Sikik Lake in Northwest Arctic Borough: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Sikik Lake is one of the Northwest Arctic Borough waters in Alaska. The ground around here is open dry country. At some 333 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. Some 3.8 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Start from Kotzebue, 143 miles down the road. Anchorage sits 530 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Sikik Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Northwest Arctic Borough records list broad whitefish, northern pike, Arctic grayling and longnose sucker among the fish reported. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Anyone new to Sikik Lake should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 53°F at the top of summer and -8°F at the bottom of winter. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early June. From about early June to around early October, expect open water on the long-run figures. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Sikik Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Navashak Lake, 4.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Sikik Lake for certain.