Nothing live is published for this water, so there is no reading or verdict today. The readings section below says what we checked.
McDonald Lake is a lake or reservoir in Alaska, listed as Catch and release by Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish lists 2 species, including rainbow trout and steelhead. 1 guide nearby are listed here.
McDonald Lake is a lake or reservoir in Alaska.
No real-time gauge on this water. We found no active USGS gauge on McDonald Lake or on its stream system within about 25 miles, and no dam operator publishes data for it. A missing gauge says nothing about the water itself. Find the gauges nearest McDonald Lake
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Restrooms within 2 miles of McDonald Lake in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Steelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Reflection LakeSweetwater Lake, Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Reflection Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Anan LakeKah Sheets Lake, Tongass National Forest, with a floatplane arriving at the Forest Service cabin (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Anan Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Eagle LakeBakewell Lake, Misty Fiords, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Eagle Lake.
Alaska · about 16 mi
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Orchard LakeA Forest Service public-use cabin on West Turner Lake, near Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Orchard Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Long LakeMendenhall Lake and the Mendenhall Glacier in rain, seen from the visitor center, Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Jsayre64, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Long Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Thoms LakeWindfall Lake in winter below the Coast Range, near Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Joseph from Cabin On The Road, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Thoms Lake.
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout, salmon & steelhead.
On the ADF&G Southeast sport fishing regulations, Ketchikan: catch-and-release for rainbow/steelhead or cutthroat trout, Arctic char/Dolly Varden, lake trout or Arctic grayling list (Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, read 2026-10-23). All waters with this designation
On the ADF&G Southeast sport fishing regulations, Ketchikan: unbaited artificial lures or flies only (all or part of the year) list (Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, read 2026-10-23). All waters with this designation
Measured from the National Hydrography Dataset (large scale) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
USGS name: Lake McDonald
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-04) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped shoreline. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
4.6 of 11.5 mi of shoreline on public land
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
Thorne Bay, AK · 33 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Lodge packages
Nearby
No shop nearby yet.
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Winter steelhead fishing on the Skagit River, Washington (Doug Wilson, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). Photo: Doug Wilson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.
No hub within 40 miles
Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.
At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.
Like the McDonald Lake? Same fish, overseas.
Flagship waterPenstock Lagoon, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Flagship waterGreat Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lake or reservoirLake Bohinj in autumn. Photo: Dreamy Pixel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Lake OtamangakauLake Tūtira, Hawke's Bay. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lake Otamangakau.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago TrafulSouthern seasons open while ours close.
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Lake TaupōLake Tarawera with Mount Tarawera beyond. Photo: Michal Klajban, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lake Taupō.
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Penstock LagoonArthurs Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Lcham67, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Penstock Lagoon.
Freestone riverRepresentative photo · not Río PetrohuéThe Río Puelo at Las Gualas, Cochamó. Photo: Nicolás from seno de reloncaví, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Petrohué.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago LlanquihueThe Río Simpson passing Coyhaique, Aysén. Photo: Manxuc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Llanquihue.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago Nahuel HuapiLago Nahuel Huapi from the source of the Río Limay, with San Carlos de Bariloche beyond. Photo: Fernando Lopez Anido, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Nahuel Huapi.
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Mataura RiverThe Oreti River near Lumsden, Southland. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Mataura River.
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Yingina / Great LakeBronte Lagoon at dawn, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Guido Rudolph (Chalyptratus08), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Yingina / Great Lake.
A stillwater fly-fishing checklist for lakes and ponds: a 9–10 ft 5–6 weight rod, floating and intermediate lines, chironomids and leeches, and float-tube options, with estimated prices and where to buy.
9′–10′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating + intermediate lines · Rainbow, brook and brown trout in lakes
Open the checklistChironomids, leeches and where fish hold in a lake.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on stillwater
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with McDonald Lake.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the point for “Lake McDonald” (lake) in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Water type is our own classification.
Steelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Reflection LakeSweetwater Lake, Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Reflection Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Anan LakeKah Sheets Lake, Tongass National Forest, with a floatplane arriving at the Forest Service cabin (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Anan Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Eagle LakeBakewell Lake, Misty Fiords, Tongass National Forest (USDA Forest Service). Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Eagle Lake.
Alaska · about 16 mi
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Orchard LakeA Forest Service public-use cabin on West Turner Lake, near Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Orchard Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Long LakeMendenhall Lake and the Mendenhall Glacier in rain, seen from the visitor center, Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Jsayre64, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Long Lake.
Special-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Thoms LakeWindfall Lake in winter below the Coast Range, near Juneau, Alaska. Photo: Joseph from Cabin On The Road, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Thoms Lake.
