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Best cutthroat trout lakes in Alberta

10 Alberta waters hold cutthroat trout, 9 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The native trout of the West, named for the orange slash under its jaw. A shoreline cruiser that hunts drop-offs, inlets and rocky points for baitfish and insects.

1. Lower Kananaskis Lake — 138 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
2. Upper Kananaskis Lake — 368 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout
3. Gleniffer Lake — 108 ft max · Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
4. Burnstick Lake — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch
5. Obed Lake — 31 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
6. Payne Lake — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Kokanee, Lake Whitefish, Cutthroat Trout
7. Beaver Mines Lake — 17 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout
8. Lee Lake — 45 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout
9. Gap Lake — 8 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
10. Goldeye Lake — 43 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout

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When to fish cutthroat trout in Alberta

• Spring 3–15 ft — Pre- and post-spawn cutthroat gang up at tributary mouths and cruise gravel shorelines — swing a spinner or fly through the inlet current.
• Summer 10–35 ft — Summer cutthroat hold along the first shoreline drop and off rocky points, sliding deeper as the surface warms — troll or cast the 15-30 ft edge.
• Fall 5–25 ft — Cooling water brings cutthroat back onto rocky points and gravel shoals to feed hard before winter.
• Winter 10–40 ft — Cold-tolerant like all trout — cutthroat hang on the deep shoreline drops and basin edges through the cold months.

Also in Alberta: best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best burbot lakes · best arctic grayling lakes · best cisco (lake herring) lakes

Cutthroat Trout elsewhere: Québec · Montana · Wyoming · Washington · Utah · Colorado · Nevada · Idaho