Fishing Ipiutak Lagoon in North Slope Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Alaska holds Ipiutak Lagoon, in North Slope Borough. The water sits 3 feet up. With some 44 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. With about 1.1 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our North Slope Borough list. The closest town, Kotzebue, is 149 miles distant. Nome is 269 miles away, with Utqiagvik at 312 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Ipiutak Lagoon

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. This is tidal water: the state of the tide decides where fish sit, so plan the session around it. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Public occurrence data for North Slope Borough names bering cisco and Arctic cisco. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Ipiutak Lagoon responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August to average close to 46°F, with February the cold end at about -3°F. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late June. In an average year the thaw lands around late June and the freeze near mid October. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. On Ipiutak Lagoon the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Teshekpak Lake, 9.7 miles away. Nothing here settles the position at Ipiutak Lagoon for certain.