<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />-----"._-- .~---_...-.- -- ,
<br />,;;-;,~~HE"FISHERYOrTIm LOWEIi'c<JLU1UDo' Rm:a--~' 14-9'" 'i;;::-'':?2~~
<br />
<br />~,t~s14li 1943, ~alifor?ia has a~corded the ten-pounder r~
<br />.., arin cens~ IS r~qUlred for Its capture and it can not be
<br />lr Th~~ a~~~' :ish an~ G~eCode, 19~3~1945, .Sees. 421:
<br />'"_.'..,,,.' "d.t. ~y CalIfornIa laws relatmgspecmcally to
<br />es an 1 IS not mentIoned in th Ariz I
<br />'rth.,' e minimum' f 5. ch e ona aW8. However one
<br />, . sIZe 0 -m stretched mesh . moo f ' .
<br />,f?r con;unercial ~ullet and carp fishing in the S~~n Sea ~ gIll-
<br />l'lvers IS to pernllt the escapement of ten-pounders. ('fhis a:~
<br />A~et by the State Fish and Game Commission, and is not a
<br />
<br />Salmonidae. Trouts
<br />
<br />"', aorS:f~~ oiiIYflsliesknoWiif~orii~thilowei'if~~0;iikh' hav~:"
<br />'~.'~~~al :fin on ~~:;~e)~~J~:;~:~S:~a1~~ing rays behind
<br />~es.s the adIpose dorsal :fin but lack scales.) (The catfishes,
<br />
<br />_:,:f~~~:utthroat trout, 1541_ cl4rlUi ~leurltk-u! Cope
<br />
<br />:~~~racthe:sh. In gener~l, .the cutthroat trouts have the fol--=-,"
<br />'C',' rs w IC help to distmguish them from th . 'b .
<br />.a.cleft under each . d f th I. e ram ows:
<br />behind the t h SI / 0 e ow;r Jaw; presence of hyoid
<br />'t) d . pa c 0 teeth on tIp of tongue) . maxillal"Y-
<br />ut.~ ey; In adults; smaller scales. The Coloradd River cu~
<br />;/a~ ~Id to possess, ~haracteristically, a red lateral band ' '
<br />"tha~.~:o typIcal of raInbow trouts.) Jordan and Everman~
<br />:;1!;e_~to119g~~~:::lfo::~aecr~~::~el~~~.red or orange lower fins,
<br />
<br />fi;!:ltb~:'~d;ance. ., Thi'S subspecies is native to the upper waters
<br />~r,~a 0 ner. Records of Its occurrence in the lower river'8~~
<br />ff:E} rather ~ld and some may be dubious. Evermann (1916) vis-
<br />'-",.)ton Sea In May 1916, and saw one there about 16. h I
<br />Hed that "It . "d to b f . ' , mc es ong-
<br />>/,.' ' '. IS sal e alrly common," Coleman (1929)'
<br />""b<lerabl~ trme stU?ying the Salton Sea in 1927 1928 and 1929 .
<br />.0 servatIon on thIS trout' t "Th C" .
<br />'on.1l.l1u ,IS 0 say, eolorado River trout
<br />t.ts y seen near the east end or the sea," The last published
<br />c:;..li occurrence in the l.ower drainage seems to be that of Brvant
<br />>>~:~: th~t a speCImen ~as taken from an irrigation ditch
<br />:1940 . e rIver In ImperIal County on Januarv 21 1930
<br />'out? lISts the ~~lton Sea and New River as CaliforIiia lo~alitie~
<br />""",,' but say~, . It has ~een vari.ously reported as abundant or
<br />':'~~ authentIc mrormatlOn. relatmg to it is at hand."
<br />, ~el cl not ~xpect any contInued success for this or anv other
<br />",o::~rIver, and records or its presence there are u;;'doubt-
<br />, ". '''' . currences.
<br />
<br />."' '-"h:.
