Best burbot lakes in Alaska
8 Alaska waters list burbot (official records or labelled estimates). Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The freshwater cod that feeds at night under the ice — ugly, delicious and wildly underrated.
- Paxson Lake — 89 ft max · Chinook Salmon, Lake Trout, Lake Whitefish, BurbotWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 3 public access sites
- Big Lake — 89 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Burbot, Arctic CharWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 3 public access sites
- Byers Lake — 177 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Burbot, Arctic GraylingWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- Becharof Lake — 594 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Coho Salmon, Lake TroutWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Chelatna Lake — 410 ft max · Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Chinook Salmon, Coho SalmonWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
…plus 3 more Alaska waters holding burbot.
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See Alaska waters with public access data
When to fish burbot in Alaska
- Spring 25–70 ft — Post-spawn burbot slide back toward deep basins but still run shallow rock after dark.
- Summer 50–120 ft — Deep and sluggish in warm months — mostly a bycatch while jigging deep structure for lake trout.
- Fall 30–80 ft — Feeding picks up hard as the water cools — dead bait or glow spoons on deep rock at night.
- Winter 15–60 ft — Late-winter spawners stack on rock humps and shoals — glow jigs pounded on bottom after dark.
Also in Alaska: best northern pike lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best coho salmon lakes · best lake trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best arctic grayling lakes · best arctic char lakes · best pink salmon lakes · best chum salmon lakes · best pacific halibut lakes · best lingcod lakes · best black rockfish lakes
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