Alaska Fisherman Lands Fiery Orange Arctic Char That Looks A Mythical Pokémon

Sometimes in life when we see something really cool we need to stop and acknowledge it. Last week I published a list of ‘50 Things That Rock‘ which was an homage to many of the things in life that rock (flyovers, crab rangoon, finding money in an old jacket, etc) and today we’re acknowledging this incredible Arctic char fish caught by Gunner Lewis.

According to his TikTok bio, Gunner Lewis is an Alaska-based fisherman who specializes in catching Arctic char. And I cam across this video over the weekend when his caption ‘catching super rare orange char through the ice’ caught my attention.

Alaska Fisherman Catches Fiery Orange Arctic Char While Ice Fishing

The Arctic char is one of the most beautiful fish species on earth, in my humble opinion. With markings not dissimilar from brook trout, they are stunning. In fact, anglers often confuse the species depending on what life stage the specimen is at.

It is believed to be the northernmost freshwater fish species on earth and as a cold water species they (1) live a long time and (2) are incredibly vibrant in color at times.

They can be caught across the continents and as far north as Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. Char can be found in Ireland and Great Britain but are considered among the rarest fish to catch there. They are found across the Nordic countries, Siberia, Canada, and parts of the continental United States where it gets frigid as well.

All of that is to say that Alaska offers up some of the best Arctic char fishing on earth due to being so far north. And while the colors in this video are spectacular, rest assured this fish looked like a nuclear pokémon in real life where the depth of the markings and color are infinitely more vibrant.

What Makes Them Orange?

I’m glad you asked! Diet. It is all diet and environment. They natural prey they consume are high in astaxanthin which leads to the bright orange coloration.

This wasn’t the first giant orange Arctic char that gunner has landed. It appears as if landing these rare specimens is his specialty.

One video he shared on TikTok a year ago racked up 1.6 million views with viewers astonished that such a beautiful specimen exists in nature. They also consistently applaud him for releasing these majestic fish back into the water.

Char are delicious. It isn’t a fish I often see on menus but I remember seeing it on just about every menu when I was in Iceland a few years ago and I fell in love with the taste. It is best described as a hybrid taste between salmon and trout with a fine-flakiness.