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Best brown trout lakes in Pennsylvania

5 Pennsylvania 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. Lake Erie — Eastern Basin — 205 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
2. Lake Erie — Central Basin East — 92 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Channel Catfish
3. Allegheny River — 15 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout
4. Delaware River (Upper) — 10 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
5. Youghiogheny River — 8 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout

When to fish brown trout in Pennsylvania

• 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 Pennsylvania: best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best muskellunge lakes

Brown Trout elsewhere: Minnesota · Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Massachusetts · Washington · Connecticut · Utah · Colorado · New York · Wisconsin · Arizona · Nevada · Tennessee · Missouri · Maine