The lake, or humpback, whitefish occurs mainly in lakes, although some are taken in larger rivers and some in lakes with brackish waters. It is a large and somewhat egg-shaped fish with silver sides that may shade to dark or olive brown. The snout overhangs the lower jaw and has two flaps between the openings of each nostril.

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.

The lake whitefish is the most common commercially sold lake fish found in the Northwest Territories.

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.

One of the most widely spread fish in the Territories, the lake trout is found throughout the Mackenzie, Thelon, Back and Coppermine drainage systems. Although most angling has occurred on Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, "lakers" are plentiful and provide spectacular sport in hundreds of fast-flowing rivers and streams. The best trophy recorded was a world record catch from Great Bear Lake weighing 32.5 kg (72 lbs). Many others have come close to this, and 13 to 18 kg (30 to 40 lbs.) fish are common.

Pike, or jackfish, prefer warm, slow, heavily vegetated rivers, or warm, weedy bays of lakes. They occur throughout most of mainland Northwest Territories. Pike have a long body with a dark green to brown colour along their back. The sides are lighter and marked with 7 to 9 irregular vertical rows of yellow to white, bean-shaped spots.

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.

Appropriately named the "unknown" by Alexander Mackenzie's French-Canadian voyageurs, the inconnu is still largely unknown to most anglers. A member of the whitefish family, it somewhat resembles a large herring with a dark back, silvery sides and large scales.

Reports vary on the eating and sporting qualities of the "coney", but many are caught in the Hay River in May or early June after break-up. They inhabit the Buffalo, Taltson, and Anderson rivers and the Mackenzie Delta. Inconnu average 4 to 9 kg (9 to 20 lbs.), although commercial fishermen report some over 32 kg (70 lbs).

The loche is a bottom-feeding fish. Its liver is considered to be quite a delicacy and a large loche might have a liver the size of a human hand. The liver is very rich source of oil and fat. The loche is caught year-round, usually with a hook baited with meat. The hook is left on the lake bottom until the bottom-feeding loche snaps it up.

The arctic grayling is a beautiful fish: dark blue on the back and purple grey on the sides. A distinctive characteristic is its large, sail-like dorsal fin, which is coloured a blackish blue with violet spots.

Average weights are from 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lbs.), but the world record arctic grayling was caught in the Great Bear Lake area and weighed 2.7 kg (6 lbs.).

The grayling is particularly common in the Mackenzie, Coppermine, Anderson, Thelon and Back drainages. During the summer, they can be caught in cold, swift rivers and in bays of some larger lakes.

The walleye is a member of the perch family and has sharp teeth and two dorsal fins on its back, the front one supported by large spines. Walleye are olive-brown flecked with gold, shading to a white belly. The large, silvery eyes are distinctive. Also known as dorŽ or pickerel, walleye are plentiful in smaller lakes around Hay River and Yellowknife, and to a lesser extent farther north.

Walleye generally run up to 2.5 kg (5 lbs.). They are easiest to fish in the spring when they are running in the rivers.

Fish Descriptions provided by the Department of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development, Government of the Northwest Territories