Patching Lake Fishing Guide, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Out in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, sits Patching Lake. It stands 308 feet above sea level. At some 572 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. Some 7.4 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. On our Ketchikan Gateway Borough list it sits near the top for size. Ketchikan sits 19 miles from here and is the nearest stop. The big place round here is Vancouver, 562 miles distant. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Patching Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name pink salmon, Chum salmon, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon and sockeye salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Work Patching Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 56°F and January at 29°F. The year gives four workable seasons without severe ends. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. Plan any trip to Patching Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Chamberlain Lake, 2.1 miles away. Confirm access to Patching Lake locally before you travel.