Fishing at Little Beaver Lake, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Little Beaver Lake lies in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. It sits at 197 feet above sea level. At about 52 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 1.2 miles of margin, front to back. Supplies mean a trip to Houston, 3.4 miles off. It is 25 miles to Anchorage, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Little Beaver Lake

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Matanuska-Susitna Borough records list rainbow trout, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon, longnose sucker and Arctic charr among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Little Beaver Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 58°F, the coldest about 9°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about early November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. On Little Beaver Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. For a change of water, Blanket Lake is 0.6 miles distant. Rules at Little Beaver Lake are worth checking on the day.