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The first specimens of the San Pedro Mártir trout were collected on the Baja
California peninsula by Edward William Nelson of the Smithsonian Institute in
l905. Nelson's specimens came from the Rio San Antonio and the Rio San
Ramon in the Santo Domingo watershed. Rumors of trout in "Lower
California" had persisted for some time, and it's possible existence had been
mentioned by George Browne Goode in his 1887 "American Fishes." Also called "Nelson's trout"
or "baja trout," the subspecies was named and described by Nelson's friend,
ichthyologist Barton W. Evermann. The native range of this trout is
restricted to the frigid waters of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir mountain range in
northern Baja, where it ranges from below 2000 feet (where the predominant
streamside vegetation includes cacti) to above 5500 feet.
Most of what is known of the San Pedro Mártir trout is a
result of a wealth of recent studies by Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos
and Faustino Camarena of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California in Ensenada; and by noted desert fish
ecologist Phil Pister of California.
Some limited opportunities for catch-and-release angling for
"Nelson's trout" are available. The
Enrique Meling Ranch sponsors summer pack trips into the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, which enable participants to angle for the native
trout. Rancho Mike's Sky or "Mike's Sky Ranch"
also affords angling in the Arroyo San Rafael. |
