The White Salmon 



feed greedily upon various insects that had fallen upon the 

 surface of the water. Their manner of taking these insects is 

 very much like that of the trout. Frequently they would jump 

 entirely out of the water in their eagerness to secure the falling 

 insect. They will rise to the artificial fly quite freely. By using 

 Royal Coachman and fishing as if for trout excellent sport may 

 be had. They rise to the fly promptly, strike quickly, and fight 

 vigorously for a few moments, after which they allow themselves 

 to be pulled in without much struggle. They will rise to the 

 fly best in the evening, but will at any time take the hook 

 baited with salmon spawn. 



During the spring and early summer the Squawfish run out 

 into the streams, where they seem to prefer to spawn, but in the 

 fall and winter the streams connected with lakes are apt to be 

 deserted by this fish. In the winter it is sought as an article 

 of food, and fishing through the ice for squawfish is one of the 

 popular winter amusements at the Idaho lakes. In these lakes 

 it rarely attains a greater weight than about 4 pounds, and the 

 usual weight is not over a pound. 



This fish is highly esteemed by the Indians, hence its most 

 popular name. Other names by which it is known are Sacra- 

 mento pike, chub, big -mouth, box-head, yellow-belly, and 

 chappaul. 



Head 3^ to 4; depth 4! to 5^-; eye 7^ in head, 2\ in 

 snout; snout 3; D, 9; A. 8; scales 15 to 17-70 to 80-8, 42 to 

 60 before the dorsal ; teeth 2, 4-5, 2, strong and well hooked, 

 but without grinding surface. Body rather robust, with stout 

 caudal peduncle; head long and pointed; mouth large, the max- 

 illary reaching front of pupil; eye small, much larger in the 

 young; lateral line strongly decurved, much nearer belly than 

 back. Colour, muddy, greenish above, sides somewhat silvery, 

 but chiefly dirty yellowish; belly yellowish or pale; in spring 

 the fins are reddish or orange and the scales more or less 

 dusted with dark specks; young with a black caudal spot. 



White Salmon of the Colorado River 



Ptychocheilus lucius Girard 



This species differs chiefly from the squawfish, which it 

 closely resembles, in the much smaller scales, there being 83 to 



6 9 



