YELLOWSTONE Rules and Regulations 1920

FISHING IN THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.

To thoroughly enjoy the fishing of the Yellowstone National Park, waters as remote as possible should always be sought. Most of the streams and lakes in the park from timber line down to the lowest altitudes contain trout of one or more species, and a few contain whitefish and grayling. But the more accessible waters are fished so steadily by our thousands of visitors that the trout become educated and wary. Back in the depths of the mountain fastnesses are fish that are much less disturbed and that can be caught more readily.

Fishing tackle may be purchased at the general store and post office at Mammoth, and at the general stores at Upper Geyser Basin, Lake, and Canyon Junction. It may be rented of the porters at the Mammoth Hotel, Old Faithful Inn, and Grand Canyon Hotel, and of the Yellowstone Park Boat Co. at the lake. At the various camps of the Yellowstone Park Camps Co. fishing tackle may be rented or purchased as desired.

ALONG THE LOOP ROAD.—The Gardiner River has fair fishing for black-spotted, rainbow, eastern brook, and Loch Leven trouts from the mouth of the river to Osprey Falls. These fish are very wary through the lower parts of the river, but the fishing improves as the river is ascended. Above Osprey Falls the fishing in Gardiner River and its branches is good for small eastern brook trout.

Fishing in Glen Creek above Rustic Falls for small eastern brook trout. Also in the upper Gardiner River and its branches, Panther and Indian Creeks.

Brook trout in Obsidian Creek and up through Willow Park. Also in Winter Creek and Straight Creek, and especially Grizzly Lake. reached by trail to the south just before crossing the Obsidian Creek bridge.

The Gibbon River from Norris to the Madison Junction has many small rainbow trout; above Norris as far as Grebe Lake the fishing is better, and particularly so in the small lake 2 miles below and west of Grebe Lake. Solfatara Creek affords good fishing for eastern brook trout. The lowest reaches of the Gibbon, below Gibbon Falls, have also Loch Leven, brown, and native trouts. Down the Madison River from the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole are many large rainbow, Loch Leven, brown, eastern brook, and native trouts, and there are also grayling and whitefish. The last three fish are native to these waters, but the others have come down from stock planted in the tributaries above.

The Firehole River from the junction to the Kepler Cascades has good fishing at all points, especially the deep pools, for eastern brook, Loch Leven, brown, rainbow, and native trouts. Nez Perce Creek has been stocked with brown trout, and the fishing is good from its mouth for about 8 miles up, getting better as the stream is ascended. Iron Spring Creek has good fishing at times for all the species of trout mentioned above.

After leaving Old Faithful Inn, the upper Firehole River, from Kepler Cascades to its head in Shoshone Lake, has many small eastern brook trout. Duck Lake has been stocked with several kinds of trout, and excellent Loch Leven trout can be caught there.

For fishing waters along the route to Snake River see below.

Yellowstone Lake is full of native trout, blackspotted trout, Rocky Mountain trout, or cut-throat trout, as this fish is variously called. It can be caught almost anywhere along the shore by trolling and fly fishing, but the sport is probably at its best at the outlet and at the southern ends of the lake's various arms. At times the native trout in Pelican Creek bite well.

The Yellowstone River from the outlet to the northern boundary is filled with fine specimens of the native trout, and a few whitefish about the lowest parts of the river. Probably the best points are the outlet, from the Fishing Bridge, at the rapids 4 miles north of the outlet, and at the rapids just above the Canyon. Trout Creek and Alum Creek have many small native trout, especially in the upper parts of Hayden Valley.

From the canyon good fishing for native trout may be had in the upper parts of Cascade Creek, Cascade Lake (reached by a fine trail), and the Seven-mile Hole in the Yellowstone Canyon (reached by a fair trail from near the Glacier Boulder).

