Fishing Odd Lake in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Set in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Odd Lake is an Alaska water. It sits at 292 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 3 acres — small enough to read in one session. It is a small entry by Kenai Peninsula Borough standards. Nearest place of any size is Sterling, 18 miles away. Funny River follows at 20 miles, then Ridgeway at 25 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Odd Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Kenai Peninsula Borough list northern pike, sockeye salmon, rainbow trout and Coho salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Odd Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 57°F and January reads 17°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about early November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Plan any trip to Odd Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Swanson River Canoe Trail Parking holds the nearest mapped parking, half a mile out. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Pad Lake, 0.1 miles away. Rules at Odd Lake are worth checking on the day.