Summit / Paxon Lake Trip Planning 2022

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SUMMIT / PAXON LAKE TRIP PLANNING 

2022


Thanks for stopping by to read my blog.  If your looking for some ideas for a fishing trip to Summit / Paxon Lake area, hopefully my ideas can help you out.  

Please note that I've never been to this region before, so everything is pure research, map spots, and leaning on all of my other fishing experiences in other parts of the state.  I intended on going in 2021, but the trip has been delayed until this year, 2022.


I'll break my post down to three distinct points:

*  Locations

*  Time of year

*  Gear taken 


Locations

Paxon Lake       ADFG: Paxon Lake

Summit Lake    ADFG: Summit Lake (Paxon)

From map spotting, you will reach Summit Lake first, followed by Paxon Lake when traveling from Interior Alaska, passing through Delta Junction, going south along the Richardson, over the mountains, and then you're there.  Hwy 8 that connects the region to Cantwell ends/turns off from between each lake.

Both lakes are very large and deep lakes.  Summit Lake is oddly shaped with a peninsula in the middle.  Paxon Lake is a roughly 10-mile long, linear lake.  Below is a picture of Paxon Lake Bathymetric courtesy of ADFG.  There is no available Bathymetric for Summit Lake available at this time.


As far as where I intend on fishing, using what I've learned about Alaska waterways over the last 4 years and my extensive navigational skills and target recon from my xp in the military, i've devised several target locations for both Summit and Paxon Lake.  Most will need a boat to access, and I will cover that in the gear section.

Green Flag Markers represent possible parking/camping locations
Red Hearts represent possible areas for targeting fish (outside of trolling the deep parts)

                                Summit Lake, courtesy of Google Maps

                                    Paxon Lake, courtesy of Google Maps


Time of Year

The intent of the trips is to dedicate the month of May to this region and fish, dedicating a 4-day weekend either 3rd or 4th weekend in May to fish these lakes.

From Fairbanks to Summit Lake, drivetime is approx. 170 miles, a 3-hour drive.

Add on another 17 miles to reach Paxon Lake BLM Campground.

Why May?  I was considering the melt of the year.  With my usual fishing spots being ~430ft above sea level, and Paxon Lake being ~778 feet, I predict the lake being thawed a bit later than expected with it being at a higher elevation.  Doing some internet searching on the subject leads me to believe the ice is cleared out around mid-to-late May on these lakes.

The nearest 'city' is Glennallen, which is to the south of Paxon Lake.  According to the Sunrise/Sunset charts provided by the Time and Date website (Time and Date Link), there should be more than plenty of sunlight, and nautical twilight will not be an issue.  See the provided chart below



What Gear?

For the final portion of the planning, it comes down to gear.  What gear will I be taking for this four day, two lake excursion of near-constant fishing over tens of miles of water?

Normally on trips like this, I strive to be a minimalist and use the Survival Gear I keep in my car 24-7 as a resource.  Add a quick pup-tent and i'm good to go.  For this trip, I don't think any of that will change.  I will have my cooler full of ice, make some fish/beef jerky to take for the trip, and have some freeze-dried camp food.  

My Survival Bag is already geared for me to survive for roughly 3 days off the land - food, water, fire, shelter, warmth, advanced first aid, small game hunting/trapping, guidebook, no-tech navigation, etc.  I built mine from knowledge of bushcraft over the years and my military experiences.

If you don't have a survival bag, and don't want to build one yourself, I recommend this one from Amazon:  

    

                                                          EVERLIT 42L Survival Bag


Boating is on the menu for this trip though, and it might be a challenge.  I have it in the works to build up my 10ft Kayak into a light catamaran / sailing kayak with outrigger / long-distance kayak - see my other blogs and YouTube channel for those. Currently, at the time of writing this blog, I have a small hatchback car that can barely support one kayak on top for short-to-medium distance trips.  Figuring out a way to transport a second kayak is where the challenge comes in.


The target fish are Char and Trout.  With Paxon being 15-75 meters deep in most places, using crankbait and weight will be essential when trolling.  I'm not a huge fan of downriggers, so I intend on using divers.  Lure Jensen provides an excellent option for inline and sideline diver, as pictured and linked below.  They can "pull" your bait down to the desired depth and they come in a variety of colors and dive to depths ranging from 5 to 50 feet.  I've used a translucent red version of the Dive-20 (dives 20 feet) with a Little Cleo and had excellent results trolling for Trout and Lake Chinooks in various interior lakes.


  Lure Jensen Diver     



Other lures I prefer to cast from shore and troll with, as my go-to lures, other than Little Cleo Spoons, are Kastmasters and Panther Martin, and self-created lures using my 3D printers which I cover over on my YouTube channel.


Conclusion

So far, this looks to be a good planning session, even if I feel i'm the only one ever reading this after I create them.  I'm looking forward to Summit and Paxon Lake in May 2022.  Hopefully, this inspires others to get out there and check out these lakes as well.

Comments

  1. Mr. Jon BMarch 4, 2022 at 10:09 AM

    Update: This trip is a bust. The primary reason is limitations caused by 2022 fishing regulations.

    ** In both of these lakes, the retention of Rainbow Trout and Steelhead is prohibited. Catch and Release

    ** You cannot "actively target" any Salmon species

    ** Retention of Lake Trout is 1 per day

    ** Retention of Grayling is 2 per day

    Last thing I need is a game warden or wildlife trooper rolling up on me. I'll find somewhere else to fish.

    ReplyDelete

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