What is the "Silver Trout"?--Evidence in Favour of a New
Species--Difference in Appearance from the Rainbow--A
Jumper--Native of Kamloops and Shuswap Lakes--A Bag of
Twenty-four--The Dolly Varden--Origin of the Name--Not a Free
Riser--Grayling--Chub and Squaw Fish--Great Lake Trout--The Silver
Fish at Spence's Bridge--Salmon or Steel-head?--Cut-throat
Trout--Possible Fishing Tour in British Columbia.
It still remains a question, which has never yet been decided, whether
there are not two distinct species of trout in these waters. There is no
question that locally such is universally thought to be the case. Every
local fisherman speaks of having caught a red side or a silver trout,
and firmly believes that they are distinct species. Should this be
really the case, it is a matter of no little interest, as a new and very
beautiful species would be added to those already known and described. A
brief account of the evidence, for and against, may not be out of place,
and might result in some final conclusion being arrived at. For several
years two Americans came every season to Savona's Ferry to fish, and,
becoming impressed with the beauty of the so-called silver trout, they
sent a specimen to Professor Starr Jordan, of the Leland Stanford
University of San Francisco. The first specimen did not arrive in good
condition, and another specimen was sent, in the preparation of which I
personally assisted. It was a fish of about 1-1/2lb. in weight, a very
beautiful specimen and a most typical example of the silver trout.
Professor Jordan described this fish as a new species, under the name of
_Salmo kamloopsii_, and he so describes it in a monograph on the salmon
and trout of the Pacific Coast, published by the State Board of
Fisheries for the State of California. In this account he gives expert
reasons, founded on the number of rays in the anal fin and tail, the
position of the opercula, and the size of the body scales, suggesting,
moreover, that the fish might turn out to be a connecting link between
the true salmonidae and the genus oncorhynchus or Pacific Coast salmon.
He suggested that a further specimen should be sent, in order that the
intestinal tract might be examined; but this suggestion was
unfortunately not complied with. I am not prepared to say whether
Professor Jordan still adheres to this opinion, or whether the silver
trout has been fully recognised among ichthyologists as a distinct
species. In a recent letter to me, however, he states that he considers
the Kamloops trout to be "only a slight variation of the steel-head,"
which statement shows that its exact identity is not established, for
the steel-head is absolutely unknown in these upper waters, and the
silver trout never goes down to the sea. To the best of my belief it is
a fact that no further specimens have been examined by any naturalist of
note, and the question is therefore still _in statu quo_. It is a
matter, I would humbly suggest, that is well worthy of solution. So far
as I am aware, Professor Jordan is the only expert who has examined this
fish. The only other evidence as to its existence as a distinct species
is the widespread local opinion, which is also held by the half-breeds
and Indians, who undoubtedly believe that there are two kinds of trout
in the Thompson River. Such evidence or belief is not scientific proof,
but is certainly of considerable weight, until it is proved to be
mistaken.
I have always been firmly convinced that the two fish are perfectly
distinct, and this opinion is fully shared by all the local anglers. If
two well-marked specimens are seen side by side the difference in
appearance is most remarkable. The silver trout is less heavily built,
the head is smaller and sharper, the scales are smaller in size, and
the stripe on the side is violet instead of pink. There is only one
alternative opinion, namely, that for an unknown reason some rainbows
acquire this peculiar silvery appearance. Whatever may be the final
decision, the fact still remains that a fish of a different type from
the ordinary rainbow is common in these waters, and is well deserving of
a description. The back is green, with the usual black spots, the sides
and belly of a bright silver, like a fresh-run salmon, but instead of
the pink or crimson stripe of the rainbow there is a similar band of a
delicate violet or purple hue. If two well-marked specimens are laid
side by side the difference is most marked, though difficult to describe
exactly. The silver trout is a cleaner-cut fish, and looks exactly as if
it had come straight from salt water; one would hardly feel surprised to
see the sea lice sticking to its sides.
From a fisherman's point of view it is gamer, and is always out of the
water when hooked, appearing also to be more addicted to taking
silver-bodied flies, being more of a small fry than a fly feeder. It is
usually caught at the mouths of streams running into the large lakes,
and at the outflow of the Thompson at Savona's, where it can be seen
chasing the small fry on the surface. It must, however, be admitted
that some local anglers consider it to be merely the rainbow when in the
pink of condition, with the colour simply modified by the clear waters
of the lakes, and there is, moreover, no doubt that the poorer the
condition of the rainbow the deeper is the red of its stripe, though, on
the other hand, I have seen splendid fish in which the stripe was very
deep crimson. Spent fish, however, have always a deep red stripe.
