Best chain pickerel lakes in Vermont
41 Vermont waters list chain pickerel (official records or labelled estimates), 18 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.
- Moore Reservoir — 120 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 5 public access sites
- Lac Wallace — 60 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow TroutWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Echo Lake — 121 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Lake Elligo — 101 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Lake Derby — 20 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Miles Pond — 54 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Little Hosmer Pond — 10 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Lake Parker — 44 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Curtis Pond — 31 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Neal Pond — 33 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, BluegillWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Woodward Reservoir — 52 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, BluegillWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Coles Pond — 24 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Chain Pickerel, Brown BullheadWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Spectacle Pond — 15 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Brownington Pond — 33 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain PickerelWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Halls Lake — 28 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Ticklenaked Pond — 49 ft · Survey depth data · 0% measured · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow PerchWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
…plus 25 more Vermont 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 Vermont waters with public access data
When to fish chain pickerel in Vermont
- 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 Vermont: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best landlocked salmon lakes · best burbot lakes · best brown bullhead lakes
Chain Pickerel elsewhere: Québec · Maine · New Hampshire · New York · Massachusetts · New Brunswick · Connecticut · Nova Scotia · New Jersey · Delaware · Rhode Island