Setgun Lake Fishing in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska

• Overview

  Within Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, you have Setgun Lake. Beyond the shoreline you have sage and rock. It runs to roughly 181 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The edge runs 3.1 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Farmers Loop is the closest town at 101 miles. Anchorage sits 359 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Setgun Lake

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Species logged across Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area include bering cisco, least cisco and lake whitefish. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Setgun Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 61°F on average, January about -12°F. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. After mid May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near mid October in autumn. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan any trip to Setgun Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Sundown Lake is 1.4 miles off. Nothing here settles the position at Setgun Lake for certain.