Posts by Fly Fishing the Sierra

THE KINDS OF TROUT IN CALIFORNIAFive species of trout are now present in California. In the list below, the official common names are shown at the left, while the corresponding scientific names at the right identify genus and species, in that order. Brown trout    Salmo trutta Cutthroat trout    Oncorhynchus clarkii Rainbow trout    Oncorhynchus mykiss Eastern brook…

The McCloud River Redband trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss stonei), have been found within tributaries to the McCloud River such as Sheepheaven, Tate, Edson, and Moosehead creeks and from the McCloud River above Middle Falls. Redband trout from Sheepheaven Creek were transplanted into Swamp Creek in 1972 and 1974 and into Trout Creek in 1977, both east…

The Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aquilarum), is the only rainbow trout native to the east side of the Sierra. It was found only in Eagle Lake and it’s tributary Pine Creek in Lassen County. J.O. Snyder named this trout in 1917 using the latin name aguilarum, the latin term for Eagle. This trout…

  The Coastal Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus), is one of the most recognized and beautiful game fish in the world. The rainbow’s characteristics are highly variable throughout its range and between the many unique races. The species contains the Redbands, the Goldens, the Kamloops, Eagle Lake, Kern River, and the Coastal subspecies. The Shasta-strain…

The Kern River Rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss gilberti) is a subspecies of the Kern River Golden Trout. The Golden Trout are thought to be derived from the rainbows that were isolated about 70,000 years ago by both glacial and tectonic activity. It is suspected that 10,000 years ago, Redband Rainbows or Coastal Rainbows migrated from the Northern Sacramento…

  The Brown trout (Salmo trutta),originally from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, were introduced into California in 1893. Since that time, brown trout have been distributed throughout the state. Brown trout are found in a high percentage of the waters with suitable trout habitat in California due to their popularity…

The Paiute Cutthroat trout (Salmo clarkii seleniris),is native to the East Carson River watershed. It is hypothesized that the Paiutes separated from the Lahontan Cutthroats living in the lower Carson River Drainage. Through the centuries the color of the Paiutes has become quite similar to that of the Golden Trout. The trout was originally described by…

  Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) was native to the McCloud River below the Lower Falls to Shasta Lake. This is the only area in which the Bull Trout was native to California. However, it is widely distributed throughout the interior portions of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and British Columbia. It was our only native char.…

The Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), belongs to the char family. Most of these fish are found within the Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake and Fallen Leaf Lake around the Truckee River Drainage areas. This fish is generally deeply trolled for with minnow-type lures and can grow to over 15 lbs. It feeds on other fish and has been blamed…

  The Eastern Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), belongs to the char family. The Brookies have been planted through hatchery programs throughout the state and has become well-established in those areas above 4,000 ft. elevation, within small lakes and streams. The brookie does well in these waters since it does not require active stream water to…