Best Trout Lakes in Minnesota & Wisconsin

Trout require the coldest, cleanest, most oxygen-rich lakes. Finding trout is one of the strongest indicators of excellent water quality. These are the top trout lakes ranked by overall water quality grade.

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Depth	Trout Species
1	Pine Lake	Cook	MN	A	18 ft	113 ft	cisco species, lake trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
2	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	MN	A	20 ft	208 ft	cisco species, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
3	Gunflint Lake	Cook	MN	A	20 ft	200 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
4	Trout Lake	Cook	MN	A	19 ft	77 ft	brook trout, lake trout, rainbow trout
5	Flour Lake	Cook	MN	A	18.5 ft	75 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
6	Ester Lake	Lake	MN	A	18.5 ft	110 ft	cisco species, lake trout, lake whitefish
7	Big Trout Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	16.4 ft	128 ft	lake trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
8	Little Gunflint Lake	Cook	MN	A	16.2 ft	200 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
9	Hanson Lake	Lake	MN	A	16 ft	100 ft	cisco species, lake trout, lake whitefish
10	Divide Lake	Lake	MN	A	33.2 ft	-	rainbow trout, splake
11	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	25 ft	84 ft	rainbow trout, tullibee (cisco)
12	Parent Lake	Lake	MN	A	23 ft	50 ft	cisco species, tullibee (cisco)
13	Duncan Lake	Cook	MN	A	22 ft	130 ft	cisco species, lake trout
14	Ottertrack Lake	Unknown	MN	A	20.7 ft	116 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
15	Mayhew Lake	Cook	MN	A	20.6 ft	84 ft	lake trout, rainbow trout
16	Big Watab Lake	Stearns	MN	A	20.5 ft	123 ft	brown trout, rainbow trout
17	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	20 ft	100 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
18	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	19 ft	100 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
19	Mountain Lake	Unknown	MN	A	19 ft	130 ft	cisco species, lake trout
20	West Pike Lake	Cook	MN	A	19 ft	120 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
21	Tofte Lake	Lake	MN	A	18.5 ft	73 ft	rainbow trout, splake
22	Bluewater Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18.5 ft	120 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
23	Birch Lake	Cook	MN	A	18 ft	69 ft	lake trout, rainbow trout
24	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18 ft	157 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
25	Rush Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	18 ft	105 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
26	Black Oak Lake	Vilas	WI	A	88.6 ft	85 ft	Trout
27	Ebert Lake	Portage	WI	A	68.9 ft	-	Trout
28	Lake Anna	Florence	WI	A	67.3 ft	61 ft	Trout
29	Beasley Lake	Waupaca	WI	A	65.6 ft	47 ft	Trout
30	Rose Lake	Langlade	WI	A	63.2 ft	-	Trout
31	Lake Lucerne	Forest	WI	A	61.5 ft	73 ft	Trout
32	Stormy Lake	Vilas	WI	A	59.1 ft	63 ft	Trout
33	Thunder Lake	Marinette	WI	A	57.4 ft	62 ft	Trout
34	White Lake	Langlade	WI	A	55.8 ft	42 ft	Trout
35	Squash Lake	Oneida	WI	A	55.8 ft	74 ft	Trout
36	Crystal Lake	Marquette	WI	A	55.8 ft	60 ft	Trout
37	Jordan Lake	Adams	WI	A	55.8 ft	92 ft	Trout
38	Dorothy Lake	Oneida	WI	A	55.8 ft	35 ft	Trout
39	Fence Lake Deep	Vilas	WI	A	55.8 ft	86 ft	Trout
40	Tozer Lake	Washburn	WI	A	50.9 ft	53 ft	Trout
41	Wolf Lake	Adams	WI	A	50.9 ft	58 ft	Trout
42	Deep Lake	Adams	WI	A	50.9 ft	49 ft	Trout
43	Round Lake	Waupaca	WI	A	49.2 ft	67 ft	Trout
44	Fence Lake	Vilas	WI	A	49.2 ft	86 ft	Trout
45	Little Trout Lake Deep	Vilas	WI	A	49.2 ft	98 ft	Trout
46	Thomas Lake	Portage	WI	A	49.2 ft	28 ft	Trout
47	Wood Lake	Marquette	WI	A	45.9 ft	53 ft	Trout
48	Neligan Lake	Oconto	WI	A	45.9 ft	23 ft	Trout
49	Jordan Lake	Adams	WI	A	45.9 ft	92 ft	Trout
50	Stratton Lake	Waupaca	WI	A	45.9 ft	42 ft	Trout

Why Trout Need Clean Water

Trout are cold-water species with the highest dissolved oxygen requirements of any freshwater fish. They need water temperatures below 68°F (20°C) and dissolved oxygen above 7 mg/L to survive. These conditions are only found in deep, clean lakes, typically those graded A or B.

As water quality declines (grades C through F), warmer surface water and nutrient-driven algae blooms deplete oxygen in the cold, deep water trout depend on. This is why trout are often the first species to disappear from a lake as pollution increases.

Trout Species in the Region

Lake Trout, the apex coldwater predator, found only in the deepest, cleanest lakes with year-round cold water below the thermocline
Brook Trout, native char that requires the coldest, most pristine waters. Very sensitive to any water quality degradation
Brown Trout, slightly more tolerant than brook trout but still requires clean, cold, well-oxygenated water
Rainbow Trout, often stocked, can tolerate slightly warmer water than other trout but still needs good water quality
Splake, a hybrid of brook trout and lake trout, stocked in some lakes for sport fishing

Cleanest Lakes →Worst Water Quality →Clearest Water →Improving →Declining →