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Best brown trout lakes in Missouri

6 Missouri waters hold brown 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. Wary, nocturnal-leaning predator. Shorelines and inflows in cold months; the thermocline in summer.

1. Current River — 10 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Longnose Gar
2. Meramec River — 12 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout
3. Eleven Point River — 10 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
4. Lake Taneycomo — 50 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
5. North Fork of the White — 9 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
6. Niangua River — 9 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Longnose Gar

When to fish brown trout in Missouri

• Spring 3–25 ft — Cold-water browns hug shorelines, river mouths and mud lines — often in a few feet of water early and late.
• Summer 25–60 ft — Browns sit at the thermocline by day and slide shallow after dark — the night troll takes the giants.
• Fall 5–30 ft — Spawn-run browns stage off tributaries and gravel shorelines, aggressive and territorial.
• Winter 5–35 ft — Browns feed all winter — nearshore when bait is in, deeper breaks otherwise.

Also in Missouri: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best blue catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes

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