No fish are reported in Tower Creek, but the sport is good in the Yellowstone River for native trout, either up or down the river, and becoming particularly good in the more inaccessible and unfrequented parts of the canyons. Native trout abound at the mouth of the Lamar River, and up that river and all its branches. Particularly good fishing may be had in Slough Creek in August and September, and in Fish Lake and Soda Butte Creek.

Blacktail Deer Creek has small native and rainbow trout, and the Yellowstone River at its mouth (reached by trail) is good for larger native trout. Lava Creek has been stocked above Undine Falls with native trout and eastern brook trout.

ALONG THE SOUTH ENTRANCE ROAD.—Jackson Lake contains large representatives of native trout, and lake trout. The Snake River to the southern boundary of the park has native trout, Loch Leven trout, whitefish, and at times there are lake trout. From the south boundary to its head the Snake River affords good fishing for native trout, and so does the Lewis River as far north as Lewis Lake. Lewis Lake has some fine lake trout, to be taken by deep trolling, and also large Loch Leven trout; and so has Shoshone Lake (reached by trail front the road 2 miles north of Lewis Lake, another trail down De Lacy Creek from the loop road, and by still another trail from the Lone Star Geyser to the west end of the lake). Shoshone Creek, at the west end of Shoshone Lake, is particularly well supplied with eastern brook trout. The river between Lewis and Shoshone Lakes has some very fine fishing for Loch Leven trout, and lake trout at times. Heart Lake, reached by trail from road 1 mile north of Lewis Lake, has some very fine fishing for native trout.

ALONG THE EAST ENTRANCE ROAD.—Native trout are to be caught all along the Shoshone River east from the reservoir, but the fishing improves as the river is ascended. Middle Creek, too, has native trout, but the size is apt to be smaller than in the river.

ALONG THE NORTHEAST ENTRANCE ROAD.—Cooke City has about it, in all directions, good streams and lakes for native trout. Within the park, the Lamar River and all its branches—Slough Creek, Soda Butte Creek, Cache Creek, Miller Creek, and the Upper Lamar—have some fine fishing for native trout. The most unfrequented are, as a rule, the best waters; but even the main Lamar River along the Cooke City road has very good fishing at times.

FISHES OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK.

The native fishes of the park represent only a few species, which have been supplemented by a number of others planted by the Government in barren waters. The species that now abound in the park comprise some of the best game fishes. The following brief account of each species of fish found in the park has been prepared by the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Those persons who desire fuller information may consult a special report, entitled "The Fishes of the Yellowstone National Park," by Dr. W. C. Kendall, of the Bureau of Fisheries. This report contains a figure of each kind of fish in the park, together with notes on size, distribution, habits, game qualities, etc. It is a public document, and is available at nominal cost.

GRAYLING FAMILY—THYMALLIDÆ.

GRAYLING (Thymallus montanus Milner).—The grayling is a trim, graceful, and beautiful fish, game as a trout, and delectable on the table. It should not be confused with the whitefish, as it sometimes is, since it is easily distinguished from it, as well as all other species in the park, by its long, broad dorsal fin and brilliant colors.

It occurs in the western part of the park, in tributaries of the Madison and Gallatin Rivers, particularly in Grayling Creek and Fan Creek, in Firehole River below the falls, and at the junction of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers. It prefers swift, clear, pure streams, with gravelly or sandy bottom. It is quite gregarious, lying in schools in the deeper pools in plain sight, and not like the trout concealed under shelving rocks, banks, or some other object. In point of activity it even excels the trout when hooked, breaking the water repeatedly, which the trout seldom does. It takes the artificial fly as well as various small baits, such as caddis-fly larvae, grasshoppers, and worms. It attains a weight of at least 3 pounds.

WHITEFISH FAMILY—COREGONIDÆ.

WHITEFISH (Coregonus williamsoni Girard).—The whitefish occurring in the Missouri basin of the Rocky Mountain region has been regarded by some as a distinct species, or at least a variety of C. williamsoni and given the name of cismontanus. It is native to the Yellowstone River below the falls, and the Madison and Gallatin Rivers. It has been planted in some other waters. In some localities it has been miscalled grayling, from whichfish it is easily distinguished by its comparatively low, short dorsal fin, larger scales, and plain coloration. The fish prefers clear, cold streams. The usual length of adults is about 1 foot, although it is known to have attained a weight of 4 pounds.

