Baird Lake Fishing Guide, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Baird Lake sits within Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska. The coast is 5.5 miles away. It covers about 20 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Most waters listed here for Matanuska-Susitna Borough are larger. The closest town, Gateway, is 1.7 miles distant. Palmer is 3 miles and Lakes 4.6 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Baird Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Public occurrence data for Matanuska-Susitna Borough names rainbow trout, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon, longnose sucker and Arctic charr. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Baird Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 58°F; the cold one sits at 14°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Look for the thaw near late April; the fishing lifts straight after. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about early November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. On Baird Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. 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. Failing this one, try High Ridge Lake, 0.3 miles away. For Baird Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.