Chabot Lake in Village of Teslin: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Chabot Lake is a Village of Teslin water, Yukon side. What surrounds it is spruce and muskeg. Roughly 52 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. At about 5.7 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Most waters listed here for Village of Teslin are larger. For a base, Whitehorse sits 131 km out. After that come Skagway at 132 km and Haines at 152 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Chabot Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Village of Teslin include Chinook salmon, lake whitefish, Arctic grayling, least cisco and northern pike. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Chabot Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 12°C, the coldest about -17°C. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid May until roughly late October. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. It sets the rhythm of the year at Chabot Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Proulx Lake at 2.9 km is the sensible second choice. Where Chabot Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.