Penape Lake in Mayo: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Mayo, Yukon. This is taiga country. Roughly 4.28 sq km of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. With 18 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. The town to know is Dawson City, 277 km out. Anchorage sits 871 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Also worth knowing: Tiny Island Lake about 24 km, Pleasant Lake after 48 km and Ortell Lake about 56 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Penape Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Mayo names 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. Fish Penape Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 14°C, with January the cold end at about -24°C. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid May. Open water usually runs from mid May until about mid October. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Penape Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For salmon, swing spoons or flies through the moving water and mind the local method rules. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Tiny Island Lake, 24 km away. Check the position at Penape Lake before loading the car.