Sulphur Lake in Haines Junction: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Sulphur Lake is set in Haines Junction, Yukon. The country here is northern bush. At 1.50 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. At about 7.3 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. You are 160 km from Whitehorse. Anchorage is the closest city, 642 km away. Within a short run: Kloo Lake lies 5.7 km on, Fly Lake about 11 km, Hayden Lake lies 12 km on, Hungry Lake about 12 km and Shutdunmun Lake lies 22 km on. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Sulphur Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Survey and observation records for Haines Junction include Arctic grayling, northern pike and lake trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Sulphur Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 11°C, the coldest about -19°C. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid May. Averages place the thaw at mid May and the freeze at late October. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. It holds true on Sulphur Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Kloo Lake is 5.7 km distant. Signs at Sulphur Lake carry more weight than any list.