Tchawsahmon Lake, Alaska: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Tchawsahmon Lake in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area part of Alaska. Elevation runs to 3,307 feet. At 2.9 sq miles this is proper open water rather than a pond. The outline measures near 11 miles, so local knowledge counts. It ranks high for size among our Southeast Fairbanks Census Area listings. You are 117 miles from Tok. The big place round here is Anchorage, 301 miles distant. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Tchawsahmon Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Across Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, recorded fish include Arctic grayling, lake whitefish, lake trout, longnose sucker and round whitefish. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. On Tchawsahmon Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 52°F, while January sits near -9°F. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late May. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about mid October. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That is the shape of the year on Tchawsahmon Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Braye Lakes, 10 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Tchawsahmon Lake for certain.