Best Trout Lakes: Coldwater Rankings (MN, WI & MI)

Rank	Lake	County	State	Clarity	Depth	Trout Species
1	Greenwood Lake	Cook	MN	15.1 ft	112 ft	brook trout, cisco species, lake trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
2	Geneva Lake	Walworth	WI	21 ft	135 ft	Trout
3	Big Blue Lake	Kalkaska	MI	24 ft	-	Rainbow trout
4	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	MN	20.5 ft	208 ft	cisco species, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
5	Green Lake	Green Lake	WI	13.5 ft	236 ft	Trout
6	Hubbard Lake	Alcona	MI	20 ft	80 ft	Lake whitefish
7	Trout Lake	Cook	MN	18.4 ft	77 ft	brook trout, lake trout, rainbow trout
8	Whitefish Lake	Sawyer	WI	13.5 ft	105 ft	Trout
9	Crystal Lake	Washtenaw	MI	12.5 ft	-	Lake whitefish
10	Flour Lake	Cook	MN	18.2 ft	75 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
11	Malone Lake	Shawano	WI	13.5 ft	31 ft	Trout
12	Otter Lake	Benzie	MI	12 ft	-	Trout-perch
13	Big Trout Lake	Crow Wing	MN	16.9 ft	128 ft	lake trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
14	Ashegon Lake	Sawyer	WI	10.5 ft	56 ft	Trout
15	Duck Lake	Muskegon	MI	11 ft	-	Brook trout
16	Gunflint Lake	Cook	MN	16.5 ft	200 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
17	Black Oak Lake	Vilas	WI	29 ft	85 ft	Trout
18	Crystal Lake	Hillsdale	MI	9.5 ft	-	Lake whitefish
19	Kabekona Lake	Hubbard	MN	12.1 ft	133 ft	brook trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
20	Lake Lucerne	Forest	WI	18.7 ft	73 ft	Trout
21	Crooked Lake	Emmet	MI	-	50 ft	Rainbow trout
22	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	25 ft	84 ft	rainbow trout, tullibee (cisco)
23	Beasley Lake	Waupaca	WI	18.4 ft	47 ft	Trout
24	Beaver Lake	Alger	MI	14.5 ft	39 ft	Brook trout, Rainbow trout
25	Mayhew Lake	Cook	MN	20.6 ft	84 ft	lake trout, rainbow trout
26	Thunder Lake	Marinette	WI	18 ft	62 ft	Trout
27	Beaver Lake	Keweenaw	MI	8.9 ft	-	Brook trout, Rainbow trout
28	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	18.5 ft	100 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
29	Squash Lake	Oneida	WI	17.5 ft	74 ft	Trout
30	Siskiwit Lake	Keweenaw	MI	20.5 ft	-	Lake whitefish
31	Bluewater Lake	Itasca	MN	18.5 ft	120 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
32	Crystal Lake	Marquette	WI	16.8 ft	60 ft	Trout
33	Chicagon Lake	Iron	MI	20 ft	110 ft	Lake whitefish
34	Cass Lake	Beltrami	MN	18.5 ft	120 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
35	Tozer Lake	Washburn	WI	16 ft	53 ft	Trout
36	Lake Richie	Keweenaw	MI	9.2 ft	-	Trout-perch
37	Birch Lake	Cook	MN	18 ft	69 ft	lake trout, rainbow trout
38	Deep Lake	Adams	WI	15.5 ft	49 ft	Trout
39	Lake Desor	Keweenaw	MI	7.2 ft	-	Lake whitefish
40	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	18 ft	157 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
41	Wolf Lake	Adams	WI	15 ft	58 ft	Trout
42	Lake Charlevoix	Charlevoix	MI	-	122 ft	Lake whitefish, Round whitefish
43	Rush Lake	Crow Wing	MN	18 ft	105 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
44	Wood Lake	Marquette	WI	14 ft	53 ft	Trout
45	Elk Lake	Antrim	MI	14.5 ft	150 ft	Lake trout, Lake whitefish, Rainbow trout
46	Erskine Lake	Itasca	MN	18 ft	56 ft	rainbow trout, splake
47	Sunset Lake	Portage	WI	13.3 ft	55 ft	Trout
48	Long Lake	Grand Traverse	MI	24.3 ft	88 ft	Lake whitefish, Rainbow trout
49	Pike Lake	Cook	MN	17.4 ft	45 ft	brook trout, lake whitefish
50	Silver Lake	Barron	WI	13 ft	91 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 with clear, low-nutrient readings.

As nutrient loads rise, 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 →Clearest Water →Improving →Declining →

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