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Lake trout
Species of char likes cold, cold water
Alaska.com
Lake trout -- really a variety of char -- take to Alaska's cold lakes.
Description
Laker trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are Alaska's largest freshwater fish. They live in deep lowland lakes in the Arctic coastal plain, in clear mountain lakes of the north and in glacial lakes on the north side of the Chugach Range and the Kenai Peninsula.
Good lake trout waters include Lake Louise, near Glennallen and Summit Lake, near Paxson.
Alaska record
47 pounds, caught in 1970 in Clarence Lake (northern Talkeetna Mountains) by Daniel Thorsness.
Tips for fishing
In spring, when lake waters are cold, trout can be found near the surface and along the shoreline. As the season progresses, lakers go deeper and finally reside beneath the thermocline.
Most successful lake trout anglers use bright spinners or spoons while fishing from shore or near inlet and outlet streams. Trolling slowly through deep, colder water layers and along steep rock walls or dropoffs produces good catches of lake trout.
Large spoons, often in combination with cut bait, are most effective when fishing through the winter ice.
Best time to fish
Southcentral Alaska
- Anchorage, Palmer and Wasilla areas -- May, June, September, October
- Susitna, Talkeetna and rivers flowing into western Cook Inlet -- May, June, September, October
- Kenai Peninsula streams -- January, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
- Prince William Sound streams / Copper River basin / Upper Susitna basin -- January, February, March, April, June, July, December
Western, Interior and Northern Alaska
- Bristol Bay streams and Kodiak -- May
- Fairbanks and Tanana River drainage -- Available all year, no month preferred.
- Arctic Alaska and Yukon-Kuskokwim drainage-- Available all year, no month preferred.
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
Brook trout
Dolly Varden
Arctic char
Arctic grayling
Northern pike
Sheefish
Whitefish
Burbot
Halibut
Lingcod
Salmon sharks
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