Spawn Lake, Yukon: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Spawn Lake lies in Village of Teslin, in Yukon. Country round the bank runs to taiga. It measures some 2.05 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. With 15 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Start from Whitehorse, 116 km down the road. Skagway lies 125 km off, Haines another 146 km. Close neighbours run: Naystayo Lake 4.2 km off, Nuska Lake within 5.5 km, Pike Lake 9.5 km off, Laidlaw Lake within 12 km and Bryde Lake 12 km off. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Spawn Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Village of Teslin cover Chinook salmon, lake whitefish, Arctic grayling and least cisco. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Spawn Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 12°C in July and bottom out at -18°C in January. Long winters and short summers set the pattern. Once it clears, about mid May, the fishing comes on quickly. The open-water window runs from around mid May to about late October in an average year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. That is the shape of the year on Spawn Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Naystayo Lake sits 4.2 km off and takes the overflow. Nothing here settles the position at Spawn Lake for certain.