snout to the base of the caudal fin, varying much with 

 age and size. Generally the greatest depth is about 

 one fourth of the length of the fish, but this also varies 

 very much with the character of the waters it inhabits. 

 In rapid running streams the fish are always slimmer 

 than in more sluggish ones. I have known them 20 

 inches or more in length, when confined in large reser- 

 voirs, to become so heavy that they would weigh one 

 pound to every two inches in length. The lateral line, 

 or rainbow varies, in intensity of color, but always 

 showing in varying shades of red, pink, and sometimes 

 blue of a metallic luster. The vertical black blotches 

 seen on the sides are the marks of immature fish. 



The snout of the rainbow is considerably more round- 

 ing than that of the salmon, and the head larger in 

 proportion. The eye also is much larger and fuller. 

 The shape and position of the fins are almost identical 

 with those of the salmon, but a little larger in propor- 

 tion to the size of the fish. The tail, however, varies 

 considerably, being more rounded, and showing only a 

 slight indentation in the center. 



THE GOLDEN TROUT 

 (Salmo irideus agua bonita) 



If there is any variety of the rainbow trout found on 

 the Coast that is entitled to a sub-specific name it is 

 the golden trout of Mt. Whitney. They were originally 

 found in only a short portion of two little streams fed 

 by the snows of Mt. Whitney, and vary but little from 

 each other. In one stream they have been given the 

 name of Salmo irideus agua bonita, and in the other 

 that of Salmo irideus rooseveltii, after ex-president 

 Roosevelt. They are of a beautiful color with scarlet 

 markings at the base of the fins and with a lateral 

 stripe of bright scarlet blending into a rich orange. 

 One peculiarity of these fish is that the par marks or 

 vertical blotches on the sides of other young fish still 

 show on the adults of these. This form of the rainbow 

 has changed its color through the process of natural 

 selection, caused no doubt, by the color of the rocks in 

 the shallow streams it inhabits. Below on these same 

 streams where the rocks are of a darker color the fish 

 assume the natural color of the rainbow. 



The writer is possibly the first white man to ever 

 catch one of the golden trout. They were taken in 

 1865 with a small piece of the flank of a deer skin 

 slipped over the hook, with the hair clipped to about 

 half an inch in length. No sooner was this improvised 

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