Fishing at Tyee Lake, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska

• Overview

  Tyee Lake is set in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska. The shore lies 2.4 miles out. The water covers around 418 acres, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. The margin runs to about 5.5 miles in total. The closest town, Wrangell, is 39 miles away. Ketchikan is 59 miles away, with Petersburg at 71 miles. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Tyee Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Ketchikan Gateway Borough include pink salmon, Chum salmon, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon and sockeye salmon. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Tyee Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 54°F; by January the average is down near 24°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about late November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Tyee Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Little Eagle Lake at 6.2 miles is the nearest alternative. Signs at Tyee Lake carry more weight than any list.