Fishing at Thoms Lake, City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska

• Overview

  Alaska holds Thoms Lake, in City and Borough of Wrangell. Height above sea level is 233 feet. At some 336 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. Some 4.8 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Size puts it in the front rank of our City and Borough of Wrangell list. The closest town, Wrangell, is 17 miles distant. For a city, Vancouver is 614 miles off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Thoms Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. City and Borough of Wrangell records list Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, Coho salmon and pink salmon among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At Thoms Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 57°F and January reads 27°F. The calendar is generous: something works in nearly every month. It is not guaranteed from one year to the next. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. Plan any trip to Thoms Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Long Lake at 5.7 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Thoms Lake for certain.