Fishing at Leaf Lake, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Look for Leaf Lake in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. Pine and birch runs right down to the water. Around 59 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. Around 2.1 miles of margin, front to back. Nearest town is Sterling, 19 miles off. The big place round here is Anchorage, 37 miles distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Leaf Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Kenai Peninsula Borough include northern pike, sockeye salmon and rainbow trout. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Read Leaf Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 57°F and January about 16°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about early November in an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. It holds true on Leaf Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. The nearest alternative is Lonely Lake, 0.7 miles out. Treat Leaf Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.