Arctic char live in the coastal regions of the Alaska Peninsula, the Bering Strait and the Arctic region, with major concentrations found north of the Arctic Circle. Most research on the migratory Arctic char has been conducted on the Sagavanirktok River drainage on the North Slope. The Arctic chars that come from the ocean have a silvery sheen with a greenish-blue color on the back and upper sides. There are small pinkish spots along and below the lateral line. As the spawning season approaches, the silvery sheen changes to a deeper blue or green. The pink spots blossom into definite red spots haloed in white. The underportion of the belly varies from a deep yellow in females to a brilliant reddish orange in males. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins of spawning males have definite white leading edges, followed by a black band fading into crimson red.

Arctic char spawn every other year in September and October. A female will deposit an average of 4,000 eggs into a depression in the gravel. After the eggs are released by the female and are fertilized by the male, they are covered with gravel. They begin to hatch in April and the fry emerge from the gravel in June when they are about one inch long. Juvenile char remain in fresh water for three or four years and then migrate to the sea. Juvenile and adult char migrate downstream immediately following breakup of the ice in late May or early June. While at sea, char feed extensively on fish and shrimp-like animals. Spawning char return to the river tributaries in late August while nonspawners return to fresh water in early September. While in fresh water, char feed mainly on young, mosquito-like insects.

September is the best time to fish for Arctic char. Hundreds of fish sometimes gather under a cutbank or in a quiet eddy. Arctic char rarely provide aerial displays for the angler, but their bullish charges provide plenty of excitement when reeling him in.

There are two good locations where Arctic char congregate. One favored spot is on the Wulik River near the village of Kivalina on the Chukchi Sea coast. The other is on the Ivishak River, a tributary to the Sagavanirtok River.

Charlotte Alstrom