Best brook trout lakes in California
42 California waters hold brook trout. 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 char of cold ponds and streams. Needs the coldest, cleanest water in the lake.
- Antelope Lake — 90 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Rainbow TroutWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 4 public access sites
- Gem Lake — 80 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Waugh Reservoir — 50 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Poore Lake — 18 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Bucks Lake, Lower — 96 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Faucherie Lake — 57 ft max · Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Dorothy Lake — 290 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #7: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Mary Lake — 10 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #8: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Silver Lake — 17 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #9: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Cascade Lakes, Upper — 35 ft max · Brook Trout, Brown BullheadWhy #10: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Lake Aloha — 20 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #11: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Buck Island Lake — 20 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #12: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Lake Sterling — 31 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #13: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Tioga Lake — 27 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #14: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Sardine Lake, Upper — 23 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #15: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Weaver Lake — 18 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Brown BullheadWhy #16: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Culbertson Lake — 16 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Brown BullheadWhy #17: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Feely Lake — 19 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #18: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Agnew Lake — 80 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #19: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Constance Lake — 170 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #20: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Genevieve Lake — 120 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #21: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Wet Meadows Reservoir — 23 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #22: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- George Lake — 10 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook TroutWhy #23: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Campbell Lake — 15 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #24: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Salmon Lake, Upper — 13 ft max · Brook TroutWhy #25: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
…plus 17 more California waters holding brook trout.
Find the closest brook trout waters to you →
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 California waters with public access data
When to fish brook trout in California
- Spring 2–15 ft — Ice-out scatters brookies along shorelines and inflow mouths, feeding on the first insect activity.
- Summer 10–30 ft — Brookies hold where the coldest water is — spring holes, deep basin edges and inflow plumes.
- Fall 2–15 ft — Fall is the show: brilliant spawning colors on gravel shoals and inflow gravel.
- Winter 3–20 ft — A classic ice-fishing target — active all winter in shallow to mid-depth water.
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Brook Trout elsewhere: Ontario · Sweden · Wisconsin · Minnesota · British Columbia · Québec · Michigan · Maine · New Hampshire · New York · Montana · Saskatchewan · Massachusetts · Wyoming · Washington · New Brunswick · Alberta · Connecticut · Vermont · Utah · Colorado · Nova Scotia · New Mexico · Idaho · Oregon · Nevada