This silvery fish seems to be chiefly native to the Kamloops and Shuswap
lakes, whence it spreads into the Thompson. It appears to be much less
common in the river than in the lake waters, except just at the outflow
near Savona's, which is a favourite resort, where in warm evenings in
July and August it may be seen chasing the minnows in the first pool. A
few years ago I made a bag of twenty-four fish, weighing 48lb., in two
evenings between the hours of seven and eight; four of these fish
weighed 4lb. apiece. The fishing here must be done from a boat, as the
eddy where they move is beyond the reach of the bank. It is a most
exciting kind of fishing, as it is almost useless to cast except over a
moving fish; the pool is still for some minutes, and then, in a moment,
a dozen or more fish will be at the surface rushing among the small fry,
who leap out of the water to escape them. If a silver-bodied fly be
thrown over one of these fish he is certain to take it, and if two flies
are used the second fly is certain to be seized as well, while, owing to
the strong water, a desperate fight is the result, and the strongest
single-gut is often broken. But it is by no means on every evening that
this sport can be enjoyed, and in some seasons the fish are much more
plentiful in this pool than others. It must also be in hot, still
weather, as a wind always puts them down. The fishing obviously depends
on the presence of the shoals of small fish, probably young salmon. The
silver trout lie in wait for them here, and when a shoal is entangled in
the strong eddy they rush upon them. This is the same form of sport
which can be enjoyed at the mouth of the streams which run into the
Shuswap Lake, the Eagle River at Sicamous, and Scotch and Adams Creeks.
In connection with this fish it is worthy of note that the rainbow is a
species which shows little tendency to vary from the type. I have caught
them in a great number of the streams and lakes of this district, and
they never seem to vary in the least. A specimen from one lake could not
be distinguished from any other; they are always typical rainbows with
the red stripe, and no silvery fish are ever seen, unless the lake is
directly connected with the Thompson River. Thus the silver form is
found in Shuswap, Kamloops, and Nicola lakes, but in the large mountain
lakes which have no open communication with the river only the ordinary
rainbow is found. There is only one exception, the Long Lake near
Vernon, which contains a beautiful silvery fish, to be alluded to later.
This lake is, I believe, indirectly connected with the Shuswap.
There are other interesting fish found in the Thompson and the Kamloops
and Shuswap lakes, but they are not of much use to the fisherman, though
occasionally caught. The Dolly Varden trout, a species of char, has been
alluded to, and is the only one which affords much sport to the
fisherman; it runs to a large size, as has been stated, but does not
often take the fly. Its curious name is said to be derived indirectly
from Dickens and the time of his tours in the United States, which
produced a Dolly Varden craze in hats and some kinds of calico patterns,
of which one with pink spots was supposed to be the correct Dolly Varden
pattern. On seeing this fish for the first time, some young lady is
supposed to have exclaimed that it was a "Dolly Varden trout," and the
name appears to have been generally adopted. However this may be, there
is no other name for the fish except its scientific one, and it is known
all through the West as the Dolly Varden trout.
It is strong and game, but not so lively as a trout. It takes the fly
very seldom, and then generally only when about a pound or less in
weight. On the other hand, in May it takes the minnow and spoon quite
readily. Later on, in July and after, it is rarely that one is caught. I
once caught two of 4lb. and 5lb. on a fly in July, the only ones so
caught during that month, and have landed many on minnow and spoon. That
it reaches a large size is proved by the capture of the fish alluded to
above, which weighed 15lb. The man who caught it informed me that it was
got on the fly, and I was never able to find out the true history of its
capture, but strongly suspect it was lured to its doom by a piece of raw
beef. The Dolly Varden is a greyish-coloured fish with light
salmon-coloured spots of rather a large size.
An occasional grayling is caught on the fly, but they are not plentiful.
