Fishing at Wood Lake, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska

• Overview

  Set in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, this is Wood Lake. It stands 89 feet above sea level. About 343 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. The margin runs to about 5.2 miles in total. For a base, Haines sits 60 miles out. Anchorage sits 499 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Wood Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Hoonah-Angoon Census Area include pink salmon, Chum salmon and Coho salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Wood Lake gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 54°F on average, January about 25°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Wood Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Abyss Lake sits 5.8 miles off and takes the overflow. For Wood Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.