Challenge!
For those who like a challenge, here are a few you can take on:
California Heritage Trout Challenge － catch six different trout native to California in their historic drainages. The species are the coastal, Lahontan, and Paiute cutthroat trout; the coastal, Eagle Lake, and Kern River rainbow trout, the McCloud, Goose Lake, and Warner Lakes redband trout; and the California and Little Kern golden trout. Catch all for a master certificate! CDFW has a nice angler's guide for their challenge.
Nevada Native Fish-Slam － catch all six salmonid species native to Nevada in Nevada. The species are the bull trout, the Lahontan, Bonneville, and Yellowstone cutthroat trout, the redband trout,, and the mountain whitefish.
Western Native Trout Challenge －multiple challenges from six species over four states to 18 species over 12 states!
Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have their own challenges.
How to identify native and wild trout? Checkout this streamside guide produced by FlyFishingtheSierra.com and WildTroutStreams.com.
What is the difference between a native trout and a wild trout? A wild trout is one which has spent its entire life in the fishery. A native trout is one in a water where they existed before human influences. For instance, a Lahontan cutthroat trout caught in the Truckee River would be regarded as a native fish regardless if it was raised in a hatchery or was naturally produced in the fishery. If naturally produced in the fishery, it would be a wild and native trout. Brook trout are non-native to our waters and may or may not be wild. The tiger trout found in our area are neither wild nor native.
We offer mentoring to club members who are taking on these challenges. To arrange for mentoring, contact us at mentoring@hsfc.us. Please keep fish wet.
Additional Reading
Lahontan cutthroat trout in stream form.
This article was authored by Kurt Zeilenga, our education coordinator. If you have suggestions on how to improve this article, you may contact Kurt at education@hsfc.us.