• LEFT • Commonly called the European garden spider, cross orbweaver, diadem spider, orangie, cross spider or crowned orb weaver, Araneus diadematus likes to spin its web between stones at barren mountain lakes that harbor the fish we are seeking. IF THE WORD “NATIVE” WERE A FISH ARCTIC char were probably the first freshwater fish to migrate up Norwegian glacial rivers after the most recent ice age. They are only found in the northern-most part of the Northern Hemisphere: Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Svalbard archipelago, Scandinavia and Russia. Called røye for its red belly in Norwegian, the fish thrives in cold water, which explains its distribution. Arctic char mainly spawn in still water but, in some cases, also in slow-moving rivers. Like trout, the species includes seagoing ver-sions. This is a fish that exclusively returns to the river where it was hatched, just like its larger distant relative, the Atlantic salmon. The strength of an adult char (especially an anad-romous one) is surprising when you are used to other species in the same genus, such as lake or brook trout. They are in a completely different league, and anyone who claims otherwise simply hasn’t hooked one. 054 NORWAY
The Flyfish Journal The Flyfish Journal 15.3: Page 54
