Fishing at Lily Lake, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Lily Lake lies within the bounds of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. The surroundings are mixed forest. At 19 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Kenai Peninsula Borough list holds plenty of bigger water. Sterling lies 8.8 miles from the water. For a city, Anchorage is 52 miles off. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lily Lake

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Reported across Kenai Peninsula Borough: northern pike, sockeye salmon, rainbow trout, Coho salmon and Chinook salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Lily Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 17°F in January and 57°F in July. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near early November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Plan any trip to Lily Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Imeri Lake, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Lily Lake before loading the car.