76 Thirlij-First Anuiuil Meeting 



and i'riii.ucil with willows and alders, the angler must be wide 

 awake to land his fish and save his tackle. In Yellowstone Lake 

 it is infested with the white ])eliean parasite, rendering many of 

 tlicni nnac-inlcd and lacking in game qualities; those in the river, 

 liowever, are well-nonrished and gamv. 



THE STKEL-HEAD TiJOUT. (Sal)iio Gairdit e ri ) . 



The steel-head, or salmon front, is the trimmest and most 

 graceful, and the gamiest of all the trout species, being more sal- 

 mon-like in shape and appearance. Its spots are smaller than in 

 tlie other Ijlack-spotted species. It has, usually, a pink flush 

 along the lateral line, but not so pronounced as in the rainl^ow 

 trout. Its color is of a lighter hue than the red-throat or rain- 

 bow, with steely reflections. 



During the past five years the United States Fish Commis- 

 sion has introduced the steel-head in the waters of Montana, 

 which seem to be very suitable for this fine fish. I have seen 

 quite a nund^er of three-year-old steel-heads taken on the fly that 

 weighed from t\\'o to three i)ounds, and in some localities they 

 have grown still larger in deeper waters, which proves that they 

 have come to stay. Each spring we now take thousands of eggs 

 from fish that run up our waste water ditcli from the creek where 

 we planted them five years ago. 



The steel-head trout surpasses all other trout for gameness 

 and excellence of flavor, and rises eagerly to the artificial fly. It 

 breaks water repeatedly when hooked, like the black bass, and is 

 very trying to light tackle. 



THE liAiXBOw TitouT. (Sdliiiu irideus). 



'Vhr i-aiid)()\v tront was introchu-cd hy the United States Fish 

 Commission in the Fireholo, or ]»erhaps the Gibbon river, in the 

 Yellowstone Park, from whence it sometimes descends to the 

 Madison river in ^lontana. and may in time reach the Gallatin 

 and Jefferson rivers. They have since been planted in other 

 waters in Idaho and .Montana, where they have done well, some 

 coining uiidei- my notice weighing two pounds at two years old. 

 The rainl)ow is similar in appearand' to the red-throat, though 

 somewliat deeper, perha])s, and with a shorter head and snialler 

 mouth. Its distinguishing feature, however, is the broad red 



