Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast Part 17

The Eastern brook trout and the native species, known as dolly varden, are chars and belong to the genus =Salvelinus=, but the rainbow and the cutthroat are true trout belonging to the genus =Salmo=. The rainbow and the cutthroat present a variety of forms in different localities and these have been given separate specific names by the naturalist. With many of these species(?) the only difference seems to be too slight to ent.i.tle them to specific or even sub-specific separation; the variation being no more than that found in the color and markings of the same fishes in the same stream, caused by the depth of the water, the food, or other local conditions.

The rainbow trout is now a resident, either through natural or artificial distribution, of nearly all the streams of the Coast from Was.h.i.+ngton to Lower California. They vary in size, color and number of scales in different localities and have been given distinct specific names in the various sections, those of the Coast streams of California being used as the typical form. These several varieties, even in their natural condition, showed very little, if any positive line of demarkation, but since the establishment of the many hatcheries on the Coast and the wide distribution of the fry hatched from the sp.a.w.n of the rainbow of the Sacramento and its tributaries, of the steelhead of the Eel river, and of the typical form of the Coast streams, there seems but one course now left, and that is to group them all as one species under the original name of rainbow.

The rainbow is a very handsome trout, varying in size from adults of but a few inches in the smaller Coast streams, to 25 and 30 inches long in the larger rivers and lakes. Its dark spotted back and silvery sides with the rich metallic colors of the rainbow streak gives it a coloration that is at once brilliant and pleasing. As a game fish it has no superior, if indeed an equal. It takes the fly with a rush, often leaping out of the water to seize it as it is descending. Then it fights with a determination, often breaking three or four feet into the air, shaking its head to free the hook like a terrier shakes a rat. It seldom sounds and never sulks. The rainbow trout goes to the sea at varying ages, the same as all other trout that can get there without pa.s.sing through long stretches of warm and sluggish water. In the salt water it attains a greater size, changes its color in accordance with the length of time it has been there, but on returning again to the stream it soon a.s.sumes its original plan of coloring.

Head, about one-fourth of the whole length from the snout to the base of the caudal fin, varying much with age and size. Generally the greatest depth is about one fourth of the length of the fish, but this also varies very much with the character of the waters it inhabits. In rapid running streams the fish are always slimmer than in more sluggish ones. I have known them 20 inches or more in length, when confined in large reservoirs, to become so heavy that they would weigh one pound to every two inches in length. The lateral line, or rainbow varies, in intensity of color, but always showing in varying shades of red, pink, and sometimes blue of a metallic l.u.s.ter. The vertical black blotches seen on the sides are the marks of immature fish.

The snout of the rainbow is considerably more rounding than that of the salmon, and the head larger in proportion. The eye also is much larger and fuller. The shape and position of the fins are almost identical with those of the salmon, but a little larger in proportion to the size of the fish. The tail, however, varies considerably, being more rounded, and showing only a slight indentation in the center.

THE GOLDEN TROUT

(Salmo irideus agua bonita)

If there is any variety of the rainbow trout found on the Coast that is ent.i.tled to a sub-specific name it is the golden trout of Mt.

Whitney. They were originally found in only a short portion of two little streams fed by the snows of Mt. Whitney, and vary but little from each other. In one stream they have been given the name of =Salmo irideus agua bonita=, and in the other that of =Salmo irideus rooseveltii=, after ex-president Roosevelt. They are of a beautiful color with scarlet markings at the base of the fins and with a lateral stripe of bright scarlet blending into a rich orange. One peculiarity of these fish is that the par marks or vertical blotches on the sides of other young fish still show on the adults of these. This form of the rainbow has changed its color through the process of natural selection, caused no doubt, by the color of the rocks in the shallow streams it inhabits. Below on these same streams where the rocks are of a darker color the fish a.s.sume the natural color of the rainbow.

The writer is possibly the first white man to ever catch one of the golden trout. They were taken in 1865 with a small piece of the flank of a deer skin slipped over the hook, with the hair clipped to about half an inch in length. No sooner was this improvised fly cast upon the water than it was eagerly seized by one of these beautiful fish. When it was landed the color astonished me, and knowing that it was a trout, I thought it must be a diseased one and threw it back. Making another cast I secured another one as promptly as the first, and it being the same objectionable color and of the same size--about eight inches--I concluded that it was the same fish and this time threw it on the bank.

As fast as my deer skin fly would strike the water it would be eagerly seized by one of these game little fellows and all of the same size and color. I was puzzled and called to my companion, who was cooking our supper but a few yards away, to "come and see what was the matter with these fish." Professing some scientific knowledge, he cut one of them open, examined the meat and the intestines and finally p.r.o.nounced it in a healthy condition, finis.h.i.+ng with:

"The coffee is boiling and the bacon is fried; hurry up, and as soon as you get a mess I'll fry them and take all chances."

