May Lake in North Slope Borough: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In Alaska, May Lake falls inside North Slope Borough. The ground around here is sage and rock. It measures about 62 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. On size it sits at the modest end of our North Slope Borough list. Some 160 miles away sits Prudhoe Bay, the nearest settlement. After that come Utqiagvik at 205 miles and Kotzebue at 278 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on May Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for North Slope Borough list bering cisco and Arctic cisco. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. At May Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 51°F, the coldest about -15°F. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early June. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early June until roughly early October. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. The season on May Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. White Lake at 21 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for May Lake.