of the 

 body is four times that of the head, 

 and but a small fraction less as to the 

 depth. This fish takes the hook freely, 

 which fact, together with its consider- 

 able size and gaminess, give it a rank 

 along with that of the eastern fall-fish, 

 Sernotilus corporalis. 



The chub of the Rio Grande or 

 Pescadito, Leuciscus nigrescens, is found 

 abundantly in the Rio Grande region, 

 growing to about twelve inches. Its 

 body is spindle-shaped, four times 

 longer than the head, and slightly more 

 as to the depth of the fish ; the head is 

 small, broad and flattened at the snout. 

 The general appearance of this fish 

 resembles that of the horny-headed chub 

 so abundantly found in the waters east of 

 the Mississippi. Its color is silvery, 

 darkish above, with a broad irregular 

 dark lateral band. 



In Klamath lake, Oregon, there is 

 quite a large chub (twelve inches or 

 more), Leuciscus bicolor. Cyprinoids, as 

 a rule, when living in lakes, do not take 

 a surface lure, but of this fact I know 

 nothing from personal experience so far 

 as this species is concerned, and from 

 lack of acquaintance with the fish, can 

 only copy what is said of it by Jordan 

 and others. It is described as having 

 a robust body, heavy anteriorly, taper- 

 ing backward, head long, mouth large, 



the hindmost bone of the upper jaw 

 reaching to the eye ; eye small, scales 

 rather large ; lateral line decurved ; 

 dorsal fin inserted almost directly over 

 ventrals ; the length of the body is three 

 and three-quarters longer than its 

 greatest depth, and the same proportion 

 as to the length of the head. It has 

 eight rays each in the dorsal and anal 

 fins, and is dusky in color above and 

 silvery on the sides and below. 



In the rivers of California there is an 

 abundant chub, Leuciscus crassicauda^ 

 which grows to about a foot, and finds 

 ready sale in San Francisco markets, 

 where it is bought chiefly by the Chi- 

 nese. It is often known as the Sacra- 

 mento chub, and is particularly abund- 

 ant in the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

 rivers. It has a short, deep, flat body, 

 arched in front of the dorsal fin, and the 

 peduncle is about as deep as it is long, 

 nearly as deep as the head. The profile 

 of the head is steep, the snout short and 

 pointed. The dorsal fin is opposite the 

 ventrals, nearer the tail-fin than the 

 snout ; the caudal fin is short, only 

 slightly forked, and but little broader 

 than the peduncle. The lateral, line is 

 decurved, and the length of the body is 

 a little more than four times that of the 

 head, and only three times that of the 

 depth of the fish. It is of brownish 

 color with white sides, and the scales 

 are profusely marked with dark dots. 

 The young are spotted above the lat- , 

 eral line. 



There are several other species of 

 Leuciscus met with by the angler in 

 waters west of the Rocky Mountains, 

 in the Great Basin, and in the Great 

 Lake Region. They are of rather 

 small size, but are sought as food 

 by the white settlers and Indians. 

 The most marked of these species 

 is the red-sided minnow, L. elonga- 

 ttts, which is common in the upper 



