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Brook trout
Species takes hold in the streams and lakes of the Inside Passage
Alaska.com
Brook trout are relative newcomers to Alaska's waters. They are found in Southeast Alaska.
Description
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are also called brook char. Brook trout are distinguished from most trout and salmon by a lack of any black spots on their body. In Alaska, brook trout have a dark green, worm-like marbling on their back and dorsal fin and bluish halos around some of the reddish spots on their sides. Otherwise, they resemble Dolly Varden, which lack the marbling and blue halos.
The brook trout was stocked in Southeast Alaska rivers, streams and lakes between 1917 and 1950. The fish seem to have done best in the barren subalpine lakes with relatively low food supply, marginal spawning, and year-round low water temperatures.
Brook trout are found in Rustabach Lake near Haines; Upper and Lower Dewey lakes near Skagway; Salmon Creek Reservoir near Juneau; Green, Heart, Thimbleberry, and Long lakes near Sitka; Crystal Lake near Petersburg; Grace, Ketchikan, Shelocum, and Perseverance lakes in the Ketchikan area; and Emerald Lake (Texas Lake) near Hyder.
Alaska record
No state record has been recorded yet.
Tips for fishing
The annual take of brook trout in Alaska by anglers is small, seldom numbering more than 2,000 fish. This low harvest is due to the small number of lakes containing the fish and that most of these lakes are accessible only by trail or airplane.
The fish typically travel about the lakes in schools, and once they find your bait, fishing can be fast and furious for a few minutes until the next school comes by. In summer, small spinning lures cast over the shoreline shallows work well. Flyfishing with a size 6 white bucktail on a sinking line is probably how most Alaska fishers do best with these fish. Fresh shrimp meat or salmon eggs on a small hook are a favored method of bait fishing.
Best time to fish
Inside Passage
- Inside Passage streams, north of Stikine River -- August, Septembe
- Inside Passage streams, south of Stikine River -- July, August, September
Sources for this information include the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
More on this topic
 Red salmon (sockeye)
Silver salmon (coho)
Pink salmon (humpback)
Chum salmon (dog)
Rainbow trout
Steelhead trout
Cutthroat trout
Dolly Varden
Arctic char
Arctic grayling
Northern pike
Lake trout
Sheefish
Whitefish
Burbot
Halibut
Lingcod
Salmon sharks
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