Hay Lake Fishing in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska

• Overview

  Hay Lake is a Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area water, in Alaska. Beyond the shoreline you have spruce and muskeg. The water covers some 39 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. A shoreline of some 1.2 miles keeps the choices simple. On size it sits at the modest end of our Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area list. Head to Healy, 106 miles away, for anything you forgot. Anchorage sits 204 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Hay Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name bering cisco, least cisco, lake whitefish, Arctic grayling and alaska blackfish. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Hay Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 60°F; the cold one sits at -7°F. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near mid May. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near mid October in autumn. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Hay Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. 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. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Jim Lake, 2.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Hay Lake are worth checking on the day.