太浩湖邊看鮭魚回游 Kokanee Salmon at Taylor Creek

下游淺灘的魚已顯衰弱，背鰭尾鰭轉成白色

到加州東部Sierra 去看秋色，途經太浩湖南邊的國家森林，裡面的Taylor Creek正好是鮭魚回游的時節。我從沒聽過Kokanee 鮭魚，也沒想到這離海甚遠的地方還有鮭魚。就順便去瞧瞧。那時正值聯邦政府關閉，遊客就沿著89號公路路邊停車，理所當然地走進去。離遊客中心不遠就看到小溪，溪水淺而清澈，裡面的魚是紅色的身體，綠色的頭，下巴還往外勾，就像是Sockeye Salmon 一樣，但是比較小。
這些魚都朝同一方向游，要到上游去產卵。幾隻鴨子追來追去地搶地盤。這溪裡滿是魚卵，是上上美食，當然是兵家必爭之地。有些魚鰭己經轉成白色，是魚體孱弱的現象，難怪在這下游地段就無法再逆流而上了。再往上游走，赫然發現大批魚停在較深處休憩。這魚在溪裡產卵出生，經過幾個生命階段，最後到太浩湖度過幾年成魚生涯，再回到此溪產卵。其中一段時間牠們銘記河流的味道，日後才能回歸。

我一向覺得鮭魚是悲劇英雄。在生命的最佳時期必須回到出生地去產卵，確保下一代生存。但這一回游，不論能不能到達出生地，就是註定要死的，頗有壯士一去兮，不復返的英雄氣概。在電視上看到大批鮭魚義無反顧地逆流而上，不畏艱難，前仆後繼的景象，再再令我對這充滿使命感的魚有無限的敬佩。

在Taylor Creek 很容易就能看見鮭魚生命中一個最重要的階段，算是很值得一遊的地點。

Passing Fallen Leave Lake on our way to Bridge Port CA on our Eastern Sierra Autumn Color trip, stopped to see the famous Kokanee Salmon in Taylor Creek. The creek is next to the visitor center of Tahoe National Forest, its entrance at highway 89 in South Lake Tahoe. It was in the middle of Federal government shutdown, and the gate was closed and locked. People simply parked at road side along 89 and walked right into the park. Plenty of red salmon with green head in the creek to spawn, and some ducks ready for the delicious meal of fish eggs. The Kokanee Salmon is a landlocked salmon, growing up in Taylor Creek, backs to Lake Tahoe for adult life, then comes up stream to spawn. They look just like Sockeye Salmon, but smaller. Many of them resting in the shallow creek already shown signs of decline with part of dorsal fin turned gray and white.

In all, this small scale of salmon run is easy to access, peaceful, interesting in a natural setting, and a great way to learn something more about salmon, like they actual imprinted the smell of the creek so they can come back to the same place years later to spawn and to die. In case you are in the area, this is definitely worth stopping by. There is bike trail along the outside ring of the park, great for family activities. Years ago we biked from here into some residential area, saw a mama bear with two cubs, trying to do dumpster diving.

這尾是冒牌的Rainbow Trout ？