Neets Lake in Ketchikan Gateway Borough: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Neets Lake is one of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough waters in Alaska. It sits in open valley country. It measures about 73 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. A shoreline of some 1.7 miles keeps the choices simple. On size it sits at the modest end of our Ketchikan Gateway Borough list. Ketchikan sits 31 miles from here and is the nearest stop. The nearest city of size is Vancouver, 571 miles away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Neets Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Ketchikan Gateway Borough include pink salmon, Chum salmon and Chinook salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Neets Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 28°F and August at about 55°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Fishing continues through most of the calendar, with quiet spells rather than closures. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. The season on Neets Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Bluff Lake is 1.3 miles off. Signs at Neets Lake carry more weight than any list.