Aren't Dolly Varden on the endangered species list?

Two trout over 14" the way I read the regs - and no retention of Dolly's. Maybe different on the reservation.

Don't see any listing for Lake Quinalt

Tribal license, tribal regs. Dollies aren't endangered, bull trout are. since the two are so alike most fisherfolk could't tell them apart,Dolies are open in the Skagit system as well with restrictions by the state.When dollies and bulls exist in the same drainage the dollies' genes take over. Quinalt has lots of dollies, they gorge on salmon and steelhead fry, not to mention the eggs they suck down in great numbers. The tribe encourages their retention as pressure is really light and their numbers are strong, they put a dent in the sockeye and other salmanoid species. Common to find 6 to 12 fry in their stomachs up to 8 inches(!)You might want to google Lake Quinalt regs.Also past posts on this lake cover discussed these topics and more.Bob R

YEA !!! ... dont listen to those guys bob ... dang them are pretty and a nice day too ... wtg ... DOG

That's it Bob, I'm going to have to give this lake a try. Do you have any recommendations for a first timer, looking to target the Dollies? ( I don't have access to a downrigger, but I do own a leadcore trolling outfit. )

Like I said above, spoons flat-lined or with a keel sinker. I'm not much of a leadline fan, I prefer ultra-light gear. I hit large fish sometimes on the surface before I have a chance to lower the downrigger and my wife is a flatlining champ but ultimatly the thermocline will develop and the action will consistantly set up below 25 ft.. We use 5 1/2 ft to 6 ft. 4 to 8 lb. line test rods (spinning) for flatlining with or without weight. Melanie likes braid as the lack of stretch makes for more sensitivity, and I use mono on spinning and braid on our ultra light levelwinds for the downrigger.We use a cannon mini-troll for our canoe, not much money and well worth the added fish.A good bottom finder helps as well.For spoons I use Gibbs or Little Cleos, although there are others. Good Luck, Bob R

Thanks Bob. Your info is much appreciated If I get to Quinault, I'll keep an eye out for you.

Beautiful fish! Thanks for sharing the report and picture.

According to my brother, who is a Fisheries Biologist for a very big Tribe in Central Washington, Dollies are sea-going bull trout. Bull trout are fluvial (meaning they may hang out in the Bumping and then go out into the Yakima, then back to the Bumping etc...), Bull trout are not sea- going. Dollies and Bulls are two different fish. Genes don't "take over" lol That's a fundamental impossibility, unless we wait around for a few million years. Genes may be degraded over time (hence, hatchery fish) but, genes don't "overtake". Nice fish though.

Dolly Varden - (Salvelinus malma) ARE in fact on the ESA. They (Dept. of Interior) proposed (in 2001) that Dollies fall under ESA protection because people can't identify the differences between the Bull trout and the Dolly Varden. They figured that if they protect Dollies then by default, Bull trout will be protected- good thinking ;-)
Dollies are anadromous (sea-going) fish while Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are fluvial- defined above.
Again, nice fish Bob.

These fish have only recently been classified as different species, and they do crossbreed, reference" Bull Trout Habitat in the Babine Watershed, (2008)". My info is 10 years old, so it is not out of the question to use it. The fact that these fish are able to inter breed is a strong indicator of how closely related these fish are. I try to reference the stuff I post here so it is accurate. Bob R

The Babine Watershed Report is good info. I read that a few years back when I started working with a Bull trout restoration project. I'm glad to see other people have looked at the report too
The Dolly Varden is a trout-like char with pale pink, lilac, or red spots along the flanks. It has an olive-green to brown body, a round shaped head with an upper jaw that curves slightly upwards. Fins are generally transparent and without black spots on the dorsal fin; pelvic and anal fins are often white or creamy on the leading edge with a single thin black and thin red line behind; the caudal fin is slightly forked. Relative to bull trout, the spots on the back are small and crowded and bull trout have a broader flattened head shape.

