Laserfiche WebLink
<br />THE ENIGMA OF THE YELLOWFIN TROUT <br /> <br />ROBERT J. BEHNKE AND WILLIAM J. WILTZIUS <br /> <br />COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY <br />AND <br />COLORADO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />A review of old angling and fisheries literature has un- <br /> <br />covered new information on the yellowfin trout of Twin Lakes. <br /> <br />The ultimate fate of the yellowfin trout remains unknown bu~ we <br /> <br />presume it is exinct. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />In my monograph on western trouts (Behnke 1979) I concluded the yellow- <br /> <br />fin trout section with the following statement: <br />''It is not likely that any more will ever be known concerning the ycllow- <br /> <br />fin trout. The mystery of its origin and validity of the name macdonaldi, <br /> <br />whether native or introduced, will never be solved." <br /> <br />Since that was written, Bill Wiltzius performed an in-depth analysis of <br /> <br />angling literature covering a period from about 1875 to 1900 to uncover some <br /> <br />new bits and pieces of information. The new information does expand on what <br /> <br />was previously known but, as a result, more questions are raised than answered. <br /> <br />David Starr Jordan visited Twin Lakes in July, 1889, where he collected <br /> <br />fish specimens including greenback cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki stomias. As <br /> <br />Jordan was preparing to depart from Twin Lakes, the local resort owner, George <br /> <br />Fisher, told him about the large "yellowfin" trout and arranged to catch some <br /> <br />specimens for Jordan's collection (Jordan 1891,1922). Jordan and Evermann <br /> <br />go <br />