Fishing at Francis Lake, Mayo, Yukon

• Overview

  Francis Lake is one of the Mayo waters in Yukon. Height above sea level is 849 metres. Surface area runs to roughly 4.73 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. Some 12 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Nearest place of any size is Dawson City, 198 km away. Anchorage sits 773 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Francis Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Open biodiversity records for Mayo list Chinook salmon, mountain whitefish and sockeye salmon. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Fish Francis Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 13°C on average, January about -24°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. The lid usually goes in mid May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Open water usually runs from mid May until about mid October. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That shapes the year on Francis Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Salmon and sea-run fish answer to spoons and spinners where lure fishing is allowed; check the method rules first. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. For a change of water, Talbot Lake is 5.1 km distant. Check the current arrangement for Francis Lake.