Disclaimer:

The Nonindigenous Occurrences section of the NAS species profiles has a new structure. The section is now dynamically updated from the NAS database to ensure that it contains the most current and accurate information. Occurrences are summarized in Table 1, alphabetically by state, with years of earliest and most recent observations, and the tally and names of drainages where the species was observed. The table contains hyperlinks to collections tables of specimens based on the states, years, and drainages selected. References to specimens that were not obtained through sighting reports and personal communications are found through the hyperlink in the Table 1 caption or through the individual specimens linked in the collections tables.

---

Common name: Golden Trout

Synonyms and Other Names: O. aguabonita, Salmo aguabonita, South Fork Kern golden trout

Taxonomy: available through www.itis.gov

Identification: Sigler and Sigler (1987); Page and Burr (1991); Behnke (1992, 2002); Moyle (2002); Wydoski and Whitney (2003). Some authors (e.g., Page and Burr 1991) consider Golden Trout within the South Fork Kern River and Little Kern River drainages to be a distinct species (O. aguabonita).

Size: 71 cm.

Native Range: Endemic to Golden Trout Creek (tributary of the upper Kern River) and the upper middle and upper portions of the South Fork Kern River, Tulare and Kern counties, California (Page and Burr 1991; Behnke 2002).

Alaska	Hawaii	Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands	Guam Saipan

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) Explained
Interactive maps: Point Distribution Maps

Means of Introduction: Authorized introductions for sportfishing. First introduced in Arizona in 1971 (Rinne 1995) and in Idaho in 1939 (Linder 1963). According to Marcuson (1984), Col. Sherman and his brother carried 13 specimens in a coffee pot from Mulkey Creek (tributary of South Fork Kern River) to Cottonwood Creek in CA in 1876.  E. H. Edwards then planted some of the Cottonwood Creek fish into Cottonwood Lakes in 1981.  A "spawning station" was established at the Cottonwood Lakes in 1917 which became the source of Golden Trout eggs.  Betweeen 1928 and 1938, the eggs were shipped to the National Fish Hatchery in Bozeman (but name is now the Fish Cultural Development Center).  Various lakes in MT were stocked with eggs from the Cottonwood Lake station (Marcuson 1984).

Status: Established populations recorded for California, Montana, Utah, and Washington. Populations in the high-elevation lakes in the Ruby Mountains, Nevada, no longer exist (Deacon and Williams 1984). Also extirpated in New Mexico.

Impact of Introduction: The impacts of this species are currently unknown, as no studies have been done to determine how it has affected ecosystems in the invaded range. The absence of data does not equate to lack of effects. It does, however, mean that research is required to evaluate effects before conclusions can be made.

Remarks: The introduction into New Jersey (Stiles 1978) may have actually been based on stocking of "Golden Trout", a mutant form of rainbow trout raised in hatcheries (Behnke, personal communication).

References: (click for full references)

Behnke, R.J. 1992. Native trout of western North America. American Fisheries Society Monograph 6. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.

Behnke, R.J. 2002. Trout and salmon of North America. The Free Press, New York, NY.

Bond, C.E. 1973. Keys to Oregon freshwater fishes, revised.. Oregon State University Agriculture Experimental Station Technical Bulletin 58:1-42.

Bond, C.E. 1994. Keys to Oregon freshwater fishes. Oregon State University Bookstores, Corvallis, OR.

Brown, C.J.D. 1971. Fishes of Montana. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT.

Cross, F.B., R.L. Mayden, and J.D. Stewart. 1986. Fishes in the western Mississippi basin (Missouri, Arkansas, and Red Rivers). 363-412 in C.H. Hocutt and E.O. Wiley, eds. The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.

Deacon, J.E., and J.E. Williams. 1984. Annotated list of the fishes of Nevada. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 97(1):103-118.

Everhart, W.H. and W.R. Seaman. 1971. Fishes of Colorado. Colorado Game, Fish and Parks Division, Denver, CO.

Holton, G.D. 1990. A field guide to Montana fishes. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Helena, MT.

Hubert, W. 1994. Exotic fishes. 158-174 in T.L. Parish and S.H. Anderson, eds. Exotic species manual. Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Laramie, WY.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 1990. Fisheries management plan 1991-1995. Appendix I - a list of Idaho fishes and their distribution by drainage. Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game. 2007. Fisheries management plan 2007-2012. Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Insider Viewpoint. 2001. Fishing Records – Nevada. Insider Viewpoint Magazine. 3 pp.

La Rivers, I. 1962. Fishes and fisheries of Nevada. Nevada State Print Office, Carson City, NV.

Linder, A.D. 1963. Idaho's alien fishes. Tebiwa 6:12-15.

Marcuson, P. E. 1984. The history and present status of golden trout in Montana. State of Montana, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Fisheries Division.

Miller, R.R., and J.R. Alcorn. 1946. The introduced fishes of Nevada, with a history of their introduction. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 73:173-193.

Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Fish and Game Department. Sims Printing Company, Inc., Phoenix, AZ.

Moyle, P.B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Guide Series, vol. 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.

Rasmussen, J.L. 1998. Aquatic nuisance species of the Mississippi River basin. 60th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Aquatic Nuisance Species Symposium, Dec. 7, 1998, Cincinnati, OH.

Rinne, J.N. 1995. The effects of introduced fishes on native fishes: Arizona, Southwestern United States. 149-159 in D.P. Philipp, J.M. Epifanio, J.E. Marsden, J.E. Claussen, and R.J. Wolotira, Jr., eds. Protection of aquatic diversity. Proceedings of the World Fisheries Congress, Theme 3. Oxford & IBH Publishing Company, New Delhi.

Sigler, W.F., and R.R. Miller. 1963. Fishes of Utah. Utah State Department of Fish and Game, Salt Lake City, UT.

Sigler, W.F., and J.W. Sigler. 1987. Fishes of the Great Basin: a natural history. University of Nevada Press, Reno, NV.

Sigler, W.F., and J.W. Sigler. 1996. Fishes of Utah: a natural history. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT.

Simpson, J., and R. Wallace. 1978. Fishes of Idaho. University of Idaho Press, Moscow, ID.

State of Oregon. 2000. Warm Water Game Fish Records. 7 pp.

Stiles, E.W. 1978. Vertebrates of New Jersey. Edmund W. Stiles, Somerset, NJ.

Sublette, J.E., M.D. Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The fishes of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM.

Tilmant, J.T. 1999. Management of nonindigenous aquatic fish in the U.S. National Park System. National Park Service. 50 pp.

Wiltzius, W.J. 1985. Fish culture and stocking in Colorado, 1872-1978. Division Report 12. Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Wydoski, R.S., and R.R. Whitney. 2003. Inland fishes of Washington. Second edition. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.

Zuckerman, L.D., and R.J. Behnke. 1986. Introduced fishes in the San Luis Valley, Colorado. 435-452 in R.H. Stroud, ed. Fish culture in fisheries management. Proceedings of a symposium on the role of fish culture in fisheries management at Lake Ozark, MO, March 31-April 3, 1985. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.

Other Resources:

Author: Pam Fuller, and Matt Neilson

Peer Review Date: 3/29/2012

This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.