The Golden Trout --Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita

California's State Fish

It has been called the "Fish from Heaven." Small and beautiful, distinctive and spectacular, the typical golden trout with its vibrant colors evolved over thousands of years adapting to the high country meadows of the Kern Plateau.

Watching a golden trout can be pure delight. One moment it blends into the amber-hued stream bottom as a camoflaged shadow in the depths. The next instant it transforms onto gleaming gold and red turning and catching the sun -- a flash of pure beauty and joy!

Scientist aren't sure why these fish exhibit such remarkable colors. Perhaps it's a form of communication. What do you think?

Origins of the Gold

Golden trout are one of only a few species of fish native to the southern Sierra Nevada, originating in a small section of the Kern Plateau in the Golden Trout Wilderness. The Plateau waters and the fish living in them became isolated by powerful geologic forces. Uplifting of the mountains, downcutting by the Kern River, erosion, volcanic activity, and glaciation over the past 1.5 million years all played a role in sculpting this landscape. The combination of these forces left "hanging valleys," or basins with high waterfalls -- a natural barrier to fish migration. The fish that survived in these cutoff high-elevation streams slowly evolved during the next 100,000 years into the unique golden trout we know today.

Discovering the Gold

The fisrt significant human contact with golden trout was probably made by small groups of Native American Indians. Other than a few creeks in the upper Kern River area where the golden trout lived, high-elevation waters in the southern Sierra Nevada remained fishless until the mid-1800's. At that time, prospectors, shepherds, loggers, and anglers exploring the Plateau fell under the spell of these beautiful trout and began transplanting them into lakes and streams outside of thier native range.

Disappearing Gold

What took nature 1,000 centuries to form began to unravel in less than one. Several thing happened which interferred with the golden trout's pristine environment. Non-native species (other trout) were brought into the area and competed for food and territory. Overgrazing by sheep and cattle, especially around 1900, damaged and disrupted the balanced native habitat. People who came to enjoy this fragile wild place changed the natural resources, not realizing that they were destroying what they had come to cherish.

Some life forms disappeared from the area altogether. The golden trout's environment was no longer a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. The golden "Fish from Heaven" was brought to the edge of extinction.

In 1978, Federal Legislation created the 303,000 acre Golden Trout Wilderness which encompasses most of the Kern Plateau. The US Forest Service and the California Department of Fish and Game developed a management plan to restore and maintain golden trout habitat. People from both public and private sectors have been working to revitalize and strengthen the golden trout population and their environment.

You can Help!
Get involved. Join a trout conservation group. They will find a meaningful way for you to contribute. Contact the USDA Forest Service or the California Department of FIsh and Game.

With your help, the golden trout's natural home will continue to recover so that your children and many others may also catch a glimpse of gold!

The Aguabonita Flyfishers Page
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Golden Trout photos UNDERWATER!!

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