CHAR

BRISTOL BAY CHAR FISHING

 Members of the char family are present in most of the Bristol Bay watersheds we fish. They come in many shapes and sizes. Our area has both sea-run and resident lake-run dolly varden, along with lake-run arctic char. The sea going dolly varden tends to be slightly smaller on average than the lake-run fish, though we catch sea-run fish up to 28” every summer. The lake-run fish can grow incredibly large, with fish up to 35” present in a number of systems within Becharof National Wildlife Refuge.

Char can be targeted at the season opener all the way to ice over in many rivers and streams. These fish can be very aggressive and taken on a number of methods, including skated dry flies! Both arctic char and dolly varden have beautiful colors, especially in the late summer and fall. To access the watersheds that hold these fish, we fly and then walk and wade, often sight fishing in very shallow water.

Alaska Salmon Sisters with trophy arctic char.
Underwater arctic char from Becharof National Wildlife Refuge
Anglers hold trophy char in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Angler holds fly caught arctic char from small stream in Alaska
Trophy arctic char from Bristol Bay with Frigate Adventure Travel
Angler with char caught with Frigate Travel in Alaska
Underwater dolly varden and sockeye salmon in small Alaska stream
Trophy arctic char from Ugashik River in Bristol Bay Alaska
Angler with dolly varden from Becharof National Wildlife Refuge