REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 91 



regularly enters the sea. In Puget Sound it is a common fish. These 

 sea-run individuals are more silvery and less spotted than those found 

 in the mountain streams and lakes. The size of Salmo clarkii is sub- 

 ject to much variation. Ordinarily four to six pounds is a large size; 

 but in certain favored waters, as Lake Tahoe, and the fjords of south- 

 eastern Alaska, specimens from 20 to 30 pounds are occasionally taken. 



Those species or individuals dwelling in lakes of considerable size, 

 where the water is of such temperature and depth as insures an ample 

 food-supply, will reach a large size, while those in a restricted environ- 

 ment, where both the water and food are limited, will be small directly 

 in proportion to these environing restrictions. The trout of the 

 Klamath Lakes, for example, reach a weight of at least 17 pounds, 

 while in Fish Lake in Idaho mature trout do not exceed 8 to 9^ inches 

 in total length or one-fourth pound in weight. In small creeks in the 

 Sawtooth Mountains and elsewhere they reach maturity at a length of 

 5 or 6 inches, and are often spoken of as brook-trout and with the 

 impression that they are a species different from the larger ones found 

 in the lakes and larger streams. But as all sorts and gradations 

 between these extreme forms may be found in the intervening and con- 

 necting waters, the differences are not even of subspecific significance. 



Dr. Evermann observes: "The various forms of cutthroat trout vary 

 greatly in game qualities; even the same subspecies in different waters, 

 in different parts of its habitat, or at different seasons, will vary greatly 

 in this regard. In general, however, it is perhaps a fair statement to 

 say that the cutthroat trout are regarded by anglers as being inferior in 

 gaminess to the Eastern brook-trout. Bat while this is true, it must 

 not by any means be inferred that it is without game qualities, for it is 

 really a fish which possesses those qualities in a very high degree. Its 

 vigor and voraciousness are determined largely, of course, by the char- 

 acter of the stream or lake in which it lives. The individuals which 

 dwell in cold streams about cascades and seething rapids will show 

 marvelous strength and Avill make a fight which is rarely equaled by its 

 Eastern cousin; while in warmer and larger streams and lakes they 

 may be very sluggish and show but little fight. Yet this is by . no 

 means always true. In the Klamath Lakes, where the trout grow very 

 large and where they are often very logy, one is occasionally hooked 

 which tries to the utmost the skill of the angler to prevent his tackle 

 from being smashed and at the same time save the fish." 



Of the various forms derived from Salmo clarkii, some mere varieties, 

 some distinct species, the following are among the most marked: 



Salmo henshaivi, the trout of Lake Tahoe and its tributaries and out- 

 let, Truckee River, found in fact also in the Humboldt and the Carson 

 and throughout the basin of the former glacial lake called Lake Lahon- 

 tan. This is a distinct species from Salmo clarkii and must be regarded 



