In lakes It rises to the spoon or the phantom minnow; in the brooks to the 

 fly, a grasshopper or a bunch of salmon eggs. It is the most widely dis- 

 tributed of the species of trout. It is one of the handsomest and finest, 

 yet it is rarely transplanted to other waters than those to which it is native. 

 In small streams it is mature at from 8 to 9 inches and a total weight of 

 one fourth of a pound. In the lakes it attains a great size, being taken in 

 Klamath Lake at a weight of 17 pounds. 



The Tahoe trout is a direct descendant of the Cutthroat found in Lake 

 Tahoe. It descends the Truckee River to Pyramid Lake. It is also found 

 in Donner, Webber, and Independence lakes, and in the headwaters of the 

 Feather and Humboldt rivers. Its scientific name is Salmo Henshawi. It 

 was first found by Dr. H. W. Henshaw in Lake Tahoe in 1877. The Tahoe 

 trout has a dash of red under the throat. Like the Cutthroat, also, it has 

 the long head, small scales, and teeth on base of tongue. Its general color 

 is browner and yellower, and the spots are larger, covering the belly as well 

 as the sides and back. The Tahoe trout when mature usually weighs 3 to 

 4 pounds, but from the depth of Lake Tahoe larger specimens, weighing 

 7 to 28 pounds, are sometimes taken. It is an excellent game fish. 



In the deep waters of Lake Tahoe is found another trout of immense 

 size, known to anglers familiar with this lake as the Silver trout, Salmo 

 Tahoensis. This trout is never seen in shallow water. It is a large, robust 

 fish, profusely spotted, but with the general coloration more silvery than 

 in the ordinary Tahoe trout. 



The trout of the Kern, Kings, and Merced rivers, of the southern por- 

 tion of the Sierra Nevada, is a modification of the Rainbow, with much 

 smaller scales, 165 in the lengthwise series, and a white tip to the dorsal 

 fin, generally with some orange under the lower jaw. In Kern Lake this 

 species, Salmo Gilberti, reaches a weight of 8 to 10 pounds. In the moun- 

 tain brooks it is everywhere smaller, but it is an active, vigorous, and gamy 

 fish. It is named for Dr. C. H. Gilbert, of Stanford University. 



The most beautiful of all the trout of California is the dainty little 

 Golden trout, Salmo aquabonito, found in Volcano Creek, on the flank 

 of Mount Whitney. This clear little streams flows shallow and open over 

 rocks of orange-colored granite or quartzite, and the Golden trout, which 

 are separated from the main body of the Kern River by the impassable 

 waterfall. Aqua Bonito, have taken on the color of the rocks over which 

 they lie. This trout rarely reaches a foot in length. It is extremely gamy, 

 responding to the fly or bait with greatest readiness. The Golden trout 

 are hence in great danger of utter extermination at the hands of greedy 

 anglers whose interest in the sport lies chiefly in the number of fish they 

 can catch. An assemblage of such cads were reported last season to have 

 taken 600 trout in Volcano Creek in a single afternoon, leaving 450 

 on the bank. 



The Dolly Varden trout Is really a char, the one char of the Pacific 

 Slope. It is known to science as Salvelinus malma. In 1878, when fhe 

 writer first tried to classify these Western trout, a specimen of this malma 

 was received from the Upper Soda Springs, on the Sacramento River near 

 the foot of Mount Shasta. The landlady at Soda Springs said of it: "Why, 

 that's a regular Dolly Varden!" and Dolly Varden it has remained to this 

 day. The Dolly Varden is found in the McCloud and other tributaries of 

 the upper Sacramento. It is one of the most beautiful of the trout. Its 

 color is dark steel-blue above, with round spots of crimson on its sides and 

 over the back, while its fins are trimmed in front, as in the chars generally, 

 with crimson and white. Its size depends upon its food. It may weigh 

 anywhere from 6 ounces to 12 pounds. The little ones are brightest in 

 color. The Dolly Varden is much more voracious than the true trout. In 

 Alaska they devour millions of salmon eggs, as well as young salmon. 

 They are a gamy fish, taking the hook freely, with fly, insect or salmon 

 egg, even a scarlet petal from some mountain flower as lure. 



