← California fishing maps

Best brook trout lakes in California

37 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.

1. Antelope Lake — 90 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Rainbow Trout
2. Lake Aloha — 20 ft max · Brook Trout
3. Gem Lake — 80 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
4. Waugh Reservoir — 50 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
5. Poore Lake — 18 ft max · Brook Trout
6. Bucks Lake, Lower — 96 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
7. Faucherie Lake — 57 ft max · Brown Trout, Brook Trout
8. Mary Lake — 10 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
9. Silver Lake — 17 ft max · Brook Trout
10. Cascade Lakes, Upper — 35 ft max · Brook Trout, Brown Bullhead
11. Buck Island Lake — 20 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
12. Lake Sterling — 31 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
13. Tioga Lake — 27 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
14. Sardine Lake, Upper — 23 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
15. Weaver Lake — 18 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
16. Culbertson Lake — 16 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Brown Bullhead
17. Feely Lake — 19 ft max · Brook Trout
18. Agnew Lake — 80 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
19. Wet Meadows Reservoir — 23 ft max · Brook Trout
20. Three Lakes — 27 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
21. George Lake — 10 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
22. Campbell Lake — 15 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
23. Salmon Lake, Upper — 13 ft max · Brook Trout
24. Scotts Lake — 27 ft max · Brook Trout
25. American Lake — 20 ft max · Brook Trout

…plus 12 more California waters holding brook trout.

Find the closest brook trout waters to you →

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.

Also in California: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best striped bass lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brown bullhead lakes

Brook Trout elsewhere: Ontario · Wisconsin · Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · Maine · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Massachusetts · Washington · Alberta · New York · Connecticut · Utah · Colorado · Nevada