More native trout than any other state in the lower 48.
California is home to 11 native trout species, more than any state outside Alaska — the legacy of a landscape that splits into a thousand isolated headwaters from the Sierra to the Klamath.
That diversity is also a vulnerability. Eight of California’s 11 native trout live in a single watershed or basin, with no second population to fall back on. Hybridization with hatchery rainbow trout, habitat loss, drought, and a warming climate have pushed several to the brink — and one, Bull Trout, over the edge. The Coastal Rainbow Trout, our most widely distributed native, remains the lone bright spot.
11
Native trout species
8
Endemic to a single watershed
1
Already extirpated (Bull Trout)
1
State freshwater fish (Golden Trout)
NATIVE RUNS
Explore Trout
Select a species to learn more.
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HIGH
Paiute Cutthroat Trout
Native to a single 11-mile stretch of Silver King Creek — the most range-restricted trout in the world.
-
CRITICAL
McCloud River Redband Trout
Native to the upper McCloud above Middle Falls. One of the rarest native trout in the lower 48.
-
HIGH
Lahontan Cutthroat Trout
California’s only native trout east of the Sierra crest. Found in the Truckee, Walker, and Carson basins.
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CRITICAL
Little Kern Golden Trout
Endemic to the Little Kern River watershed. Federally listed as threatened since 1978.
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CRITICAL
Kern River Rainbow Trout
Endemic to the upper Kern River. Hybridization with hatchery rainbows is the primary threat.
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HIGH
Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout
Endemic to Eagle Lake. Adapted to the lake’s alkaline water — a single-watershed species.
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MODERATE
Goose Lake Redband Trout
Shared with Oregon’s Goose Lake basin — California’s only redband trout population.
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LOW
Coastal Rainbow Trout
The most widely distributed native trout in California — stable across most coastal watersheds.
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CRITICAL
California Golden Trout
California’s State Freshwater Fish. Native only to the South Fork Kern and Golden Trout Creek headwaters.
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HIGH
Coastal Cutthroat Trout
California’s northernmost coastal streams — the southern edge of the species’ Pacific range.
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EXTIRPATED
Bull Trout
Extirpated from California. Once found in the McCloud River — now functionally extinct in the state.
HOW THEY SCORED
Trout · SOS II, 2017
Average score for each distinct population.
Lower means greater extinction risk.
5 = best, 0 = extinct.
Source · State of the Salmonids II (CalTrout / UC Davis, 2017).
Support WILD FISH
Wild fish cannot help themselves — they need us and they need you.
Nearly half of our fish are likely to be extinct within 50 years if current trends continue, and when fish collapse it means our water systems are at risk too. We can all play a role in protecting California’s wild fish and our state’s water future.