GILBERT AND GOLDEN TROUT 199 



inches long, and few things are more dehghtfuUy 

 aggravating than catching a fish too large for your 

 basket. 



Waders will not be needed in the dry regions, 

 where the sun is so powerful that it burns the feet 

 when rubber clad, and anyhow your clothes dry so 

 rapidly that little discomfort is experienced after 

 coming from the water. North of California waders 

 may be found necessary, as the air is not so dry, the 

 water is colder, and the weather not so persistently 

 fine. 



Besides the true rainbow and the Kern River 

 trout, the other more or less distinct species embrace 

 the following : the golden S'. agua-bonita ; the 

 Nissuee, S. iridens stoneii, the McCloud River, 

 S. shasta, and the Western Oregon brook trout, 

 S. masoni. AU of the rainbow series are more or 

 less profusely spotted with black, and have the broad, 

 lateral band of purplish pink, from which they 

 derive their name of rainbow. This band varies 

 greatly with individuals ; in some it is very con- 

 spicuous, while in others it is scarcely discernible. 



The McCloud River species, which is the rainbow, 

 most frequently used by fish culturists, is native to 

 the waters of the Sierra Nevadas, from Mount 

 Shasta southward, where in different streams it 

 reaches a maximum weight of from three to eight 

 pounds. It has been transplanted to many parts 

 of the United States, and varies both in size and 

 habits according to the existing conditions. In 

 some of the very cold streams of Colorado it does 

 not grow beyond half a pound, while in the warmer 

 waters of the same State I am told that it may be 



