A bull trout (or artic char or Dolly Varden) males in their spawning suits are among the most spectular in the salmonid world and one of my favorite fish.

Since the bull trout of Puget Sound region are fall spawners (peak spawning in October) one finds them in their best spawning colors that time of year or a little before and during the spawning. The vast majority of the bull trout's spawning areas in the region is closed to fishing for them that time of year though it is possible to encounter some late migators before the spawning period that are pretty colored.

While I have never caught any Alaskan char I have caught/seen a few from Washington. Based on the pictures of Alaskan fish I would say the two do color a bit differently. The Washington fish don't have that yellowish jaw tips but during the spawning both have intense white find edges and bright red spots and dark backs though the Washington fish tend to be more blackish than greenish of the Alaskan fish.

The intensity of the spawning color in these char is strongly influence by the dominance of the fish. The more dominant the male the more highly colored the fish will be. For this reason the largest males are usually the most highly colored.

It might also be of interest to know that the fish can change how brightly they are colored very quickly. In a situation where there are multiple males the most dominate fish will be the most highly colored. If that dominance changes for some reason the previous dominate male's color will fade quickly while the new dominate male color will intensify. This flip in coloration can occur in less than 5 minutes.

Tight lines
Curt