Nest Lake Fishing Guide, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Within Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, you have Nest Lake. Everything around it is rolling bush. Around 55 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. Around 1.3 miles of margin, front to back. Sterling is the closest place, 15 miles off. Anchorage is the closest city, 40 miles away. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Nest Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Kenai Peninsula Borough records list northern pike, sockeye salmon, rainbow trout and Coho salmon among the fish reported. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Nest Lake fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 57°F; the cold one sits at 16°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly early November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. That is the shape of the year on Nest Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Willow Lake sits 0.4 miles off and takes the overflow. Where Nest Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.