Best lake trout lakes in Vermont
7 Vermont waters hold lake trout, 7 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. Deep, cold and long-lived. Below 50°F water year-round — shallow at ice-out and on fall spawning reefs.
- Lake Champlain — 392 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Lake Dunmore — 106 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Crystal Lake — 106 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
- Great Averill Pond — 102 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout
- Maidstone Lake — 117 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook Trout
- Caspian Lake — 142 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout
- Little Averill Pond — 113 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout
When to fish lake trout in Vermont
- Spring 10–40 ft — The brief shallow window: post-ice-out lakers roam rock shoals and points where anyone can reach them.
- Summer 50–120 ft — Below the thermocline in sub-50°F water — deep humps and basin edges near bait (smelt, cisco, alewife).
- Fall 10–50 ft — Turnover puts lakers on shallow rock reefs to spawn — big fish shallow, best late in the day.
- Winter 20–80 ft — One of the best ice targets — cold water is their comfort zone; they roam basin edges and humps all winter.
Also in Vermont: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes
Lake Trout elsewhere: Ontario · Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Utah · Colorado · Alaska · New York · Wisconsin · Maine