REPORT OP^ STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 63 



Salmo purpuratus Pallas. Oregon Brook Trout; Salmon Trout; Lake 



Trout. 



I know nothing personally of this fish. It " is very abundant in all the 

 waters north of Mount Shasta, and through the Great Basin and Rocky 

 Mountain region; occasionally southward to Santa Cruz." It seems to 

 have skipped California, except some parts of it; is found in abundance 

 to the north of us, and extends farther south than any other salmon, 

 having been "obtained by Professor Lufton from streams of the Sierra 

 Madre, Mexico, at an elevation between eight and nine thousand feet in 

 the southern part of Chihuahua, near the boundaries of Durango and 

 Sinaloa." It occasionally reaches a weight of twenty-five pounds in the 

 Columbia. These large ones are known as Steel-head, the young as 

 Brook trout, and the partly grown as Salmon trout. It is of consider- 

 able importance economically, and its introduction into all streams 

 suitable to it is to be recommended. 



Salmo purpuratus henshawi Gill and Jordan. 



This, the Lake Tahoe trout, is of greater economic importance than 

 the others. It is abundant in the San Francisco markets all through 

 spring. The fishermen of Lake Tahoe keep their catch alive till they 

 have a sufficient number to w^arrant a shipment, when they are killed,, 

 boxed, and shipped to San Francisco. The past year one company had 

 the entire control of the Tahoe catch. 



This fish is known under various names to the fishermen and anglers 

 of Lake Tahoe, who consider the variations, due to age, sex, depth of 

 water, and character of bottom, all of specific value. If we keep in 

 mind, however, the statements made by Dr. Glinther, all the variations 

 can easily be explained. The trout reported to me while at Lake Tahoe 

 last June were: First, the Big Black trout, reaching a weight of twenty- 

 nine pounds, and spawning in the rivers in April and May. Second, 

 the Red trout, probably not exceeding a weight of seven pounds,, 

 which spawns in the streams from May to the first of August. Third,, 

 the Pogy or Porgy, weighing one and a half to two pounds, and spawn- 

 ing the latter part of August and during September. Fourth, the Silver 

 trout, reaching nearly seventeen pounds in weight, and spawning in the 

 lake in October and November. Fifth, the Yellow Belly or Sulphur 

 Belly, the time and place of spawning not determined. Sixth, the Brook 

 trout, found in the streams about Lake Tahoe. 



In this connection I can but quote, with slight modification, what we 

 have said elsewhere — ''San Francisco Chronicle," August 31, 1890: 



The so called Big Black trout we did not see. The eggs of this large trout are larger 

 than those of the Red trout, and graj'ish in color ; the young are also gray. The eggs and 

 young of the Red trout are almost cherry red, and the pigment of the young, reared in 

 the hatchery, is much more developed than in those of the big trout. The facts brought 

 to our notice would seem to indicate that the big trout is a species distinct from the Red 

 trout. It would not, however, be surprising if this should prove to be only the adult form 

 of the Red trout. The difference in the size of the egg, and in the time of spawning, is not 

 without its parallel in sea fishes, and the difference in color is, as we have seen, easily 

 accounted for. 



The Red trout has meat of a light pink color. The branchiostegal membrane is bright 

 red. The females which have deposited their ova are quite silvery, while the males 

 which have spawned are of a dark cherry color on the sides, darker above and lighter 

 below. AH the numerous individuals seen were jDretty uniformly spotted. 



The Porgy is unquestionably the young Red trout diiring its first spawning season. "It 

 is so fat that it may be fried in its own grease." The later time of spawning is readily 

 accounted for by the youth of the Porgy, while its place of spawning (in the lake) is made 



