(I'm embarrassed about my geographical lapse.) The earliest record of trout fishing utilizing an artificial fly occurs in the writings of a second century Roman named Aelian, who described Macedonians fishing in a Greek river near the city of Thessaloniki. The fly of choice consisted quite simply of a red wool body and two hackles wound around. There are still pristine trout streams there.
Here in the midwest, most of the grade A trout water was declared catch and release only in the late seventies and early eighties, when I was just beginning to learn how to fish. It's the only fishing culture I've ever known. I'll bet a wild trout tastes a lot better than a farm bred supermarket trout, which is about the only type of trout that most people seem to eat.
I plan on going fishing in the Sierra's, probably next year, for golden trout. I've always wanted to see them in the wild. I've read that there are two riffles in the Kern River where golden, rainbow, brown, brook, and cutthroat trout can all be caught. That is where I plan to go, whenever I make it there. |
