Cantlie Lake Fishing in Whitehorse, Yukon

• Overview

  Look for Cantlie Lake in Whitehorse, Yukon. The bank gives way to open dry country. Surface area runs to roughly 2.12 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. With 7.3 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Whitehorse sits 14 km from the bank. Then Skagway, 137 km, and Haines, 162 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Cantlie Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Whitehorse, recorded fish include Chinook salmon, Arctic grayling, round whitefish and longnose sucker. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Read Cantlie Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 14°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly early November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Cantlie Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Chadburn Lake at 7.1 km is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Cantlie Lake as something to verify.