Lower Kathleen Lake in Haines Junction: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Lower Kathleen Lake in Haines Junction, Yukon. Height above sea level is 690 metres. At 1.23 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. At about 8.4 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. You are 119 km from Whitehorse. It is 687 km to Anchorage, the nearest city. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lower Kathleen Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Public occurrence data for Haines Junction names Arctic grayling, northern pike, lake trout, Dolly Varden and round whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. The shape of Lower Kathleen Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 12°C; by January the average is down near -18°C. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Open water usually runs from early May until about late October. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. That shapes the year on Lower Kathleen Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Rainbow Lake, 4.5 km away. For Lower Kathleen Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.