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Best rainbow trout lakes in Ontario

10 Ontario waters hold rainbow trout, 10 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. 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 classic stocked cold-water trout. Depth is everything: rainbows follow the temperature layer they like.

1. Lake Simcoe — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
2. Lake Temagami — 240 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout
3. Big Rideau Lake — 300 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
4. Lake of Bays — 200 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout
5. Lake Joseph — 302 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
6. Lake Rosseau — 292 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
7. Skeleton Lake — 246 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
8. Fairy Lake — 230 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
9. Peninsula Lake — 118 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout
10. Mississagua Lake — 144 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch

When to fish rainbow trout in Ontario

• Spring 5–20 ft — Post-ice-out trout roam shallow; fish inflows and windblown shorelines.
• Summer 8–30 ft — Rainbows hold near cold inflows, current seams and the thermocline — find the cool water and you've found the fish.
• Fall 10–35 ft — Fall feeding on rock shoals, current and channel edges as water cools.
• Winter 8–40 ft — Trout are comfortable in cold water — one of the best winter targets; streams and tailwaters fish shallow, deep lakes hold on basin edges.

Also in Ontario: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best lake trout lakes · best lake whitefish lakes

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