High Arctic Lodge is located approximately 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle and approximately 400 miles north of the treeline. The sun never sets in this area of the Arctic from May 25th to July 27th.
Here, unspoiled trophy Arctic Char and trophy Lake Trout awaits on Victoria Island, Nanavut, Canada. The main lodge is located on Merkley Lake which is between West Lake and Surrey Lake. This system is over 45 miles long. Lake trout and land-locked char are caught here. In order to catch giant Arctic Char, a flyout is required to hot spots such as Hadley Bay which is approximately 100 miles from the Magnetic North Pole. During the flyout you have a great opportunity to view polar bears, muskox, Arctic Island caribou, and seals.
The rivers on Victoria Island start to break up in early July. It is estimated that two thirds of the char (non-spawners) wintering in the lakes head downstream to the Arctic Ocean. These char migrate back to the lakes at first snowfall which is in late August.
The other third (spawners) remain in the freshwater alkes all summer. The female turns a pinkish coloration while the male bull char turns a brilliant orange/red and develops a pronounced lower kype. These char spawn after the lakes freeze up in September. They return to the Arctic Ocean the following summer.
The lodge is only open from the middle of July till the middle of August. I fished there during July 20th week and August 6th week. Both were great. In July the lakes still had ice on them,while it snowed during the August week. Lots and lots of char up to 20lbs.