The whitefish rivals the grayling in gameness, and is likewise an excellent table fish. It eagerly rises to the artificial fly, and responds readily to natural baits.

SALMON AND TROUT FAMILY—SALMONIDÆ.

RED-THROAT TROUT (Salmo clarkii Richardson).—The red-throat trout, commonly referred to as the black-spotted trout or cut-throat trout, is the native trout of the northern Rocky Mountain region. It is indigenous to many park waters, to which it probably gained access from the Pacific slope through Two-ocean Pass during stages of high water. It may be distinguished from other species of black-spotted trout by the characteristic red splashes on the membrane of the throat.

Other names, such as "trout," "brook trout," "speckled trout," "mountain trout," are locally heard, and in places, as Yellowstone Lake, where it grows to an unusual size, it has sometimes been given the inappropriate name of "salmon trout." In streams, it usually lies in pools and holes, and does not commonly frequent the riffles. It readily takes the artificial fly, as well as various baits, although very large individuals, like other trout, are more likely to be taken on a natural bait, or some artificial spinning lure. It seldom breaks water when hooked, but is a vigorous fighter.

In park waters it occurs, naturally, in Yellowstone Lake and River and all their accessible tributaries; Madison River and tributaries, Heart Lake and River and tributaries, besides various other streams, in some of which it is native and in others it has been introduced.

RAINBOW TROUT (Salmo irideus Gibbons).—The rainbow trout has been successfully introduced into various park waters. Gibbon River is well stocked, and the fish occurs also in Grebe Lake, Blacktail Creek, and Deer Creek, the Madison and Firehole Rivers, and is reported to unaccountably occur in the Little Firehole above the falls. In size this fish does not generally overrun 2 pounds, although it is sometimes grown to a much larger size.

The rainbow is a black-spotted trout, the nearest relative of which, in park waters, is the red-throat or native trout. The most distinguishing characteristic is the absence of the red splashes, present on the membrane of the throat of the red-throat, although the rainbow usually has a suffused rosy coloration of the cheek and gill cover, as well as a broad diffuse rosy band on the side, but this is not always present. The red-throat trout often has a red lateral band, but it is usually narrow and broken or interrupted. These color markings will serve to distinguish the rainbow from the brown or Loch Leven trouts. The rainbow is a handsome fish, and one of the gamest. It is reputed to be preeminently an artificial-fly fish, but this depends much upon surrounding conditions.

LOCH LEVEN TROUT (Salmo levenensis Walker).—Typically this trout was peculiar to Loch Leven, Scotland, whence its name. It has been variously claimed that it is a distinct species, a local variety of the brown trout, a landlocked sea trout, and even a landlocked salmon. Trout eggs supposed to be Loch Leven trout and brown trout, respectively, have been imported from Great Britain, and young fish of supposedly both species have been planted in park waters. It has been difficult for anglers, as well as others, to decide which fish they have caught or observed. Small fish supposed to be Loch Leven trout closely resemble brown trout of the same size. One authority, who claims that the Loch Leven is only a local variety of the brown trout, states that a distinguishing characteristic of the brown trout is the white anterior rays of the ventral and anal fins, which the Loch Leven is supposed not to have.

The larger Loch Leven trout of park waters closely resemble landlocked salmon of like size, which also has been planted there, but not since recognized. Superficially it is not always easy to distinguish them. When black spots are present on the tail, as they usually are in the male Loch Leven trout, the character is diagnostic, so far as the salmon is concerned. The scales of the Loch Leven are also somewhat smaller than those of the salmon. Large Loch Leven are more inclined to be silvery with fewer black or brown spots than in the brown trout, and the spots are of crescentic or cross shape.

