Goin' Fishin' * * * * * 73 



"In which park will I find the best fishing?" 



The rangers hear that question frequently, especially when they are 

 away from the parks on vacations. There is good fishing in practically 

 all of the parks, though it is better at times in some than in others. 

 There are different kinds of fish to be caught, and the angler's prefer 

 ence in the matter of fish must be considered. Experienced anglers have 

 their affections for certain kinds of fish and look upon all other members 

 of the finny tribe with something approaching disdain. The steelhead 

 angler insists there is no fishing like steelhead fishing, while the golden- 

 trout devotee claims the steelhead isn't even a trout. So there you are ! 



Most of the fish found in the national parks are trout. The lakes and 

 streams of the parks are at a high elevation. In these icy waters, fed 

 continually by snows and glaciers, the trout is right at home. The trout 

 likes cold water. In the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite 

 Park the trout go so far upstream that they almost reach the ice of the 

 melting glaciers. In these high, cold waters trout do not grow to large 

 size, but they are far more delicious eating than the big fellows found 

 farther down stream. The different varieties of trout found in national 

 park waters are as follows : 



The rainbow, so called because of the shafts of color that run length 

 wise on his body, is a native of California. The rainbo.w is found in 

 natural state in Yosemite and Sequoia parks. This fish seldom weighs 

 more than two pounds, but he is the gamest, hardest-fighting trout of 

 all, and is a great favorite with anglers. The meat of the rainbow is 

 usually pink, almost the color of salmon. As a matter of fact, many of 

 the trout belong to the salmon family, being really fresh-water salmons. 

 The rainbow has been successfully introduced into Yellowstone, Mount 

 Rainier, Crater Lake, Rocky Mountain, and other parks. 



The golden trout, a native of Sequoia Park, is the most beautiful of 

 trout. This fish is usually found in small streams and does not grow 

 very large, although in certain lakes it has been known to weigh two 

 pounds or more. The face of this trout is olive, its sides and belly are a 

 light golden, while down the middle of its sides are scarlet stripes. Along 

 the middle line of the belly is a scarlet band. Dr. David Starr Jordan, 

 who first described this trout, named it Salmo Rooseveltii, in honor of 

 President Roosevelt. 



The cutthroat, or redthroat, so named because of the deep red dash 

 or blotch between the branches of the lower jaw, is the native trout of 

 Yellowstone, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain National parks. It is found 

 mainly in the higher waters of Yellowstone, and above the falls. The 

 cutthroat normally grows to be a good-sized trout, three or four pounds 

 in weight, and occasionally is found much larger, even running up to 

 ten or more pounds. Where the cutthroat is the native trout and where 



