Fishing at Papoose Twins, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Set in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, this is Papoose Twins. The coast is 12 miles away. With some 196 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The shoreline runs about 3.8 miles, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Few waters listed in Matanuska-Susitna Borough are bigger. Start from Big Lake, 4.6 miles down the road. Then Houston, 11 miles, and Willow, 15 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Papoose Twins

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Matanuska-Susitna Borough include rainbow trout, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon, longnose sucker and Arctic charr. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Papoose Twins light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 58°F; by January the average is down near 10°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about early November in an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Papoose Twins fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping shows no built access close by; expect to walk in from wherever you can leave the car. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Crooked Lake, 1.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Papoose Twins carry more weight than any list.