Lake Bluff Fishing in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Lake Bluff sits in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, out in Alaska. The setting is farm and woodlot on every side. The water measures roughly 9 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It is a small entry by Ketchikan Gateway Borough standards. The town to know is Ketchikan, 27 miles out. The nearest city of size is Vancouver, 569 miles away. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lake Bluff

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Records held for Ketchikan Gateway Borough cover pink salmon, Chum salmon, Chinook salmon and Coho salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Lake Bluff to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August near 55°F and January near 28°F on the long-run figures. Ice comes and goes from one year to the next. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. February into May fishes hardest as the water warms. It holds true on Lake Bluff more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. 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. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Neets Lake at 3.9 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Lake Bluff for certain.