At Larsen Bay Lodge the
anadromous
Dolly Varden are extremely abundant and like its close relative, the Eastern
brook trout, the Dolly Varden is excellent eating, having excellent pink
meat. It is also one of the prettiest native fish in Alaska! If you like
trout fishing, you will love fishing for Dollies. On light tackle or fly
rod, ounce for ounce, they will give you the fight of your life!
The beautiful Dolly
Varden are named for a character in the Charles Dickens novel "Barnaby Rudge",
who wore colorful clothing. Unlike salmon and most other trout which have
black spots, Dolly Varden are easily distinguished by their characteristic
pink or red spots on their sides.
Instead of light colored bodies with black spots like salmon and rainbow
trout and steelhead, they have dark colored bodies with light spots. Although similar to their Eastern brook
trout cousins, Dolly Varden are distinguished from by the absence of
vermiculations ("worm tracks") on their back and dorsal fin. In addition,
the Eastern brook trout's red spots are surrounded by blue halos.
Dolly Varden are a
member of the char family commonly found in coastal waters of Alaska. Dolly Varden, like the
Steelehead, is a member of the 'Salmonidae’ family. Although they are not
to be confused with their close cousin, the Arctic Char. There are two
types of Dollies prevalent throughout many of Alaska’s streams and lakes; anadromous, (living in saltwater but returning to freshwater to spawn), and
the freshwater variety.
While Dolly Varden
live 5 –6 years on average, males suffer a high mortality rate after
spawning, partly due to fighting and the subsequent damage inflicted on each
other. It is doubtful that much more than 50 percent of the Dolly Varden
live to spawn a second time. A small number may live to spawn more than
twice. After spawning, many Dollies will winter in freshwater Karluk Lake.
This colorful and
feisty little fish range in size from 12 –24 inches and typically weigh 1- 6
lbs. Dolly Varden are not picky and will usually strike almost anything the
angler offers. Small spoons, spinners, streamer flies, resembling small
fish, are commonly used. A sea-run Dolly Varden caught on light spinning
tackle or fly rod is an exciting fight. The Dolly fishing is especially
good during the salmon runs where they gorge themselves on salmon eggs.
In your pursuit of
salmon at Larsen Bay Lodge, don’t overlook this sumptuous and gorgeous
little fish that is such a scrappy fighter!