I soon had a mess for supper and while he was frying them I caught enough for breakfast, for the game little fellows would race for the fly as fast as it struck the water. We ate them with a relish, for we had had nothing but bacon, venison and frying-pan bread for a month.

As we found ourselves alive in the morning we increased the prescription to a good alapathic dose for breakfast.

The golden trout are small, rarely reaching a length of more than fifteen inches. The back is olive, sides and belly light orange or golden yellow with a scarlet stripe along the center of the belly and at the base of the pectoral, ventral and a.n.a.l fins, which are of themselves more or less of a golden color. Tail, olive, grading into orange on the lower part. Few spots in front of the dorsal fin but abundant behind it.

While the rainbow trout of the Coast have been given several sub-specific names, such as =masoni= for the Coast streams of Oregon and Was.h.i.+ngton, =shasta= and =stonei= for those of the upper Sacramento basin, and =gilberti= for those of Kern river, there seems to be so very little reason for this distinction beyond the usual variations of color in all trout, spots and size with the changing conditions of water and feed, that I shall make no mention of the very slight variations upon which the ichthyologist has based the claim to a sub-specific nomenclature.

THE STEELHEAD TROUT

(Salmo rivularis)

The history of the so-called steelhead trout and the efforts to cla.s.s these sea-run fishes as a species separate from the rainbow and the cutthroat, is interesting, if not amusing. No one questioned that they were other than the sea-run of the rainbow or the cutthroat, according to the locality, until Dr. Richardson, mistaking a young blue-back salmon for a so-called steelhead gave it the scientific name of =Salmo gairdneri=, and the description of this young salmon was recognized as that of the steelhead for years, and under this name it appears in the statutes of California, with a separate season for its protection.

In other words the =Salmo gairdneri= of the laws of California is a young blue-back salmon and not a sea-run trout of any kind. Recently Dr. Ayers to correct the mistake, examined a fish taken from the Sacramento river and said to be a steelhead, gave it the name of =Salmo rivularis=, and this now stands as the scientific name of the so-called steelhead. Dr. Jordan, in an article recently published in the Pacific Monthly, says: "There has been much discussion as to whether the steelhead is a species really distinct from the rainbow trout, and on this subject the writer (Jordan) has at different times held different opinions."

If one authority bases his reasons for a belief in a specific difference between the rainbow and the steelhead on the fact that he did find a difference between a blue-back salmon and a rainbow, and another authority finds so little difference that he holds different opinions at different times, can there be any wonder that the practical angler, who catches these sea-run fish at the mouths of our rivers in every stage of transition, or gradation, if you please, from the typical rainbow to the Simon pure steelhead, refuses to believe that there is a specific difference?

Then again, Messrs. Jordan and Evermann in bulletin 47 of the United States National Museum, "The Fishes of North and Middle America," say: "In the lower course of the Columbia they (the steelhead) are entirely distinct from the cutthroat or clarki series, and no one would question the validity of the two species. In the lower Snake river and other waters east of the Cascade range, the two forms or species are indistinguishable, being either undifferentiated or else inextricably mixed."

From this it would seem clear that the steelhead of the Columbia, where the cutthroat abounds, are cutthroats that have gone to the sea, grown larger in the larger body of water--a natural condition of all fishes--and changed in color and appearance. That while they are yet in the lower Columbia and only recently from the salt water, they still maintain a sufficient difference to be easily distinguished from the cutthroat; but by the time that they have reached the "Snake river and other waters east of the Cascade range," their long residence in the fresh water has again restored them to their former appearance.

The same changes are found with the rainbow and the steelhead of farther south. All trout are anadromous to greater or less extent, unless actually landlocked or living in streams so distant from the sea that they would be compelled to pa.s.s through long stretches of warm and sluggish water to reach it. The small trout of the coast streams are compelled to go to the ocean quite early in the season by the falling of the water to such an extent that in many cases the streams go dry before the beginning of the winter rains, and in the larger body of water they rapidly increase in size. The steelhead of the Columbia river always retains the cutthroat sing-manual, to greater or less extent, while the steelhead of the lower coast has no red on the jaw. The claim that the smaller head of the steelhead is a distinguis.h.i.+ng mark, fails in effect, for it is an undisputable fact that the older and larger the trout the smaller becomes the relative size of the head. The other claim that the larger scales of the rainbow is a distinguis.h.i.+ng feature from the steelhead is not founded on facts. For while the scales of the rainbow counted along the lateral line vary from as low as 120 in the coast streams, they run as high as 150 in the same streams, as high as 160 in the McCloud and 185 in the Kern. The average being 135 in the smaller coast streams, 150 in the Sacramento basin, and 170 in the Kern. The steelhead's scales run from 130 to 155. An average of 145; or exactly an average of those of the coast streams and the Sacramento. Were it possible for the Kern river trout to enter the ocean no doubt we would find steelhead running as high as 185 to the section.

