Emil Lake Fishing near Susitna North, Alaska

• Overview

  Alaska holds Emil Lake, in Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Everything around it is lake country bush. At 21 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The nearest town is Susitna North, 6.1 miles away. It is 61 miles to Anchorage, the nearest city. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Emil Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Matanuska-Susitna Borough include rainbow trout, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon, longnose sucker and Arctic charr. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Emil Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 58°F on average, January about 10°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about late October. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Plan around that when you fish Emil Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. 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. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Woman Lake is 2.4 miles off. Where Emil Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.