Dolly Varden Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Char-family body with small, pale cream, pink, or red spots scattered over an olive-green to blue-gray back and sides
• No wavy vermiculations on the back, unlike brook trout
• White leading edges on the lower (pelvic and anal) fins
• Belly turns bright red or orange in spawning males, which also develop a slight kype (hooked jaw)
• Shallower forked tail and more compressed body than a similarly sized bull trout

Common look-alikes

• Bull trout: has a larger, flatter head and a more elongated body, with a shallower fork in the tail than Dolly Varden and is typically restricted to colder headwater streams
• Arctic char: very similar overall, but Dolly Varden usually shows smaller, more numerous spots and a shallower forked tail
• Brook trout: has distinctive wavy, worm-like markings on the back that Dolly Varden completely lacks

Where you'll see one

Dolly Varden inhabit cold rivers, lakes, and coastal waters of the North Pacific rim, from the Pacific Northwest through British Columbia and Alaska to Siberia and Japan, with both resident and sea-run populations.