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Best brook trout lakes in Washington

12 Washington waters hold brook trout, 12 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 native char of cold ponds and streams. Needs the coldest, cleanest water in the lake.

1. Summit Lake — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Kokanee
2. Sacheen Lake — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
3. Merrill Lake — 77 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout
4. Bonaparte Lake — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Kokanee
5. Patterson Lake — 85 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Kokanee
6. Lake Thomas — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
7. Phillips Lake — 25 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
8. Elbow Lake — 25 ft max · survey depth data · Brook Trout
9. Crawfish Lake — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
10. Gillette Lake — 85 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
11. Lake Alice — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat Trout
12. Starvation Lake — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout

When to fish brook trout in Washington

• Spring 2–15 ft — Ice-out scatters brookies along shorelines and inflow mouths, feeding on the first insect activity.
• Summer 10–30 ft — Brookies hold where the coldest water is — spring holes, deep basin edges and inflow plumes.
• Fall 2–15 ft — Fall is the show: brilliant spawning colors on gravel shoals and inflow gravel.
• Winter 3–20 ft — A classic ice-fishing target — active all winter in shallow to mid-depth water.

Also in Washington: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best coho salmon lakes · best brown trout lakes · best kokanee lakes · best cutthroat trout lakes

Brook Trout elsewhere: Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · New Hampshire · Montana · Wyoming · Massachusetts · Utah · Colorado · New York · Nevada · Maine