72 ***** "Oh, Ranger!" 



much. These big fellows will not rise to a lure, as a rule, and must be 

 attracted by bait, lowered with sinkers. The big trout are not sporty. 

 As age and size creep upon a trout, he becomes less interested in the 

 active life. He feeds on the bottom of the lake. His meat is not as good 

 as that of the younger and more active fish. The big fellow simply uses 

 his weight and strength to break the line, if he can. He uses none of the 

 tricks of the one- to five-pounder. 

 Fishin' stories! 



The national parks are the places to hear them. The rangers are the 

 boys to tell them. Give Joe Douglas, assistant chief of Yellowstone, his 

 chance. Doug is a practical fellow, a good woodsman, a horseman, and 

 a packer. He is supposed to know something about mules, as well as 

 fish. Until he told the following story, Doug had an enviable reputation 

 for veracity. 



Doug and a companion were out on a pack trip and ran short of 

 rations. They pitched camp alongside an attractive trout stream. Doug 

 is so sure of his angling that he is always counted upon to supply a camp 

 with fish. So, after turning their horses and the pack mule loose to 

 graze in the meadow, Doug turned to fishing. They were biting that 

 day. As he caught them, Doug tossed the trout on the bank a safe dis 

 tance from the stream and cast out for more, planning to gather them 

 up as he returned to camp. Within a short time he had landed twelve 

 fine trout. He cut a forked stick on which to string the fish and turned 

 just in time to see, to his amazement, his pack mule devouring his last 

 catch. Further investigation revealed that the mule had followed him 

 stealthily and eaten every trout he caught. Doug insists this is not a fish 

 story but is a true account of mule- and fish-facts. 



Then there is the famous Jim Bridger story of the mountain- 

 climbing trout he saw in Yellowstone, fish which could "pack over the 

 hump of the Rockies," the continental divide. That was regarded as a 

 colossal lie until Two Ocean Pass was discovered. This pass also ex 

 plains how trout climbed above Yellowstone Falls, into Yellowstone 



River, and into the lake of the same name. 

 It is really a deep, meadow-covered pass 

 in the continental divide with two con 

 necting streams, Atlantic and Pacific 

 creeks, each flowing ultimately into its 

 respective ocean. Fish can easily move 

 from one stream to the other. There can 

 be no question but that the cutthroat trout 

 came over into the Yellowstone head 

 waters from the Snake River and its 

 tributary, Pacific Creek. 



