Mendenhall Lake is a lake in Alaska, near Juneau County.
Mendenhall Lake appears as a lake within Juneau, Alaska.
Mendenhall Lake sits directly below Mendenhall Glacier and drains through Mendenhall River. Glacial silt, cold creek mouths, and changing ice shape a fish list that includes coho, sockeye, cutthroat, and Dolly Varden.
Use small bright spoons where glacial color is strong and natural flies or lures along clearer creek seams for cutthroat or Dolly Varden.
The glacier has retreated and the lake has grown, so old shoreline descriptions can age badly. Fish movement is tied more to the river and creek connections than the new open middle.
Give coho salmon, cutthroat trout, dolly varden separate passes when they use different water; a lure meant for one fish should not be dragged through every creek mouth, rocky edge, and stretch of open water.
After two bites on Mendenhall Lake, note the current, water color, depth, and nearby bottom, then repeat that short pattern on the next matching spot instead of starting over across the lake.
Before leaving Mendenhall Lake, change lure depth or speed once near the best spot; that quick check can show whether fish moved a few feet or the whole area went quiet.
Let the first two catches on Mendenhall Lake set the next hour by matching their depth, nearby cover, lure speed, and water color before changing areas.
Keep the final pass on Mendenhall Lake tied to the feature that produced, whether it was moving water, a rocky shelf, a weed edge, or a clear-water seam.
For a backup pass on Mendenhall Lake, stay near the same kind of water and change only one thing, such as lure size, speed, or depth, so the next bite gives a clear answer.
Fish listed for Mendenhall Lake include Coho Salmon, Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden, and Sockeye Salmon.
On Mendenhall Lake, for dolly varden, cast a small spoon or streamer near salmon water, creek mouths, and current edges.
Around Mendenhall Lake, for sockeye salmon, use a small legal fly or lure along an active travel route and check current run rules.
For a trip to Mendenhall, for coho salmon, cast a spoon, spinner, or streamer along a creek mouth or active travel edge.
For cutthroat trout, use a small spoon, spinner, or fly around cool creek water and rocky shelves at Mendenhall.
At Mendenhall, do not let the deepest number control the whole day; nearby cover, firm bottom, and food usually matter more than the deepest hole by itself.
When fishing Mendenhall, early in the year, protected water and the first warm afternoon can be the best clues; as the water heats up, check deeper edges without assuming every fish is on the bottom; cooling fall water often makes points and firm banks useful again.
A light spinning rod, thin line, a few small spoons, inline spinners, and jigs cover the listed trout; carry one slightly heavier setup when other fish or windy water call for more control at Mendenhall.
At Mendenhall, record the wind, water color, depth of the working lure, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce.
When fishing Mendenhall, keep the first hour simple: use one moving bait to find active fish, slow down with a jig or natural bait on the best edge, and repeat the same setup when two bites come from matching depth and bottom during that part of the trip.
The key difference is this: Mendenhall sits directly below Mendenhall Glacier and drains through Mendenhall River.
Start here: use small bright spoons where glacial color is strong and natural flies or lures along clearer creek seams for cutthroat or Dolly Varden.
Remember this: The glacier has retreated and the lake has grown, so old shoreline descriptions can age badly.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.