Halfmoon Lake, Alaska: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Halfmoon Lake sits within Ketchikan Gateway Borough in Alaska. Around the bank it is mixed woodland. At some 260 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. Some 3.6 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Start from Wrangell, 38 miles down the road. The big place round here is Vancouver, 592 miles distant. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Halfmoon Lake

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Ketchikan Gateway Borough include pink salmon, Chum salmon, Chinook salmon and Coho salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. At Halfmoon Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 26°F in January and 55°F in July. The calendar is generous: something works in nearly every month. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. That is the shape of the year on Halfmoon Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Lake Rowena is 3.9 miles distant. Where Halfmoon Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.