Fishing Gambler Lake in Mayo, Yukon

• Overview

  Out in Mayo, Yukon, sits Gambler Lake. Land around it is spruce and muskeg. At about 80 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Shoreline comes to about 4.3 km, small enough to learn in a day. Most waters listed here for Mayo are larger. 203 km away sits Dawson City, the nearest town. Whitehorse is 364 km away, with Tok at 387 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Gambler Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Mayo include Chinook salmon, mountain whitefish and sockeye salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Gambler Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 13°C at the top of summer and -24°C at the bottom of winter. This is a two-season water: locked, then wide open. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around mid May. Break-up near mid May, freeze-up near mid October: that is the shape of an average year. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Gambler Lake the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For salmon, swing spoons or flies through the moving water and mind the local method rules. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. The nearest alternative is Ladue Lake, 2.4 km out. Nothing here settles the position at Gambler Lake for certain.