Dolly Varden and bull trout are difficult to distinguish in the field. Where they coexist, the life history of adults is usually strikingly different. Typically, adult Dolly Varden are small (10-20 cm), stream-resident, and feed on drift; whereas adult bull trout are large (55-95 cm), migratory, and piscivorous. As far as is known, Dolly Varden and bull trout hybridize (interbreeding of two different species) wherever they coexist. Despite this persistent hybridization, the two species maintain themselves as separate entities with life histories adapted to two alternative ecologies. In the Williston area, Dolly Varden coexist with bull trout for part of their life cycle in the upper Finlay drainages (tributaries to Thutade Lake).
Native populations of bull trout (S. confluentus) are in danger of hybridization with introduced brook trout in the Pacific Northwest. The relationship or "how closely related these fish are" (genetically speaking) isn't the main culprit of hybridization (inter breeding)- it may have more to do with the introduction and population of invasive, non indigenous species like the Brook and Brown (just to name a couple) and the fact that they (Dollies and Bulls) live in the same areas (which is just incidental). The fact is, the fisheries community of scientists and biologists see these fish as two different beasts (which is factually and scientifically correct).
On a side note, I prefer to c&r all my fish. I just like the thrill of taking a picture of my catch and preserving what's left in our rivers and lakes for those to come so they can experience what I experience....which is why I don't hunt. Imagine c&r'ing an Elk or a Deer lol what would you do, shoot it in the leg, take it to the vet and reintroduce it in the wild to shoot another day? lmao I'll stick to C&R'ing my fish.
BTW, I can't imagine Dollies or Bulls tasting good at all. Do they actually taste good? How do you prepare them..a little salt, lemon, onion wrapped in foil over a grill? do you smoke them?
Finally, I do hand it to the tribes in this state. They seem to manage their environment much better than we (the U.S.) does. If they claim to have a certain amount of fish that is conducive to retention, I believe them....but, I still wouldn't keep them

*http://www.bchydro.com/pwcp/fish/dolly_varden.shtml
*http://www.fishbc.com/adventure/angling/game_fish/dollyvar.phtml

The fact is that Dollies taste good, as with any fish they need to be handled carefully when caught, imm. bleeding and then in a cooler with ice or cooling packs. As far as the personal point of "catch and release" goes, I'm with the Native community on that, they feel it is an insult to the fish and the Creator to play that way with food, putting animals through catching or killing situations with no point other then personal conquest of fooling and catching wild things and justifying it as "they'll probably survive if handled carefully" attitude.I personally only release targeted fish when A; they are mortally wounded and won't urvive and it is legal, to keep. B;When fishing for fish like ling cod I release big ones as they are generally females. I kept a few big ones back in the day when they were more plentiful. I don't fish for steelhead generally because of pressure, combat fishing conditions. C;smaller fish that never are in a net or hooked other then one hook cleanly in jaw, removing hook with forceps, fish are never handled.That said, I do't push my philosophy on that on others, esp. on a fishing forum. It's like politics,some points of view are better left unsaid. This fishery is so under utilized, we are some of the only people (maybe 10 boats on entire lake on wekends around 4th of July, most of them with no fish or a few cutthroats) that I have NO qualms about keeping these fish to eat, we only eat fish we know of origin. West slope of Olympics? Wild fish in very good numbers?Super high in Omega oils? No brainer for us. We cooked the larger Dolly from the 4th of july report in foil over a fire with paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic flakes, Seal foil tightly and then repeat with another layer of foil, cook until foil pillows out, steam has cooked fish. Tonight we are deep frying the two smaller dollies from yesterday, with homemade fries, we try to only eat deep fried foods once every 10 days or two weeks, and then at home. As you can see from our photos our non catch and release policy doesn't put on excess weight. Barbacued dollies are also good in a rack type setup. The cuts are the real prize foodwise, a lttle firmer and less oily, No shortage ot them either, most folks fishing there do not suceed by half of what we do.(old fish warden's observation,"90 % of the fish live in 10% of a lake, and 90% of the fish caught are by 10% of the fishermen.By the way, I never said that these fish are the same species as Bull trout, I just said that they cross breed and that the Dolly genes"take over". While I could have put it different taxanomically the fact is , according to the report you said was good , that these fish DO interbreed and that the offspring are "not as fit". Don't need a few million years, I guess.Thanks for comments, Bob R

LOLOLOL

WHY? NO REALLY WHY? LOL

If you don't get it , it can't be explained . Bob R