Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #326582 in Books
• Brand: Destinations
• Published on: 1991-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Amazon.com Review
More than just a guide to finding trout in the diverse waters of California's Sierra Nevadas, this is a colorful and informative overview of the fish, their habitat, and techniques for bringing them to net. It begins with a detailed description of the native and non-native trout species of the Sierras, including beautiful full-color plates. Subsequent chapters include discussions of hydraulics, trout behavior, entomology, locating fish, and traveling in the backcountry. Anyone who fishes--or plans to fish in the Sierra Nevadas--should read this book from start to finish.

Customer Reviews

If you plan to fly-fish the Sierra, this book is a must!
Ralph Cutter has done a superb job with his revised edition of "Sierra Trout Guide". The book was originally published in a much smaller format with only a fraction of the information contained in this edition. The ten years between editions was well worth the wait.

Ralph introduces you to the various species of trout and char that you will find in the Sierra, along with valuable information on their preferred habitat and environmental preferences. His chapter describing the fishery will help you understand why the Sierra Nevada enjoys such a wide mix of trout, and will give the history buff a load of trivia to share at the evening campfire or while moon-watching from a granite bluff.

Backpacking is a minimalist's sport and yet fly fishers have a reputation for carrying everything with them but the kitchen sink. The chapter "Into the Backcountry" gives great guidelines on what to take, what to leave, and what to expect to run into on a fly-fishing/backpacking trip. The chapter on "Trout Foods" includes information on all the major insects on the Sierra trout's menu and includes a hatch chart with some general recommendations to compensate for elevation differences. Ralph again takes the well seasoned backpacker's approach to his recommended fly assortment. You really can imitate most of the available insects in the Sierra with just a handful of flies.

The chapter "Locating Productive Waters" will enable you to make an educated guess about where to find trout by analyzing the features of the 7 1/2 minute maps of the areas you wish to explore.

As if that was not enough, the book includes distribution charts (listed by county) of all the rivers and lakes found in the Sierra that hold trout. These charts also tell you which USGS map they can be found on, the watershed they belong to, the elevation, and even the species of fish you can expect to find in the area you're considering. For example, if you want to fish lakes in the EL Dorado County area of the Sierra for Golden Trout, you can use these charts to plan your trip. My brother and I used this information to find a lake a few years ago that contained golden trout at 8100 feet of elevation and only a 6 mile hike in. The full moon illuminating the granite cliffs over the lake that night, and a sparkling jewel of a 14" golden trout the next day, quickly made me forget any soreness from the effort it took to get there.

The book is printed on top quality glossy paper and the pictures alone make the book worth buying. The 8½" x 11" pages are easy to read and handle, and the softcover allows you to easily slip it into your backpack. Don't go into the Sierra without it.

Everything I know about Sierra trout I learned here.
Cutter's Sierra Trout Guide is more than just a how to catch fish book. It is a lovingly illustrated and highly readable narrative about the Sierras, the varieties of trout found there, where trout feed, and on what and when, how to know what the trout are eating and what best imitates today's insect selection. Equally important, Cutter provides a compelling history of each strain of Sierra trout and how man has done his best --luckily so far unsuccessfully-- to ruin this splendid fishery. Read this book and you'll weep at what our forefathers did to the once abundant Lahontan Cutthroat. But you'll also see the Sierras and their wild trout populations with a whole new appreciation for their magnificence.

Disappointment
I just got the book today and I have to say that I am extremely disappointed. 85% of the book's content can be found free online.

I bought the book to help me plan a trip to the Sierras to fish for golden trout. When I saw the charts in the appendix that list the Sierra's waters and their respective trout species, I thought I had found at least some value. Unfortunately, my copy has a number of typos that make it impossible to know which species live in what waters.

Finally, the book has not been revised in sometime as there are no web sites listed nor is there any email addresses to contact agencies, outfitters, or the author himself.

If you are looking to plan a trip to the Sierras, don't bother with this book. Stick to the internet.