South Finger Lake near Sterling: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Look for South Finger Lake in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. What surrounds it is lake country bush. Around 206 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. Around 2.7 miles of margin, front to back. The town to know is Sterling, 8.3 miles out. Anchorage is the closest city, 52 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on South Finger Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Kenai Peninsula Borough: northern pike, sockeye salmon and rainbow trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Read South Finger Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 15°F in January and 56°F in July. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about early November in a typical year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. South Finger Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. If the gate is shut, Middle Finger Lake at 0.7 miles is the nearest alternative. Check the position at South Finger Lake before loading the car.