DescriptionDescriptionThe Arctic Char is one of a number of salmonids which apparently evolved from a common ancestor in the Pleistocene Age when the Pacific Ocean was separated from the Arctic Ocean by a land bridge. It is suspicioned that this "bridge" isolated a population of Char to the south, where now in northern California, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, we find its "cousins", the Dolly Varden and Bull Trout. The remaining northern population, became known as "Arctic" Char. In many waters, these 3 distinct species are so similar in appearance that it is hard to tell the difference between them.
Arctic Char are "anadromous" - i.e., they are born in freshwater, mature in saltwater and return to spawn in freshwater. They descend to saltwater in late spring around the time of ice break up in rivers. Their ascent back to freshwater, to spawn and overwinter, occurs in late summer/early fall. They form large schools, usually of fish about the same age/size. Like other sea-run species, a freshwater river can be either "chock full" of migratory Char or totally void. Of course, this means finding them before catching them.
Char feed on capelin, lance or sand eel, sculpin and various crustaceans. Insects are a minor part of its diet from saltwater and for a good part of their upstream journey. Most all fly fishing for Char is in rivers. Here, use of brightly colored streamer flies fished subsurface in fast, shallow runs is the most effective method. Occasionally, in a few rivers, dry flies are useful, but fishing deep using short twitches is usually the best technique. As with other anadromous fish, particularly as they enter freshwater streams, Char are hard, strong fighters. As they get further upstream, and closer to spawning areas, they lose some of their "pizzazz" and are less favorable as respected quarry.