Lake trout are Alaska's largest freshwater fish and they are also the largest of the group of fishes known as char. They have a body shape common to that of trout and salmon. They have small, light, irregularly shaped spots on a silver-to-dark gray background, but color varies in different seasons and in different lakes. The males and females are quite similar. Males have a slightly longer, more pointed snout than the female.

Lake trout are found north of the Brooks Range but are not found in lakes of the North Slope lowlands. To the west, they are found in the Kobuk drainage, but not within 400 miles of the Bering Strait. Lake trout are common in Bristol Bay lakes and in the Pacific drainages just south of Cook Inlet.

Lake trout prefer large, deep, cold lakes in which they spend their entire lives. As the water cools in fall the trout feel the urge to spawn and the mature fish look for broken rock or rubble areas typically found along the lakeshore. The spawning act occurs when one or more males press themselves against a female. The eggs and milt come out simultaneously. Most of the spawning occurs at night.

In spring, when the lake is cold, Lake trout are found near the surface. They feed more voraciously during the spring and anglers catch more large specimens at that time than at any other time. The world record catch for Lake trout is 50 inches and 102 pounds in Canada. In Alaskan waters, Lake trout weigh up to 54 pounds. They are caught with bright spinners, spoons, trolling lures, jigging lures and even pieces of cut fish.

By Jonathan Boots