Braeburn Lake Fishing Guide, Carmacks, Yukon

• Overview

  Set in Carmacks, Braeburn Lake is a Yukon water. It stands 724 metres above sea level. Roughly 5.88 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. The bank runs about 27 km in total, split between open shore and sheltered corners. Some 92 km away sits Whitehorse, the nearest settlement. Skagway is 224 km and Haines 248 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Braeburn Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Carmacks cover Chinook salmon, Arctic grayling, northern pike, lake whitefish and least cisco. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Braeburn Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 14°C; by January the average is down near -19°C. This is a two-season water: locked, then wide open. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about late October. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. The season on Braeburn Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Little Braeburn Lake, 5.3 km out. For Braeburn Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.