Sign inSign up free Sign inSign up free Sign inSign up freeLake depth chart
Today's read
Rating depth structure for brown trout.
Shared by DepthScout anglers. Exact spots stay private, always.
62-acre lake in Essex County, Vermont. The lake tops out around 13 ft. What you see is a modeled chart: the shoreline is real, the max depth is published, and the contours between are estimated. Plan with it; don't navigate by it. Every species below gets its seasonal read from the same numbers driving the chart.
Drawn out, this is 61 acres of water rimmed by 1.2 miles of bank. A shoreline index of 1.1 says round and simple: fish relate to depth changes here, not shoreline features. Every acre of it sits shallower than ~15 ft: one big littoral zone, cover and forage throughout. Call it 0.4 mi long by 0.3 mi wide at the broadest reach. The water lies in Essex County. Closest neighbour on DepthScout: Great Averill Pond, 1 mi west of here.
Spring puts brown bullhead in skinny water — 2 to 8 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 3 to 12 ft, wintering in 4 to 13 ft. Winter brown bullhead concentrate at Deep basin, a prime-rated deep basin around 11 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | dusk & night | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | |
| Summer | 3 to 12 ft | night & dusk | Shallow bay flat (3 ft) | |
| Fall | 4 to 13 ft | dusk | Deep basin (11 ft) | |
| Winter | 4 to 13 ft | midday | Deep basin (11 ft) |
When the water first warms, brown trout slide up into 2 to 13 ft. There's no big seasonal slide here — summer means 4 to 13 ft, winter 2 to 13 ft. Start at Shoreline break. It's a drop-off holding about 6 ft of water and rates prime come summer. The feeding windows run after dark and early morning. Keep a spoon at the thermocline or a deep stickbait (night) rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 13 ft | dawn & dusk | Shoreline break (6 ft) | Stickbait off planer boards (shallow), Small spoon along mud lines |
| Summer | 4 to 13 ft | night & dawn | Shoreline break (6 ft) | Spoon at the thermocline, Deep stickbait (night) |
| Fall | 2 to 13 ft | dusk & dawn | Shoreline break (6 ft) | Jerkbait over gravel, Casting spoon |
| Winter | 2 to 13 ft | dawn | Shoreline break (6 ft) | Jigging spoon, Small stickbait (slow) |
4 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 11 ft, is the deepest of them.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Vermont waters are set by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife — and special regulations can apply to Forest Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Vermont fishing regulations →
Forest Lake is about 13 ft (4 m) deep at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.
Anglers target brown bullhead, brown trout on Forest Lake.
Deep basin is the top-rated area: a deep basin in about 11 ft of water that rates prime for brown bullhead in winter. The interactive chart above rates every spot for each species and season.
For brown bullhead, the summer bite is best in after dark and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Fishing on Forest Lake is regulated by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife. Check the official Vermont regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.
Great Averill Pond 1 mi · Little Averill Pond 3 mi · Lac Wallace 3 mi, QC/VT · Lewis Pond 9 mi · Norton Pond 10 mi · Lac Lyster 11 mi, QC · Connecticut River 11 mi, NH · Holland Pond 12 mi · Spectacle Pond 15 mi · Island Pond 16 mi · Seymour Lake 16 mi · Back Lake 17 mi, NH
See how Forest Lake stacks up: best brown trout lakes in Vermont · best brown bullhead lakes in Vermont
More water nearby: Essex County fishing maps (12 charts). Browse all Vermont fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.