The Loch Leven trout is reported from the Firehole, Madison, Gibbon, and Gardiner Rivers; Shoshone, Lewis, and Duck Lakes, the canal between Shoshone and Lewis Lakes, and other waters. The Loch Leven is said to be more active than the brown trout, therefore gamer, and has the reputation of being preeminently an artificial-fly fish, but will also take other lures, natural or artificial.

BROWN TROUT (Salmo fario Linnæus).—The brown trout, introduced from Europe, has also been designated as Von Bohr trout, after the man who donated the eggs of the German trout, which constituted the first introduction of the species into this country. It has also been called German brown trout. In Great Britain it is commonly known as brown trout, and as it has also been imported from that country, the name brown trout seems most appropriate.

In large streams and lakes the brown trout attains a great size, even 20 pounds or more. A fish of 4 pounds is recorded from the Firehole, and a mounted specimen 30 inches long, taken in a tributary of the Yellowstone River, near Livingston, Mont., is stated to have weighed 10 pounds. In the park, it has been caught in Nez Perce Creek, and the Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole Rivers. The coloration of the brown trout is variable, depending somewhat upon surrounding conditions, age, size, and sex. The spots are usually dark brown, sometimes almost or quite black. Often the fish has a row of red spots, surrounded by a bluish ring, along the side, as in the eastern brook trout; and, as in the brook trout, the anterior rays of the ventral and anal fins are white bordered behind with black. Spots instead of rivulations on the back distinguish it from the brook trout. It is a good game and food fish.

EASTERN BROOK TROUT (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill).—Many of the streams of the park have proved exactly suitable to this char. It has been established in Shoshone Creek, Spring Creek, almost all of the western tributaries of the Gardiner River, and Solfataria Creek, a tributary of the Gibbon, in which places, so far as ascertained, it is the only trout. It also occurs in the Firehole, Gibbon, and Madison Rivers, and probably in other waters from which it has not yet been definitely recorded.

The brook trout is one of the most noted and esteemed of American game fishes. Fish of 2 pounds weight have been taken from a tributary of the Madison, in Montana, and may attain that or even a larger size in some of the large streams of the park, but in the park as usually taken they seldom exceed one-half pound, and are more frequently smaller. It is a game fish of appealing beauty of coloration and delicacy of flavor. When it is feeding, it may be taken by almost any method known to anglers, and when it is not feeding nothing will avail.

The wavy markings on the back, dorsal, fin and tail, and its red spots with bluish rings, will distinguish it from all others. The brown trout, which otherwise most resembles it in color, has no rivulations but black spots on the back and fins, though like the brook trout it has white anterior margins to the ventral and anal fins and frequently has red spots.

LAKE TROUT (Cristivomer namaycush Walbaum).—The only locality in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States in which the lake trout is known to be native is Elk Lake at the head of Jefferson River, in Montana. It has been introduced, however, and established in Shoshone and Lewis Lakes. As its name implies, it is a fish of lakes rather than streams, although it is occasionally found in the latter. It can hardly be confused with any other species, except, when small, with the eastern brook trout. Even then the freshly caught brook trout almost invariably has red spots surrounded by a pale blue ring, which the lake trout never has. The spots are usually gray, or pale yellow, though sometimes decidedly orange, and those of the dorsal fin and tail are pale, not forming wavy markings or bars as in the brook trout. Large fish are distinguished by their strongly forked tail and lack of black spots.

The very large size attained by the lake trout affords its chief attraction as a game fish, but it is not ordinarily a very active fighter, although a powerful antagonist. It is usually caught by deep trolling and occasionally on an artificial fly. Mounted specimens from Shoshone Lake, now exhibited at Old Faithful Inn, weighed 12 and 21 pounds.

PERCH FAMILY—PERCIDÆ.

