Iceberg Lake in Kenai Peninsula Borough: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Alaska holds Iceberg Lake, in Kenai Peninsula Borough. The water sits 3,018 feet up. About 251 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. The shoreline runs about 4.4 miles, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. On our Kenai Peninsula Borough list it sits near the top for size. Seward lies 25 miles from the water. Anchorage sits 70 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Iceberg Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Kenai Peninsula Borough: northern pike, sockeye salmon, rainbow trout and Coho salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Iceberg Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 48°F at the top of summer and 19°F at the bottom of winter. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice-out usually falls in late May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Open water usually runs from late May until about late October. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Iceberg Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Alpine Lake, 3.3 miles out. Signs at Iceberg Lake carry more weight than any list.