Best chain pickerel lakes in New Brunswick
260 New Brunswick waters list chain pickerel (official records or labelled estimates), 217 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. The eastern esox — a lie-in-wait weed-bed assassin that bites all year, including through the ice.
- Grand Lake — 100 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Landlocked SalmonWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- Grand Lake — 120 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Landlocked SalmonWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- Spednic Lake — 54.1 ft · Approximated contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Landlocked SalmonWhy #3: mapped size signal; check the water page for depth coverage · 1 public access site
- Oromocto Lake — 45 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- Magaguadavic Lake — 35 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- Woodland Flowage — 24 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Lac Baker — 125 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook TroutWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- East Branch Reservoir — 60 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Landlocked SalmonWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Harvey Lake — 45 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Glasier Lake — 118 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook TroutWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Nictau Lake — 74 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- French Lake — 22 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Bass River Lake — 6 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Cranberry Lake — 14 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Folly Lake — 8 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Ludgate Lake — 29.9 ft · Approximated contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #16: mapped size signal; check the water page for depth coverage · no verified access record attached
- Napadogan Lake — 3 ft · Approximated contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Brook Trout, Chain PickerelWhy #17: mapped size signal; check the water page for depth coverage · no verified access record attached
…plus 243 more New Brunswick waters holding chain pickerel.
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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 New Brunswick waters with public access data
When to fish chain pickerel in New Brunswick
- Spring 2–10 ft — Early spawner: post-spawn fish prowl warming, weedy bays and eat everything that moves.
- Summer 3–15 ft — Classic ambush game: weed edges, pad fields and dock shade — flashy, steady retrieves.
- Fall 4–15 ft — Feeding hard around the last green weeds as water cools.
- Winter 5–18 ft — One of ice fishing's most reliable biters — shiners on tip-ups over weed flats.
Also in New Brunswick: best smallmouth bass lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best landlocked salmon lakes · best white perch lakes
Chain Pickerel elsewhere: Québec · Maine · New Hampshire · New York · Massachusetts · Connecticut · Vermont · Nova Scotia · New Jersey · Delaware · Rhode Island