Fishing Square Lake in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  You will find Square Lake in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. The bank is 2,927 feet above sea level. It runs to roughly 72 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. There is roughly 1.4 miles of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. It sits higher than most water we list in Alaska. Some 66 miles away sits Sutton-Alpine, the nearest settlement. After that come Lazy Mountain at 72 miles and Fishhook at 73 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Square Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Matanuska-Susitna Borough, recorded fish include rainbow trout, Coho salmon, sockeye salmon and longnose sucker. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Square Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 52°F in July and bottoms out near -1°F in January. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. After late May the shallows warm and the fish move up. From about late May to around mid October, expect open water on the long-run figures. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Square Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Crater Lake at 11 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for Square Lake.