Farmer Lake Fishing Guide, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  You will find Farmer Lake in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. Salt water lies 6.6 miles off. Small at around 22 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The closest town, Big Lake, is 11 miles away. After that come Anchorage at 13 miles and Elmendorf Air Force Base at 18 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Farmer Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. 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. Public occurrence data for Matanuska-Susitna Borough names rainbow trout, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon, longnose sucker and Arctic charr. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Fish Farmer Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 58°F, with January the cold end at about 12°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly early November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Anyone fishing Farmer Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Barley Lake is 1.1 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Farmer Lake for certain.