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KOOTENAY RIVER SYSTEM |
MACKENZIE RIVER SYSTEM |
OUR FISH: Similarities
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| When we started comparing species of
fish, we were surprised to find that we have many of the same
species. Here are just some of them. |
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Bull trout and Dolly Varden look very much
alike and people often get them mixed up. Bull trout like cold
water and need water temperatures of less than 13° for much of their
life. |
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| Dolly
Varden is a member of the salmon family. The pink
flesh of the Dolly Varden is excellent to eat and they are
considered a good sport fish. |
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Burbot are
a type of codfish which can be found in Alaska, Canada, and the
northern United States. They average around 15 to 22 inches
in length and weigh between one and three pounds. It is one of the few freshwater fishes that spawn under the
ice in midwinter, from January to March. Mature Burbot in the
NWT have been known to weigh up to 22 pounds. |
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Differences
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| Kokanee are a land locked
Sockeye Salmon. We won't tell you much about them here, because
Mr. Devuono's class has make some webpages about these interesting
fish. You can learn much more about Kokanee by
CLICKING
HERE. |
The arctic grayling is
a beautiful fish: dark blue on the back and purple grey on the
sides. It has a large, sail-like dorsal fin, which is coloured a
blackish blue with violet spots. |
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These photos show Mr. and Mrs.
Dyck with some fish they caught in Kootenay Lake. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Dyck used to work in our school, but they are retired
now. |
Lake trout are
coloured with light spots on a darker background and a light-coloured
belly. The background colour may vary from light green or grey to
dark green, brown or black.
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Pike, or jackfish,
like warm, slow, heavily-vegetated rivers, or warm, weedy bays of
lakes. Pike generally
run between 2 and 7 kg (5 to 15 lbs.), but quite a few pike
weighing 13 to 18 kg (30 to 40 lbs.) have been taken. |
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Gerrard Rainbow Trout |
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Rainbow Trout eat the same
things as the Dolly Varden. They are the same colour of the rainbow.
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The walleye is a
member of the perch family and has sharp teeth and two dorsal fins
on its back. They are
olive-brown flecked with gold, shading to a white belly. The
large, silvery eyes are distinctive. |
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White Sturgeon
live on the bottom of the lake. They eat the small animals on the
bottom of the lake. They are white with bumps down the
side and the spine and can live for 150 years. |
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The whitefish is
mainly a bottom feeder, eating clams, snails, insects and
invertebrates. Some may feed on plankton. Spawning takes place in
the fall on rocky reefs in lakes or the shallows of rivers. This
fish is caught and sold commercially in NT. |
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| Credit: Students
from Erickson Elementary and |
Credit:
Students from École Allain-St Cyr and from
the
"Sport Fishing Guide- Northwest Territories" webpage |
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