Hap. The lake trout we catch around here are called "mackinaw". The trout you're holding in the picture appears to be a "dolly varden", unless I'm mistaken.
Dolly's are char, and mackinaw are trout. Don't know about the flavor difference, since I've never eaten a dolly. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I remember, way back, I was wrong once before.
They're just fish, right? Right?
Lew! How could it happen??!!?? Twice you are wrong in one lifetime? I am shocked!Originally Posted by Lew
Take a look at the lake trout, Mackinaw, if you insist, and you will see the spots on the back are irregularly shaped, not quite the worm tracks on brookies, but similar. And there are no red spots below the lateral line. A dolly colored up like that would be covered with bright spots all over. That is also a fish caught in early July when a Dolly would be steel blue. Dollies color up in the fall like the one my son is holding in the picture in this post. That is also him holding the lake trout.
They did some rearranging of taxonomy in trouts and salmon since I was in college in the '70s. Lake trout are char and rainbow trout are salmon.
But the bigger question is about my son... Did I abuse him as a child forcing him to catch all those monster fish?
Lew
Absolutely no hard feeings taken or intended.
thanks
art
Getting the post back to what the author wanted to know, yes, Lake Trout are very tasty. Pick out a nice recipe that has been developed specifically to bring out the flavor of the species if you have the facilities or the inclination to do so.
Last edited by Nighthawk; 11-29-2012 at 04:47 AM.
Yes, lake trout are very good to eat. Their flesh is pinkish beige in color and taste somehat like slamon but a bit milder.
Flesh color really depends on diet... We get them as they are savaging salmon smolts and they are deeper than just pink, but not as red as salmon. Some places we catch them they eat more insects than fish and they are quite pale meated.
Back in "The Day" the late JC and me would make an annual trip from our base on Michigan's Au Sable River up to Traverse City, Michigan where his parents had a summer cabin. We would spend the day trolling for Lake Trout in Grand Traverse Bay. This was in the time before the sea lamprey were completely controlled and catching a Lake Trout took a bit of doing. If we did not succeed JC's father would have one in the freezer that we could take back to our camp on the Au Sable where we would split it in half, wire it on a plank and prop it up in front of a fire of oak splits. We would brush butter over the flesh during the cooking process, and when it was done it was a treat that was out of this world.
Lew! How could it happen??!!?? Twice you are wrong in one lifetime? I am shocked!
Lew
Absolutely no hard feeings taken or intended.
thanks
art
I expected to get swatted when I made the comment. I don't believe I've ever seen an arctic char except in pictures. I plead sleep deprivation as an excuse for even pushing the "post" button. I apologize for interrupting your excellent thread. As far as taste goes, I think it's personal preference that makes the difference. Viva la difference'.
They're just fish, right? Right?
Lew
Arctic char are a different species from Dolly Varden. We get both in quantity and size... The one my son is holding is a dolly on the Kenai River. Last year he caught up to a dozen arctic char per day that dwarfed the dolly in the photo... and I am not even stretching the truth a tiny bit with that...
art
You Alaskans are all alike! LUCKY!
They're just fish, right? Right?
Living to fish in Alaska does not suck...
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