Fly Fishing
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Fly Fishing for Arctic Char in Rivers
Myles Kelly

In Ireland there is no developed fly fishery for arctic char, but they fall to the fly from time to time, be it by accident or design. In other countries the char is more often fished for with fly, especially the sea run fish. This article will attempt to stir in your heart the desire to try to catch char on the fly for yourself.

Sea Run Char - Estuaries
Where char are anadromous and feed in the sea they offer the fly angler great sport. The fish can easily be caught in estuaries in the summer. The flood tide is the best with char rising freely and feeding greedily all around you and size #12 shrimp patterns tend to catch most fish. The fish are hard fighting and may be anything from 0.5kg to several kilogrammes depending on where you are.

Fishing a floating or intermediate line with light salmon or sea trout gear will match char nicely. In Iceland patterns for char include; Red Francis, Krafla and Raeker. In Greenland lures and fish patterns are favoured - Mickey Finn, Tobis, Stickleback and Zulus - as well as shrimp, prawn and crayfish patterns.

Often the last half of the rising tide yields fish in close to the shore in shallow water. The fishing is dramatic and takes are hard and definite. The char will have hoohed itself and started to run before you get a chance to time your strike. Sea run char fight savagely and will take you down to the backing if they get the chance. The reward for the angler is a pink bellied, silver flanked beauty, with flesh orange and tasty as any Lough Corrib trout.

River Fishing
Fly fishing for arctic char in rivers only happens in those countries where there are sea run fish, or, where there are populations living between a river and a lake.

Norway, Greenland, Russia, Finland, Canada and the USA offer the angler great river fishing for arctic char.

Tactics depend on the water, whether the river is spring fed, full of melt water or spatey. Conditions may call for sinking lines and brass tubes or simply a floater with tree fly cast. So the fly angler would do well to enquire locally as to what type of gear will best suit the river. To enjoy the fishing more try to fish as light as you can, and remember, plenty of backing.

Flies
Flies range from traditional patterns to bright attractors and streamers. Flies from size #4 to #12 are generally used, but it is not unheard of to go as low as #16 or even #18. The March Brown, March Brown Silver, Silver Doctor and Silver Zulu to Streamers all get a look in. Of course, it always helps if you can match the hatch.

Start the season with something traditional like a Sialas imitation and work your way through to mayflies and sedges. With this in mind it is possible to explore sight fishing with an appropriate nymph where the water is clear enough. This approach works well in Norwegian rivers and accounts for many of the better fish. The char will take both wet and dry flies, so always carry some Parachute Adams and Elk Hair Caddis for surface feeders.

It is a good strategy to explore every likely lie and then the rest of the river as often times salmon exclude the char from the best lies and they are forced to take up a position in pocket water out of the main current. I am told that char enjoy feasting on green caterpillars as they fall from streamside bushes, so carry some sort of green nymph for this eventuality.

Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Johan Hammar, Fred Kircheis, Pat Beck, Adrian Latimer, Dan Jonasson, Oyvind Fjeldseth, Peter Steensen and Justus Felix Wehmer for sharing their knowledge and experience.