THE EAINBOW AT SEA (STEELHEAD) 



has set aside this sapphire in the eternal peaks as a national park 

 and stocked it with trout, steelheads in their rainbow guise. 



The tackle for the steelhead should be an eight-ounce rod 

 where the fish can be counted on from seven pounds upwards ; 

 if smaller the rod should be graded down. I am assuming that 

 the trout angler carries two or three rods ; three-, four-, and eight- 

 ounce. I prefer the spUt bamboo, greenheart, or noibwood a 

 South American greenheart I think is excellent. Any good 

 resilient rod will do the work so long as it has the Uf ting power. 

 The line should be an oiled-silk of any size proportionate to the 

 fish. The leader, or trace, of gut. The fly depends upon the 

 conditions : March Brown for light days ; Eoyal Coachman for 

 darker ones. In California Ught days are the rule. If trolling 

 or casting with a spoon the cast or leader should be of very fine 

 wire with several swivels. 



In angling for steelheads I have found a small rod of my own 

 designing very convenient. It is long — eleven feet of greenheart ; 

 the reel, a small Hardy with a big guide seated above the grip. 

 This, with a rubber pad on the end of the butt, makes the play 

 of a ten- or fifteen-pound fish an agreeable diversion. If all the 

 fish are large, a small American Vom Hofe trout multiplier is a 

 comfort, more or less, to the angler who does not wish the confiict 

 to be too prolonged. 



The conscientious angler who visits these streams and fishes 

 entirely with a fly wiU be disappointed, and the spoon should be 

 tried or the lure advised by the real angler of the locality. It is 

 no longer possible to describe any trout as indigenous to a locality 

 as, thanks to the skill of the fish culturists and the interest of 

 English, American and German authorities, the best trout are 

 rapidly being distributed all over the civilized world, where, it is 

 to be hoped, they will be conserved and enjoyed by the people at 

 large. 



Among the trout which soon adapt themselves to almost any 

 locality or condition is the rainbow ; hence Europe and Australia 

 doubtless have a new sea-trout — the sea-going rainbow. 



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