Whatever may be the origin of the large sea-running trout called steelheads, the fact remains that it is a grand fish both in size and fighting qualities. In the ocean it eagerly takes the spoon and fights with a vigor not even surpa.s.sed by the rainbow of the streams. After a short sojourn in the fresh waters it rises to a fly just as readily.

Since the above was written Dr. Jordan has made the statement publicly, that he is thoroughly convinced that the rainbow trout and the so-called steelhead are one and the same fish; the only difference being that the latter has grown larger and changed its color during its life in the salt water, this variation of color returning again after a short sojourn in the fresh water streams, giving it all the original appearance of the rainbow, or of the cutthroat, as the case may be.

THE CUTTHROAT TROUT

(Salmo clarki)

The cutthroat trout very largely take the place of the rainbow in the waters of northern California and in Was.h.i.+ngton and Oregon, and its various forms are more common to the lakes. Like the rainbow they have been artificially distributed to such an extent that they are now found in many of the streams of California and nearly all of Was.h.i.+ngton and Oregon. As a general rule they are not as keen fighters as the rainbow, but in the cold streams of Oregon and Was.h.i.+ngton they put up a fight worthy of the most gamy fish. In the lakes of Was.h.i.+ngton and Oregon, and such as Tahoe, Donner and other large bodies of water in California, they reach a large size; fishes of ten and twelve pounds being not uncommon. When not landlocked they go to the sea the same as the rainbow and return as the steelhead of the Columbia and other northern streams. Like the rainbow the cutthroat has been divided into several subspecies.

General appearance like that of the rainbow. The color on the back is a lighter olive or dark steel color. The upper parts are generally thickly covered with dark spots, varying in color and shape, and the lower fins are also spotted with smaller spots. The inner edge of the lower jaw is strongly marked with deep red and it is from this red mark on the throat that the species takes its name. The sides are generally of a marked pinkish hue or coppery brown. The red mark of the throat will always prove a distinguis.h.i.+ng feature.

SILVER TROUT

(Salmo tahoensis)

In Lake Tahoe there are two varieties of trout that have been given separate specific names. They both belong to the cutthroat series, but vary considerable from the typical form. The one commonly called silver trout is a resident of the deep waters of the lake and grows to a large size, specimens having been taken fully 30 inches long.

Back, dark green; side and sides of head, coppery; lower jaw, yellow.

The spots are so profuse that many of them run into each other and form long blotches in many instances. All of the fins are spotted, those on the dorsal and the tail being oblong in shape. The belly also is covered with many small spots.

LAKE TAHOE TROUT

(Salmo henshawi)

The other variety of trout found in Lake Tahoe, and the most common one, is a very handsome fish. Its native habitat is the lakes of Tahoe, Donner, Independence, Webber, Pyramid and others of the high mountains, and the Truckee, Carson and Humboldt rivers. Specimens of this trout have been taken that weighed fully six pounds.

Back, green, varying in depth of color with the water; sides, light, with a strong coppery tinge. The spots on this variety are generally quite large above, but growing smaller below and reaching well onto the belly. Its coppery sides and larger spots should prove a distinguis.h.i.+ng feature. Like all the cutthroats it has the red markings below the jaws.

LAKE SOUTHERLAND TROUT

(Salmo jordani)

Another peculiar variety of the cutthroat trout is found in Lake Southerland of Eastern Was.h.i.+ngton. Its distinguis.h.i.+ng features are its orange-red fins and intensely black spots which are very profuse. It is a gamy fish and full of fight to the finish.

In several of the lakes of Was.h.i.+ngton there are varieties of trout differing in coloration and location of their spots that have been given specific names by the naturalist, such as crescent trout, beardslee trout and bathaecetor trout, all residents of Crescent lake.

But as they all belong to the cutthroats and vary each from the other but little, further mention is unnecessary.

RIO GRANDE TROUT

(Salmo spilurus)

The Rio Grande trout, which is also a cutthroat, has a very limited distribution within the territorial scope of this work. It is found in the streams of the eastern slope of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Chihuahua, Mexico. Its head is shorter and more rounded than the other species of the cutthroat, with a mouth also very large. The spots are princ.i.p.ally confined to the latter half of the body and most profuse on the tail.

COLORADO RIVER TROUT

(Salmo pleuriticus)

The Colorado river trout, also a cutthroat, is the common trout of Arizona, where it is found in nearly all the mountain streams of the territory which flow to the Colorado river. It differs only from the typical cutthroat by having its spots mostly on that part of the body behind the dorsal fin; and the lower fins strongly marked with red.