FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 



in four years an average weight of sixteen pounds. 

 When mature, usually at the age of four years, it 

 runs up the streams to spawn. It leaves the sea 

 in early summer and spawns in the fall in the 

 upper reaches of the rivers. After spawning all 

 die, male or female. This is true of each of the 

 six species of salmon in the north Pacific Ocean. 

 After leaving the sea, the king salmon never feed, 

 although they readily take the trolling hook in 

 Monterey Bay. The salmon lays 4000 to 5000 eggs. 

 As naturally spawned, one in a hundred or more 

 hatches and escapes its enemies. The fish hatchery 

 undertakes to hatch ninety-five out of every hun- 

 dred and to put them in the river to drift down- 

 ward to the sea "tail foremost in the old salmon 

 fashion," to return again as mature fishes. The 

 salmon are best in flavor when taken in or near 

 the sea. From August to October the old ones 

 are practically unfit for food, being lean and poor. 

 Great numbers of quinnat salmon are taken by 

 hook and line in Monterey Bay at the age of two 

 or three years. The other salmon found in Califor- 

 nia are the silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) 

 and the dog salmon (Oncorhynchus keta). 



Artificial propagation may increase still further 

 the run of salmon, as also the stock of trout. Al- 

 most every stream in California was originally a 

 trout stream, and almost everywhere these fish 

 ought still to be taken in abundance. Unfortunately, 

 the great enemy of the angler, the trout hog, is 

 naturalized in California, and in many of the best 

 streams the trout scarcely get a chance to lay their 

 eggs. Native to California are the following spe- 

 cies of trout: 



The rainbow trout (Salmo irideus), also called 

 steelhead when it runs into the sea where it grows 

 to a much larger size than in the streams. (See PI. 

 XV.) The rainbow trout is found in almost all the 

 streams, running into eight local forms or varieties, 

 as follows: 



The true rainbow in the coast streams, becom- 

 ing a steelhead when it can enter the sea. 



The Shasta rainbow (Salmo irideus shasta), in 

 the upper Sacramento river, etc. 



The noshi or Stone trout (Salmo irideus stonei), 

 in the Klamath river. 



The Gilbert rainbow (Salmo irideus gilberti), 

 in the Kings and Kern rivers. 



The golden trout (Salmo aguabonita), of the 

 vicinity of Mount Whitney, the Roosevelt trout 

 (Salmo roosevelti), and the White trout (Salmo 

 whitei), all three small and brilliantly colored 



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