Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast

by Harry Thom Payne

RAINBOW TROUT (Salmo irideus

THE RAINBOW TROUT

(Salmo irideus)

There are at least four distinct species of trout; that is, trout proper and chars, now common to the coast. One of these, the Eastern brook trout, is the result of artificial hatching and distribution. These, as well as the rainbow, and to lesser extent the cutthroat, have been so widely distributed by the state fish commission and private hatcheries that to attempt to give the present habitat of the several species would be sure to result in many errors which might be confounding. The Eastern brook trout has taken kindly to our waters and seem to be doing well in all suitable streams. Several other foreign species of trout have been introduced into our waters as well as these, among which are the Loch Leven, the German brown trout and the Mackinaw, but the success of their acclimatization has yet to be fully determined, though the Loch Leven and German brown seem to be doing well in the higher streams.

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 entitle 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 Washington 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 spawn 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 passing 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 assumes 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 luster. 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