Mud Lake in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Mud Lake in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. The water sits 2,001 feet up. Roughly 211 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Around 4.1 miles of bank, which is a long day on foot. Prudhoe Bay sits 163 miles from the bank. The nearest city of size is Anchorage, 493 miles away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area cover bering cisco, least cisco, lake whitefish, Arctic grayling and alaska blackfish. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The shape of Mud Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 54°F; the cold one sits at -21°F. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Winter locks it down, and late May brings it back. The open-water window runs from around late May to about early October in an average year. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. The season on Mud Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Loon Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. Check the position at Mud Lake before loading the car.