The dolly varden is a member of the Char family, like the brook trout and lake trout.  The species was named after a flamboyant character from a Charles Dickens novel.  It is very closely related to the  bull trout and arctic char, and is often mis-identified by anglers.  Adding to the confusion is the fact that Southern and Northern strains of dollies exist, each of which have different habits.  The range of the dolly varden includes most of Alaska and extends Southward into a few rivers in Northern Canada.  They also exist in the Kamchatka region of Russia.  Wherever dolly varden are found, they offer fantastic fishing in late Summer and Early Fall.

This species was once maligned by sport anglers because it was believed that they accounted for the majority of predation on valuable salmon eggs and smolts.  From the 1920’s through the 1940’s, a bounty was in place that paid good money for dolly tails brought into the fish and game department.  Toward the end of this program, it was found that the majority of the tails brought in were from coho salmon and rainbow trout, and the program was eliminated.  Studies had also been done showing that salmon predation by dolly varden was no more significant than other species. 

Dolly varden exist in many different forms, and exhibit a very interesting and unique life cycle.  Most spawn and overwinter in freshwater rivers, but spend a portion of each year in the ocean.  After birth, they grow very slowly and spend 3 or 4 years in the stream before migrating out to sea.  Once mature, they have a fascinating habit of leaving the ocean to enter rivers briefly in search of food.  A spawning run takes place in July or August, and dollies find their way into the very river in which they themselves were born.  They enter the river early in order to feast on the bounty provided by spawning salmon, which will provide valuable nutrition to survive the rigors of the spawn.  Unlike salmon, dolly varden often live after spawning and return to spawn year after year.  Males have a much higher mortality rate than females because they battle each other ferociously around the redds, often killing each other.  It is estimated that 50 percent of dollies survive to spawn a second time.  After spawning is complete, dollies search for deep areas in which to overwinter.  Many spawning streams do not have adequate deep wintering holes, so the fish migrate back to the sea and randomly run up rivers looking for a lake or deep hole.  Northern strain dollies overwinter in rivers, while the Southern strain tends to prefer lakes at the headwaters of streams.  This overwintering behavior is unique to this species, as is their habit of entering streams for the sole purpose of feeding.   Some strains also exist which reside in freshwater lakes and rivers year-round.

  Fresh from the salt, dolly varden are chrome-silver in color with very faint pink and blue spots along their flanks.  Upon entering fresh water, their coloration changes dramatically.  Males develop bright red bellies and darker flanks with more pronounced spots.  Their pelvic and anal fins become edged in white, and males also develop a pronounced kype for the spawn.  A male dolly varden in full spawning dress is one of the most beautiful fish that swims.

The best time to fish for anadramous dollies is when they enter spawning streams in late Summer.   At this time, various salmon are also in the rivers and have begun spawning themselves.  Dollies lie behind the salmon redds and gobble up drifting eggs.   They are easily spotted as their white-edged fins stand out from the riverbed.   Fishing egg imitations or brightly-colored flies and small lures behind the salmon will surely bring a lot of dollies to hand.  Fishing the lower reaches of rivers within a mile or so from the ocean you will encounter bright chrome dollies, and these silver torpedos put up a tremendous fight. They charge up rivers in small schools, and are looking to feed.  These “bright” dollies are also possibly the best-tasting fish on the planet.  Further upstream, they search out smaller water with good spawning gravel.  It is here that large concentrations of the big char can be found, and the small, intimate water makes for some fantastic fishing.  With hookups on nearly every drift, an afternoon spent fishing dollies on these small waters is an experience you will not soon forget.

Anadramous dolly varden average between 14 to 20 inches, with plenty of fish of two feet and over.  Of course, size structure varies by region.  Fish of 12 pounds and larger are commonly caught in the Northern reaches of it’s range, while a 5-pounder is a large specimen in Southern waters.  Unless you are targeting monster 10-pound dollies, light tackle is recommended.  Use a 5 weight flyrod or light-action spinning combo.  On a good dolly stream in late Summer, you’ll be hooking into fish on nearly every drift so losing a few fish that kick your butt because of your light gear won’t keep you up at night.  If you’re specifically after a trophy, use an 8 weight or medium spinning gear.  The average fish won’t be quite as exciting, but you should be able to control a large fish.

It is often possible to sight-fish to dolly varden behind spawning salmon.  When the salmon are actively spawning, drift egg imitations or small, brightly-colored lures and flies to them.  A chuck-and-duck drift fishing technique is the perfect presentation in these conditions.  In the late stages of the salmon spawn, dead salmon carcasses litter the riverbed.  Dolly varden are notorious for tearing chunks of flesh from the carcasses, and pieces of flesh also end up in the drift and are taken.  Use a flesh fly and fish downstream of a carcass  to catch these scavenging dollies.  When fish aren’t visible and you know dollies are in a river, look for deep, fast runs and drift your offering along the bottom just like you are fishing for large stream trout or steelhead.