Datkokan Lake Fishing in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska

• Overview

  Datkokan Lake is one of the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area listings for Alaska. This is dry rangeland country. It runs to roughly 103 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The outline measures near 4.2 miles, so local knowledge counts. Head to Farmers Loop, 93 miles away, for anything you forgot. Then Ester, 93 miles, and College, 95 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Datkokan Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area include bering cisco, least cisco and lake whitefish. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. The near bank of Datkokan Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 62°F, while January sits near -11°F. This is a two-season water: locked, then wide open. Winter locks it down, and mid May brings it back. Break-up sits around mid May on average, with the water closing again about mid October. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. At Datkokan Lake the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Island Lake is 5.2 miles off. Confirm access to Datkokan Lake locally before you travel.