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

• Overview

  This water sits in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. Tidal water begins 0.9 miles from here. Small at around 4 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Nearest town is Metlakatla, 34 miles off. The big place round here is Vancouver, 515 miles distant. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Quadra Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for Ketchikan Gateway Borough list pink salmon, Chum salmon, Chinook salmon and Coho salmon. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Quadra Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect August near 57°F and January near 30°F on the long-run figures. Ice comes and goes from one year to the next. It is not guaranteed from one year to the next. February into May fishes hardest as the water warms. That shapes the year on Quadra Lake. A cold snap sets things back for several days.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. If the gate is shut, Hugh Smith Lake at 3.4 miles is the nearest alternative. Where Quadra Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.