What do dolly varden eat

Out here in the bush, we often plan on these for meals during July and August float trips, they are a real treat. You will find that the mid size, dime bright ones will have darker flesh than those showing spawning colors, kypes etc. Indeed, they don't freeze worth a poo, so eat em fresh and don't try and stock up as you will be disappointed. And as monkey said, they often have large runs and can stand some harvest easily, more so than other non salmon species.

Often underrated, they can save a day of fishin when all else gets lockjaw, and you can usually catch lots of them when they are in. In most places they will eat anything but they like orange and pink lures more so than others in my experience and they adore glo bugs and beads. What size of the lures do you use for smaller less than a pound dollies 0s and 1s?

You guys are like a book on this stuff. And they don't taste much like what you would think of in the lower 48 as rainbow trout, although I don't eat those in Alaska either. Just fatty, bland, curls up in the pan. Just a strange taste. I dunno. I would eat them if nothing else was available. I've tried a few. Bring lots of cajun spice and lemon, and some alfredo sauce.

Darker flesh Stevesch, if you don't enjoy a dolly or actually find it distasteful I find them quite mild rich, but mild. Also if dark flesh supposedly tastes the worst Or are you referring to the fat on the outside of the fillet? I usually just bake em with some salt and pepper sprinkled inside, maybe a piece of bacon if I have it and a squirt of lemon inside the cavity I think the wires are crossed here: "dark" means gray - not deep red; it is a different kind of muscle tissue - tastes like nothing.

I don't think much of the taste of dollies - fresh from the ocean or otherwise - smothered in sauce or not. It's not godaweful, just not that good. I eat kings, silvers, reds, and sometimes - dollies, and even less often, pinks. I'm moving to Nome in the summer. I've found that my favorite fish is halibut and sockeye, both from Alaska.

We get both down here fresh and frozen. I could eat either 3 meals a day. Rainbow, at least from the western lower 48 is just so-so for my taste, McDonalds is better. Brook trout are full of oil. Browns not much better. I guess I'll have to cook up some Dollies myself and see what my buds say. My top sea food for my buds: 1. Alaska Halibut 2. Maine Lobster 3. The northern form is primarily anadromous, while the southern form can be stream-resident, lake dwelling, or anadromous.

Because they are migratory, Dolly Varden can be found in a variety of habitats. In spring, they leave the large lakes where they winter and head for salt water, where they can be found in near-shore waters during summer months. There, they mingle with salmon and then follow the larger fish upstream, where the dollies can feed on salmon eggs. Like all chars, Dolly Varden spawn in fall, returning to their natal streams as soon as they reach maturity age 5 to 9.

Post-spawning mortality is high, with as many as 50 percent dying after their first spawn and very few spawning more than twice. Young Dolly Varden spend two to four years in streams before migrating to the sea or to large lakes. They spend the rest of their lives migrating back and forth in often complicated patterns. Dollies may live up to 16 years, but specimens older than 10 years old are uncommon.

In a study released in October , scientists from the University of Washington revealed that anadromous Dolly Varden exhibit a behavior never seen before.

They migrate to the ocean to feed for the first few years of their lives, but once they reach a certain weight, they return to fresh water for good. The prevailing theory is that this behavior saves the fish from ocean predators. Dolly or Arctic Char? The ranges of Dolly Varden and Arctic char overlap extensively, which means you may find both in the same region.

However, distinguishing between the two species by sight is very difficult. The extremes for the Northern fish are 20 pounds with a length of up to 30 inches. Large Dolly Varden are similar in size to most salmon. One of the great things about these awesome fish is the fact that they can spawn multiple times before they die.

They typically spawn every other year once they reach sexual maturity. Northern fish can lay up to 10, eggs. Young fish spend between years in freshwater before they make their way to the sea. They return by the end of summer to spawn. This is a time of amazing change for these fish. They change their habits, their bodies morph into adults, and even their behavior changes. Many Alaska Fishing Lodges have guides. Guides often have the best equipment, and understand the feeding habits of the local Dolly Varden population.

Use an Alaska fishing guide improves the quality of your Alaska fishing trip. Like other members of the Salmonid family, Dolly Varden are opportunistic carnivores.

An important note when fishing for Dolly Varden is that what works well as bait or lure in one region will not work at all in the next. The fish are very much tied to the ecology of the rivers that they inhabit. One common theme among all habitats is their fondness for salmon eggs. It is not uncommon for Dolly Varden to follow the salmon upstream simply to feed on poorly buried salmon roe.

Besides salmon roe, a chief portion of their diet is aquatic insect naiads. They will also feed on flying insects if hungry. The larger fish are found in the still waters and deeper pools. They feed on other smaller fish, insects, crustaceans such as crayfish, and amphibians.

One of the great things about fishing for Dolly Varden is that their habitat and habits overlap with other outstanding game fish, such as rainbow trout. In late spring and early summer when the winter has been harsh the primary diet of Dolly Varden is small juvenile fish such as smolt salmon and trout.

Lures, which flash or imitate small fish, work well. This, of course, is dependent upon where you are in Alaska as this fish feeds on what is available in the streams. They have regional tastes for food. Other possibilities would be flies that resemble aquatic insect naiads, frogs, and crayfish. These are all prey that the Dolly Varden recognize. These fish are smart. They are often overlooked by local fisherman because they are so common, and by the fact that there are so many other fish available.