Fishing at Beach Lake, Anchorage Municipality, Alaska

• Overview

  In Alaska, Beach Lake falls inside Anchorage Municipality. Height above sea level is 135 feet. At about 89 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. About 1.4 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Size puts it in the front rank of our Anchorage Municipality list. Some 5.8 miles away sits Eagle River, the nearest settlement. Knik-Fairview is 7.6 miles and Elmendorf Air Force Base 11 miles.

• Where to Fish on Beach Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Anchorage Municipality records list pink salmon, Chinook salmon, Dolly Varden, sockeye salmon and Coho salmon among the fish reported. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Beach Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 57°F in July and bottom out at 16°F in January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about early November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Beach Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A boat ramp sits about half a mile from the water. There is a car park half a mile from the bank. Picnic facilities are recorded some half a mile out. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Should this one be busy, Psalm Lake is 1.6 miles off. Signs at Beach Lake carry more weight than any list.