FISHERIES OF WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. 291 

 STEELHEAD. 



This large trout, the Salmo gairdneri of Richardson, is commonly 

 classed as one of the salmon by the fishermen of this region, and is 

 customarily sold as such. In different localities its average weight 

 was placed at from 8 to 15 pounds, while extreme sizes reach 25 and 

 more pounds. The excellent. quality of its flesh causes it to be highly 

 prized for the fresh market, but the color is too pale to suit the require- 

 ments for canning, although it is said that small quantities have at 

 times been prepared in that way. It does not seem to be as plentiful 

 as any of the species of true salmon, or at least does not congregate in 

 such defined schools in the salt water, and in other respects its habits 

 are evidently also quite different. It appears to ascend the rivers in 

 small numbers during an extended period, but the main run begins in 

 November and continues through more or less of the winter. The 

 species is not captured abundantly at sea unless it be in a few places, 

 the i^riucipal fisheries being carried on in the rivers and lakes during 

 January, February, and March, when the fish are in excellent condition, 

 but they subsequently deteriorate and are not in favor in the s])riug. 



The steelhead will take the fly in the fresh water where it is clear, 

 and are looked upon by the fishermen as especially ravenous feeders, 

 not deserving of protection in a region where their presence is con- 

 sidered harmful to the young salmon of other species, especially the 

 quinnat and sockeye, on whose spawning- grounds in the Fraser River 

 they are reported to have been observed. The Canadian regulations, 

 however, have greatly restricted their capture at the season when they 

 could best be taken. The spawning season is said to be in the early 

 spring, and possibly begins in the latter part of winter. 



There is a sale for all the steelhead that are caught in the winter, 

 and they are especially in demand for shipping fresh to the eastern and 

 inland markets. This is largely owing to the firmness of the flesh, 

 which permits them to be kept longer in storage in good condition than 

 any other species, but as regards the quality of the flesh they do not 

 occupy the first place. The total annual catch, however, has been rela- 

 tively small compared with that of most of the other salmon. The 

 fresh-water fishing grounds are widely distributed, Sumas Lake being 

 one of the most important in the Fraser basin. In Washington the 

 principal fisheries are on the Skagit River, but in nearly all other rivers 

 of any size the species seems to be taken in greater or less quantities. 



According to the report of the State fish commissioner of Washing- 

 ton for 1898, this species has been the mainstay of a large portion of 

 the Washington fishermen during the winter months, and the fishery 

 has been fairly lucrative. The run, however, had on the whole greatly 

 diminished, and the output for the present season, from the best infor- 

 mation possible, is not 50 per cent of what it was two or three years 

 ago. 