<br />~ORNIAFI8ElAND 'GAME
<br />
<br />148
<br />
<br />Distnoution; Abundance: Comparatively, little is known about this
<br />- close relative of the tarpon, first reported from the Colorado River in 1941
<br />by Glidden (-1941). There is :no reason to suspeck:that this was its
<br />:first appearance here unless the advent of clear water was responsible,
<br />Dill and Woodhull (1942) have published the only other notes regardinl7
<br />its presence in the drainage (Salton Sea), and most of the iollowin ~
<br />-remarks and quotations are extracted from their report.-" "
<br />The fish have, of course, ascended rrom the Gulf or Calirornia where
<br />they are commonly round. Those in the Salton Sea have migrated fl"'ln
<br />. the river through canals. In past years residents have reported fi,h
<br />~!. which may have been ten-pounders near Yuma and as far upstream as
<br />r___,~__Picach,Q.,_II.Q~eve.r.LIgJ.p~rial Dam appears to be the physicallirnit of
<br />~ " their upstream occurrence now.- :Apparent1rthey"llrrnotnumerous
<br />in the river, and are unkno'\\o"Il to most fishermen.
<br />Unquestionable records or its' occurrence in this drainage are as
<br />follows: Laguna Dam, July 15, 1941, a specimen about 9.8 inches (total
<br />length) taken by L, C. Goldman (No. 36482, Stanford University col.
<br />lection) ; LagUna Dam, August 1941 (Glidden, 1941); near the head
<br />of the Alamo Canal below Pilot Knob Wasteway-, one specimen 8.5 inches
<br />long taken in a gill-net on J~nuaryc19, 1942 by the survey; Salton Sea
<br />at Bombay Beach, :Mullet Island and mouth of Alamo River, :May 1042
<br />(Dill and Woodhull, 1942) ; Salton Sea at Fish Springs, one specimen
<br />weighing 1,9 pounds netted by a commercial fisherman in April 1943
<br />(letter of Mr. W. C. Blewett to the author dated April 7, 1943).
<br />
<br />Size., The size range of those taken in the southern end of the Salton Sea
<br />(the largest specimens yet known rrom this drainage) in May 1942 was
<br />17.1~19,7 inches (1.75-2,75 pounds). Walford (1937) says that it attain~
<br />a length of about 3 reet.
<br />
<br />Reproductwn. All of the males and females examined from the
<br />Salton Sea (14 fish) on May 24, 1942, were in spawning condition, The
<br />smallest male was 17,1 inches in length; the smallest remale 18,/ ill.:he"
<br />The young are ribbon-shaped and undergo a metamorphosis to attain the
<br />adult rorm.
<br />It is not yet kno,...-u wl1ether the ten. pounder can reproduce SUI:ce~"
<br />fully in the Salton Sea or in the river, or whether its establishment i<
<br />dependent upon continued ingress rrom the ocean,
<br />
<br />Food. "Five fish taken at Bombay Beach on )Iay 14th (1942] contained
<br />from 1 to 9 desert minnows [Cyprinodofl. mac!darius] apiece. Three from
<br />Mullet Island taken on May 24th contained from 2 to 34 desert minlll1WS
<br />apiece . · · One hydrophilid beetle was also round in a stoma~h."
<br />
<br />Place in the Fishery. ~A...s yet the ten-pounder can not be considered
<br />of importance because or its scarcity. It is to be hoped that it will estab-
<br />lish itself in the Salton Sea-long almost barren water to the angler
<br />It can be taken on bait and spoons, and it seems possible that several
<br />types of artificial lures might prove successrul ror its capture. The fish
<br />Hi an active fighter, and several people who have eaten those taken fr?l!l
<br />the Sea say that its meat is similar to that of large trout. Its predae1t:
<br />may, of course, prove detrimental to some of the other fishes.
<br />
<br />8.lwo ,airJ..erli Richardson
<br />"(Jh .
<br />;,~oc,aracters, Characters whIch serve to distinguish it f
<br />",~",.lpclude: lack or red dashes under lower 'a b ,rom
<br />:muill r . J W; a sence of
<br />o~-I aIJ sel?om extendm~ beyond eye; larger scales (about
<br />"JIg ateral hne). A reddIsh band along the side is charac-
<br />
|