Fish and Fishing 



trout, and thirteen varietal forms of the charrs. 

 It is only possible to mention one or more of the 

 most popular of the various species of 

 Family trout, the subspecies being similar in habit 

 and character as well as the method of 

 angling for them. For more detailed accounts the 

 reader should consult volumes devoted entirely 

 to them. 



The American cut-throat, or Columbia River 

 trout (Salmo darkii), ranges in the coastwise 

 streams of Puget Sound, south to Elk River, Cali- 

 fornia, and its various forms eastward to the head- 

 waters of the Rio Grande and the Utah Basin. 

 The habits of the cut-throat are similar to those 

 of its Eastern brother, the fontinalis. Wherever 

 a pool exists, created by an offshoot of the main 

 stream, wherein a shelvino- rock or overhanging 

 trees form a sheltering or shady nook, a single 

 cut-throat of good size is found, sovereign of the 

 domain from which it drives the grayling and 

 whitefish. In the larger pools, caused by the 

 subsidence of the current in deeper water, it ap- 

 pears to live in harmony with these fish. Wher- 

 ever the cut-throat lives within access to salt water, 

 it doubtless ranges seaward as far as the salmon. 

 Under these conditions, a silvery coating is as- 

 sumed, and the black spots disappear, leaving 

 but few traces of its fresh-water garb. When taken 

 in salt water, it is found to be of increased size, 

 upward of twenty-five pounds, and is generally 

 called by market men and anglers the "salmon 

 trout." The cut-throat is an omnivorous feeder, 

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