Dolly Varden

In Mid July, as thousands of King, Chum and Sockeye salmon that have entered the river start their spawning rituals, the Goodnews gets a world class run of Sea-Run Dolly Varden. These chrome bright cousin to the Brook trout follow the salmon upriver, and line up along the Rainbows to feast on eggs. You can actually sight fish to both the Rainbows and Dollys as they stack up behind the spawners. Daily catches of 40-50 Dollys in the 18-20″ range are common, and in late July and early August, big fish up to 30″ are caught regularly. Our favorite way to fish for them is to skate a small orange gurgler across the surface on a 5 or 6wt rod with a floating line, and then hold on. The Spey and Switch rods have become popular for these aggressive fish too. Whether with a skater, hair wing, or leech pattern, if the tug is your drug bring along a two hander in a 4 or 5wt and swing it like you mean it.