YELLOW PERCH (Perca flavescens Mitchill).—The common yellow perch of the eastern half of the United States appears to have been unwittingly introduced into Goose and Feather Lakes, where it is now abundant. It may readily be recognized by its stiff sharp spines in the first dorsal fin, its greenish, brownish, or grayish colors with dark cross-bars, and its red ventral fins. When taken from cold water and properly cooked it can hardly be surpassed as a pan fish. It attains a weight of a pound in Goose Lake, and in Feather Lake fish of a foot in length have been observed. It is a ready biter at almost any lure, whether natural or artificial.

MINNOW FAMILY—CYPRNIDÆ.

CHUB (Leucicus lineatus Girard) —This chub is one of the most widely distributed of the genus and attains a fairly large size, growing to a length of 12 or 15 inches. Excepting when small, it can hardly be mistaken for any other fish in the park. Its single dorsal fin and toothless terminal mouth distinguish it from all other fishes than the other park minnows. From these latter the linear streaks along the longitudinal rows of scales may help identify it. It takes a hook and is edible. It is found in Yellowstone Lake and other places in the park, and is said to ascend Witch Creek until it reaches very warm water flowing from the geysers, enduring a temperature of 88° F.

SILVERSIDE MINNOW (Leuciscus hydrophlox Cope).—This little minnow is too small to be of much use for other than food or bait for trout, attaining a lengths of only 3 to 5 inches. It is far more silvery than even the young of the chub. It occurs in some Snake River sources in the park, particularly Heart Lake and Witch Creek. Its notably oblique mouth and silvery appearance will usually distinguish it from the other minnows.

LONGNOSE DACE (Rhinichthys dulcis Girard).—This little dace, growing to a maximum length of about 5 inches, is food for trout and useful for bait. It is found in Heart Lake and Witch Creek and also in Gardiner River below Osprey, Undine, and Rustic Falls. Its long, slender head, inferior mouth, and fine scales and dusky lateral band will distinguish it from all but the young of the longnose sucker and the dusky dace.

DUSKY DACE (Agosia nubila Girard).—This is the smallest fish found in the park, seldom, if ever, growing to a greater length than 3-1/2 inches. It resembles the longnose dace in some respects but has a deeper body and comparatively shorter head. It occurs in Heart Lake and Witch Creek.

SUCKER FAMILY—CATOSTOMIDÆ.

LONGNOSE SUCKER (Catostomus catostomus Forster).—This sucker is of wide natural distribution in northern waters, its geographical range being from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts and into the Arctic regions. It is distinguished from the other sucker of the park by its long, comparatively slender head and small scales. The inferior mouth and thick papillose lips distinguish this and the following sucker from other fishes of the park. It attains a weight of several pounds, and individuals 18 inches of length have been taken in park waters. It is not sought as a game fish, but sometimes takes a baited hook and fights fairly well. When taken in cool water and soon cooked it is a good-flavored pan fish. It is abundant in Yellowstone and Gardiner Rivers below the Osprey, Undine, and Rustic Falls.

ROSYSIDE SUCKER (Catostomus ardens, Jordan and Gilbert).—The rosyside sucker also attains a considerable size, individuals 18 inches or more having been caught. It has a comparatively heavy head and coarse scales, It will take a baited hook and when freshly caught is palatable. It is abundant in the Snake River Basin above Shoshone Falls, and has been reported from Heart Lake and Witch Creek. In the latter it is said to ascend into very warm water.

SCULPIN FAMILY—COTTIDÆ.

BLOB (Cottus punctulatus Gill).—This little sculpin abounds in some waters of the park. It is said to swarm in the grassy bottom portions of the Madison and Gibbon Rivers, also in Canyon Creek, and to he numerous in the Gibbon above the falls. It is also known from the Firehole below the falls. It grows to a length of 4 or 5 inches, and may be recognized by its large head and scaleless body, with two-rayed fins on the back and broad fanlike pectoral fins, rayed ventrals. There are usually dusky cross bars on the body, pectoral, and caudal fins. It is probably justly accused of being destructive to the eggs of other fishes, and appears to be of little use, unless possibly as bait for large trout. It can be taken with a small baited hook.