Fishing at Weasel Lake, Faro, Yukon

• Overview

  In Yukon, Weasel Lake belongs to Faro. Around the bank it is dry rangeland. Surface area runs to roughly 2.48 sq km, so plan for one area rather than the whole. Some 16 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Supplies mean a trip to Whitehorse, 222 km off. Anchorage sits 960 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Close neighbours run: Orchie Lake at about 24 km and Tay Lake 51 km away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Weasel Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Faro cover Chinook salmon and Arctic grayling. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Weasel Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 14°C at the top of summer and -24°C at the bottom of winter. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Break-up comes around mid May, and the run that follows is short and strong. 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. The season on Weasel Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. 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. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Orchie Lake, 24 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Weasel Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.