Paxson & Lake Louise

I’d never fished for lake trout up here in AK, so I figured I’d head north this time instead of hit the salt down in Seward or WG for a change. Looked like it was going to be kind of windy down that way anyways. The rumor was that Paxson was clear of ice, so I drove there first. I actually drove up to Summit in hopes that there would be enough open water to fish, but no luck there. Probably another week or so before the ice is off there.

Paxson was totally ice free. I got there late in the evening, rigged up and launched at about 9PM. Trolled for a couple of hours with no actions, but got a feel for lake. Got up the next morning to some rain and a moderately stiff breeze blowing out of the north. I kept waiting and waiting to see if it was going to lie down or get stronger, but it didn't do either. Finally said the heck with it about 10:30 and launched. I trolled Krocodiles, Pixies and Vibrax, but finally got some attention with a 3/4 oz Kastmaster. I alternated trolling it bare or behind a 1 oz banana weight and caught a few fish both ways. The trick was to avoid the heavy weed growth in some part of the lake, and stay in about 15 to 20 FOW. The action was concentrated in a few places, relatively weedless areas along the western shore of the lake. I trolled my way to the mouth and then back through the same water on the return. Ended up landing 5 lakers, all in the 20” to 22” range, and got another half dozen takedowns that I missed or lost. There were definitely some fish starting to concentrate at the outlet, though it didn't seem like the smolts were out migrating in full force quite yet. Water temp was 44 degrees everywhere I fished.

Had to be back in ANC by mid afternoon Wednesday, so I decided to go to Lake Louise Tuesday night and fish it first thing in the morning. Man, that road is really terrible. Take it slow, especially if you have a trailer or a kayak bouncing around in the bed of your truck. Got on the water at 5AM. Clear skies, no wind, water temps ranged from 44-46 degrees. Used the same tactics as I had on Paxson, trolling around and between the islands straight out from the SRA launch. Got one small laker, about 22”, on a Krocodile at around 9 AM, and that was it. In retrospect, I wish that I had swapped out hooks on a couple of the Flatfish that I had with me and dragged those around. According to the thread over on the AK Outdoor Forum, that has been producing pretty well. Next time.

I stopped at Long Lake on my way back, thinking I might fish it for an hour or two, but between the bikers revving their engines to impress each other and a couple of kids repeatedly tossing a couple of fish they had caught up in the air to try and feed an eagle, I decided to pass. Fun to put a few Lakers in the boat, I’ll be better prepared for Lake Louise if I can get back again in the next couple weeks.

sweet!  Great post!  might try Lake Louise Sunday or Monday.

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