I have never seen one over 2lb. A small fish, like a grayling, but
without any adipose fin, sometimes takes the fly; it has a bright orange
tinge on its side, and has white flesh, which is firm and very good
eating. The chub is very common, and will take the fly, but is regarded
as vermin, being very poor eating; it runs up to 4lb. and over. The
squaw fish, also, will take the fly sometimes, but more often the minnow
or grasshopper; its flesh is white and tasteless. It is a large-mouthed
fish greatly resembling the chub and attaining about the same size. Both
chub and squaw fish are great devourers of fry. In the Shuswap Lake, by
trolling in deep water with a lead attached, a large grey char with pink
spots can be caught, running up to perhaps 20lb., and being usually
known as the lake trout or great lake trout; it takes a spoon, but is
very sluggish, and does not give any real sport. The Indians catch these
fish. I have never heard of their being caught in Kamloops Lake. With
reference to the run of Pacific salmon, it is interesting to note that
large silvery fish have been caught by minnow and spoon in the Shuswap
Lake, notably in the narrow strait mentioned above. Mr. Inskip has
within the last year or two written some letters to the _Field_
describing the capture of a number of silver fish up to 10lb. weight
near Spence's Bridge, at the mouth of the Nicola river, where it joins
the Thompson. He believes these fish to be salmon, and it is possible
that his view may be correct. But it is also possible that they may be
silver trout or steel-head trout; the evidence is not yet complete. No
salmon have ever been taken in this way with spoon or minnow above this
point, in spite of the number of years that fishing has been carried on
in these waters. The Indians never catch salmon by trolling with the
spoon, though they troll persistently for trout, the line being fastened
to the paddle of their canoe.
Mr. Inskip states that these fish never take the fly, and he has only
caught them in October. There is, of course, no doubt of the truth of
his statement, and a possible explanation might be that the steel-heads
run up as far as this point, and go up to the Nicola River. It has never
been thought that the steel-head runs as far as Kamloops Lake, and I
have never heard of anyone who claimed to have caught one; it is,
however, quite within the bounds of possibility that some of these fish
may come up with the salmon. The problem can be easily solved by
counting the rays in the anal fin; in the true trout these rays only
amount to about nine, in the salmon there are fourteen to sixteen
well-developed rays.
The cut-throat trout is unknown to me. I have never caught it in British
Columbian waters, unless some fish mentioned later in the account of the
Nicola River belonged to this species. It may occur in some of the
southern British Columbian coast rivers, and is common further south in
the neighbouring States of the Union. Prof. Jordan states that it is
always found in the country of the Sioux Indians, and hazards a
suggestion that they may have taken their tribal mark from it. This mark
consists of a couple of lines of red paint under the jaw on each side of
the neck, and is very similar to that which gives this fish its curious
name. The rainbow and the so-called silver trout are the only kinds
which are met with in the central plateau of British Columbia.
The next subject for consideration will be the fishing in the mountain
lakes; but before proceeding to it it may be as well to consider the
fishing as a whole in the waters already described, for the question
which most naturally suggests itself to an Englishman is whether the
sport to be obtained is worth coming so far for. Anyone with the
necessary money and time at his disposal might prefer Norway or
Scotland. It would certainly not be worth anybody's while to come such a
distance to enjoy the two or three weeks at Savona's, which represent,
at the outside, the time of the best fishing on the Lower Thompson. It
would be necessary for the fisherman to have plenty of time at his
disposal, so as to visit the different places at the time when the
fishing was respectively at its best. Thus June could be spent in
trying the sport on the Shuswap Lake, with Sicamous as headquarters,
while a visit could be paid from there to the Okanagan Lakes, which can
be easily reached in three hours by rail. In July the Lower Thompson can
be fished from Savona's as a headquarters, while from there several
lakes can be tried during July and August, the trip being concluded by a
visit to the salmon rivers of the coast during late August and early
September. After that time big game or duck shooting might be tried. The
time mentioned would also allow for a visit to the fishing on the
Kootenay River near Nelson. There is hardly any need to say that all
fishing in British Columbia is free to everyone, and, although there is
a little more fishing done than a few years ago, no one need be afraid
of over-fishing. There is plenty of room, and there will continue to be
so for a very long time yet, except in a neighbourhood close to any very
large town. The fishing in waters hitherto described may be compared, in
my opinion, to very good sea-trout fishing, which it closely resembles.
As stated before, sport depends, as in every country, on certain states
of water and weather. A great bag cannot be an everyday occurrence, but
if the right places are visited at the right time there is great sport
to be obtained.