Best lake trout lakes in Colorado
13 Colorado waters list lake trout (official records or labelled estimates), 1 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. 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. Deep, cold and long-lived. Below 50°F water year-round — shallow at ice-out and on fall spawning reefs.
- Granby Reservoir — 221 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, KokaneeWhy #1: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
- Turquoise Lake — 115 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
- Clear Creek Reservoir — 61 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, KokaneeWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Twin Lakes Lower — 95 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat TroutWhy #4: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
- Ruedi Reservoir — 246 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brown TroutWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
- Shadow Mountain Reservoir — 24 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, KokaneeWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
- Carter Lake — 180 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #7: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 4 public access sites
- Gross Reservoir — 299 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Muskellunge, Lake Trout, Brown TroutWhy #8: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
- San Cristobal Lake — 89 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #9: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Grand Lake — 389 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, KokaneeWhy #10: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 3 public access sites
…plus 3 more Colorado waters holding lake trout.
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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 Colorado waters with public access data
When to fish lake trout in Colorado
- Spring 10–40 ft — The brief shallow window: post-ice-out lakers roam rock shoals and points where anyone can reach them.
- Summer 50–120 ft — Below the thermocline in sub-50°F water — deep humps and basin edges near bait (smelt, cisco, alewife).
- Fall 10–50 ft — Turnover puts lakers on shallow rock reefs to spawn — big fish shallow, best late in the day.
- Winter 20–80 ft — One of the best ice targets — cold water is their comfort zone; they roam basin edges and humps all winter.
Also in Colorado: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best saugeye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best kokanee lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes · best splake lakes
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