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Best rainbow trout lakes in Wisconsin

244 Wisconsin waters list rainbow trout (official records or labelled estimates), 10 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 classic stocked cold-water trout. Depth is everything: rainbows follow the temperature layer they like.

1. Lake Superior — Duluth and the Western Arm — 756 ft max · real survey depth contours · Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Chinook Salmon, Coho SalmonWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 10 public access sites, 5 carry-in or shore-oriented
2. Menominee River — 15 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, MuskellungeWhy #2: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 12 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
3. Big Green Lake — 236 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #3: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 7 public access sites
4. Trout Lake — 110 ft max · real survey depth contours · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, MuskellungeWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 6 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
5. Namekagon River — 7 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, MuskellungeWhy #5: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 11 public access sites, 3 carry-in or shore-oriented
6. Geneva Lake — 135 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #6: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 8 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
7. Smoky Lake — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, BluegillWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
8. Kinnickinnic River — 7 ft max · Rainbow Trout, Coho Salmon, Brown Trout, Brook TroutWhy #8: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · no verified access record attached
9. Lake Noquebay — 51 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #9: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 5 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
10. Rose Lake — 24 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
11. Black River — 9 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Rainbow TroutWhy #11: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 7 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
12. Johns Lake — 41 ft max · real survey depth contours · Northern Pike, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
13. Reservoir Pond — 16 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #13: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 4 public access sites
14. Wood Lake — 53 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
15. Yellowstone Lake — 14 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #15: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 5 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
16. Nelligan Lake — 23 ft max · real survey depth contours · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · no verified access record attached
17. McGee Lake — 38 ft max · real survey depth contours · Rainbow TroutWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
18. Pickerel Lake — 43 ft max · real survey depth contours · Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout, Yellow PerchWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
19. Twin Valley Lake — 32 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie, BluegillWhy #19: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site
20. Tichigan Lake — 63 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #20: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
21. Upper Red Lake — 15 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #21: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 3 public access sites
22. Devils Lake — 47 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern PikeWhy #22: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 2 public access sites
23. Peshtigo River — 9 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, Rainbow TroutWhy #23: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 3 public access sites
24. Elk Creek Lake* — 17 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Rainbow TroutWhy #24: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
25. Lake Emily — 35 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, CrappieWhy #25: mapped size signal; contours are approximated · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented

…plus 219 more Wisconsin waters holding rainbow trout.

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When to fish rainbow trout in Wisconsin

• Spring 5–20 ft — Post-ice-out trout roam shallow; fish inflows and windblown shorelines.
• Summer 8–30 ft — Rainbows hold near cold inflows, current seams and the thermocline — find the cool water and you've found the fish.
• Fall 10–35 ft — Fall feeding on rock shoals, current and channel edges as water cools.
• Winter 8–40 ft — Trout are comfortable in cold water — one of the best winter targets; streams and tailwaters fish shallow, deep lakes hold on basin edges.

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