GILBERT AND GOLDEN TROUT 195 



and never, so far as I can learn, more than eight 

 pounds. 



The Kern River is an ideal place for fishing, even 

 though rather difficult of access. It rises in the 

 high Sierras, and flows through the Kern River 

 canon. During the greater part of the year the 

 water is extremely cold in the part inhabited by 

 the trout, and only during July and August does it 

 become at all warm. The river is very swift and 

 has numerous deep, dark pools, to which the fish 

 retire during the heat of the day. These conditions 

 account for their extreme gameness, and make 

 fishing in the stream a source of immeasurable 

 delight to the angler. The superb scenery and the 

 exquisite purity of the atmosphere add greatly to 

 the pleasure of a fishing trip through this region. 



The fishing season commences in June, as soon 

 as the snow melts sufficiently to allow of travelling 

 through the mountain passes, and continues as long 

 as the weather permits. As a rule the trout rise 

 readily to the fly, though like all members of the 

 finny tribe, they have their off days. These off days 

 seem to depend, not so much on the weather, 

 which during the summer varies little from day to 

 day, as upon the hatching of certain larvae. This 

 theory is not believed by some people, but it seems 

 more than probable to me. On a certain day, I, 

 as well as others, who were fishing, found that 

 scarcely a fish could be induced to rise, and the few 

 that did were all small ones. In vain we tried 

 different sizes and patterns of flies ; grasshoppers 

 were used, but without success. At last I took a 

 very small bare hook and baited it with a clump of 



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