Best lake trout lakes in Vermont
24 Vermont waters list lake trout (official records or labelled estimates), 15 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. 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 · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 15 public access sites, 3 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Lake Dunmore — 106 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Crystal Lake — 106 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, Lake TroutWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Great Averill Pond — 102 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Lake TroutWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Maidstone Lake — 117 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook TroutWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Caspian Lake — 142 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow Trout, Lake TroutWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Lac Wallace — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Rainbow TroutWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Little Averill Pond — 113 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow Trout, Lake TroutWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Echo Lake — 121 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- East Long Pond — 105 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Lake TroutWhy #10: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
- Lake Elligo — 101 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Sunset Lake — 120 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Amherst Lake — 94 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Yellow PerchWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Sunset Lake — 39.8 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
- Spring Lake — 84 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout, Brook TroutWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
…plus 9 more Vermont waters holding lake trout.
Find the closest lake trout waters to you →
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 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 bluegill lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best landlocked salmon lakes · best chain pickerel lakes · best burbot lakes · best brown bullhead lakes
Lake Trout elsewhere: Ontario · Wisconsin · Minnesota · British Columbia · Québec · Michigan · Maine · New Hampshire · New York · Montana · Saskatchewan · Wyoming · New Brunswick · Alberta · Alaska · Utah · Colorado · Idaho