Guide Chris Meger and Kristeen with one of herTree River arctic char caught in July of 2004.

Great Bear Gamefish, Part 2
(Airs February 19th – February 25th and May 21th – May 27th)

On this weeks “Good Fishing,” we’re venturing about as far north as a person can possibly go without running into Santa Clause. Only a “snowball’s throw” south of the north pole, the Tree River, only miles away from where it dumps into the Arctic Ocean.

Now there’s an odd name for a river situated far above the treeline. I suppose once there could have been a tree in these parts. Sure is a beautiful place though. And one Kristeen and I briefly experienced together one time before. Last time around, before the two of us could make a single cast to the world-class arctic char that the Tree River is so well known for, a family emergency called Kris away. I remained, to carry on filming with my crew and I did feel very fortunate to hold so many brightly colored char in my hands. In all my world-wide angling experiences, I’d never seen a more beautiful fish—bright pink or red spots…reddish to orange lower sides…stunning red fins with white leading edges…and a lower hooked jaw in males. These are the breathtaking spawning colors of the arctic char.

Even so, minus the opportunity to share the experience with my wife, that certain something was obviously missing. That’s why you can probably appreciate why finally arriving at Tree River Lodge is so meaningful to both of us this time around. No, we’re not talking anything particularly plush here as far as the facility goes, but the lodge and cabins are more than comfortable.

Even the local wildlife seems happy we’ve arrived—Richardson’s ground squirrels or “sic-sics” as they’re called by the inuit. After a quick bite to fill our bellies, guide Chris Meger and I talk briefly about the late-to-come fall season here.

Arctic char, in my opinion, are the prettiest gamefish an angler can possibly catch. Anadromous fish, they reside in fresh and/or salt water. Most populations, across north america’s northern tier, migrate into freshwater rivers to spawn in late summer or fall. And that’s exactly the reason behind our early august arival at the Tree River, in Nunavit, Canada.

The one problem we are beginning to understand, after catching only one char and constantly moving from spot to spot, is that timing seems to be a little early. Experimenting with an assortment of large flashy spoons and jigs…we keep testing historically productive waters hoping to find a concentration of char. Ultimately, we wind up directly across from the lodge, working a huge backwater eddie below a major rapids. And this is where the majority of this weeks show will take place.