McKinnon Lake Fishing Guide, Watson Lake, Yukon

• Overview

  In Yukon, McKinnon Lake belongs to Watson Lake. It sits in spruce and muskeg country. This is sizeable water at about 2.34 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. The margin runs to about 9.5 km in total. Some 34 km away sits Watson Lake, the nearest settlement. Anchorage is the closest city, 1126 km away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on McKinnon Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name lake trout, longnose sucker, mountain whitefish and round whitefish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Anyone new to McKinnon Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 14°C; the cold one sits at -22°C. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Climate figures give an open season running early May to early November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. The season on McKinnon Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. 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. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Keane Lake is 16 km distant. Nothing here settles the position at McKinnon Lake for certain.