NOTEBOOK: GOLDEN TROUT TO GET STUDY.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found ``substantial evidence'' that the California golden trout, the state's official freshwater fish, might need protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Trout Unlimited, an angler-advocacy group, had obtained a Federal court order requiring a determination on the fish's status. Next is a 12-month review to decide whether to formally propose the California golden trout for listing as threatened or endangered. The agency also will update a 1999 conservation strategy for the trout.

A subspecies of the redband trout, the California golden trout and the Little Kern golden trout, a related species, evolved from sea-run rainbow trout 20,000 years ago in the southern Sierra Nevada.

California golden trout now are limited to two watersheds - the Golden Trout Creek drainage and the headwaters of the South Fork Kern River. Both are in the Golden Trout Wilderness, part of the Inyo National Forest.

The California golden trout have hybridized with introduced rainbow trout and have had to compete with introduced brown trout. The fish also have been hurt by livestock overgrazing near streams.

--Slow start for deer: Deer-hunting season started in many areas of California about two weeks ago, but hunters found it difficult to stalk deer in the dry conditions. Public lands with good deer populations made for some greater success as larger numbers of hunters moved the deer.

``The heat put the animals to bed for the majority of the day,'' said Patrick Foy, a California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist. The full moon also allowed animals to feed all night and take cover at sunrise.

--Albacore, yellowfin report: John Klein skippered his Qualifier 105 and the L.A. Rod & Reel Club on a five-day trip to the albacore grounds, some 100 miles south and to Guadalupe Island, for quality yellowfin tuna. David Lodge of Encino won first place for a 66-pound yellowfin he caught on a sardine and an Eagle Claw 6/0 hook. He said he fished with 30-pound Ande line, a Penn 545 reel and a Truline seven-foot rod. Sergy Levkov of Valencia flylined a sardine for a 55.5-pound bigeye tuna.

--Trout protected: California Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill designed to protect the diversity of the state's native trout while preserving angling opportunities. The bill provides legislative support for the Heritage Trout Program developed by the California Department of Fish and Game and California Trout, a wild trout and steelhead conservation organization. California is home to more native species of trout than any other state.

``The bill is an important step because it creates the first native trout biodiversity management program in the history of this planet,'' said Jim Edmonson, conservation director for California Trout.

The bill allows the Fish and Game Commission to designate Heritage Trout Waters to recognize the ``beauty, diversity, historical significance, and special values of California's native trout.'' Coastal cutthroat trout, Lahontan cutthroat trout, Paiute cutthroat trout, Coastal rainbow trout/steelhead, Eagle Lake rainbow trout and golden trout are among the species eligible for special protection under the program.

--Double Haul in the fall: More than 300 anglers enjoyed summer-like weather on Crowley Lake at the Double Haul in the recent fall fly-fishing tournament. Joe Kearns of Ventura won the catch-and-release event sponsored by Western Outdoor News. Kearns landed an 18-inch rainbow, three 20-inch bows and a 21-inch brown trout.

Fly anglers must fish from self-propelled float tubes or pontoon boats at the annual contest. Only fish more than 18 inches count and must be measured by tournament officials before being released. This year, 92 anglers caught 144 fish more than 18 inches. The total catch measured 2,619 inches of trout.

``We had great weather and great fishing and look forward to next year's event on the third Saturday in September,'' said Rod Halperin, tournament director.

--Suit filed over Mammoth expansion: A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit last week to force the Federal Aviation Administration to consider the impacts to biological, land and natural resources of an airport-expansion project in the town of Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

The groups claim the FAA failed to address the impacts of converting the small airport into a facility able to bring in thousands of tourists in 737 and 757 jets. The lawsuit was brought by the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, California Trout and Natural Resources Defense Council.

``With this project, Mammoth will be subjected to urban sprawl in a pristine scenic area close to wilderness and threatened wildlife,'' local resident and Sierra Club member Owen Maloy said.