CHAPTER XIII 



A FISHING TRIP IN THE HIGH SIERRAS OF CALIFORNIA 

 FOR GILBERT AND GOLDEN TROUT 



A TRIP across the continent to the Kern River 

 and Volcano Creek, the home of the gilbert and 

 the golden trout, was the genial task which fell 

 to my lot this month of July, 1905. An alluring 

 task to one who had never before been west and to 

 whom fishing was the most fascinating of all sports. 

 Much I had heard and read of the wonders of the 

 High Sierras of California, the beauty of the scenery, 

 the extraordinary chmate and the never-faihng 

 abundance of fish. But though I had made up my 

 mind as to the beauty of the country, I confess the 

 preconceived idea fell far, very far short of the 

 reahty. To give any idea of the actual conditions 

 is impossible, for who can describe this country 

 and feel that he has done even the scantiest justice 

 to his subject? Yet 1 feel that to ignore it 

 were worse even than a most inadequate attempt 

 at a description ; to him who has not had the good 

 fortune to visit this paradise, a few words offered 

 with humble apologies may not prove amiss. Be 

 he fisherman or merely a traveller in search of a 

 wonderful outdoor trip, he must be equally im- 

 pressed by what he sees in nature, especially in 

 such a region as the Kern River. In fact, I often 

 wonder whether fishing is much more than a happy 



AV.LX. N 



