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

Rank	Lake	County	State	Grade	Clarity	Depth	Trout Species
1	Greenwood Lake	Cook	MN	A	15.1 ft	112 ft	brook trout, cisco species, lake trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
2	Geneva Lake	Walworth	WI	A	21 ft	135 ft	Trout
3	Otter Lake	Benzie	MI	A	12 ft	-	Trout-perch
4	Ten Mile Lake	Cass	MN	A	20.5 ft	208 ft	cisco species, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
5	Green Lake	Green Lake	WI	A	13.5 ft	236 ft	Trout
6	Crystal Lake	Hillsdale	MI	A	9.5 ft	-	Lake whitefish
7	Trout Lake	Cook	MN	A	18.4 ft	77 ft	brook trout, lake trout, rainbow trout
8	Whitefish Lake	Sawyer	WI	A	13.5 ft	105 ft	Trout
9	Big Blue Lake North Basin; Blue Lake Township	Kalkaska	MI	A	-	-	Rainbow trout
10	Flour Lake	Cook	MN	A	18.2 ft	75 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
11	Malone Lake	Shawano	WI	A	13.5 ft	31 ft	Trout
12	Beaver Lake	Alger	MI	B	14.7 ft	-	Brook trout, Rainbow trout
13	Big Trout Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	16.9 ft	128 ft	lake trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
14	Ashegon Lake	Sawyer	WI	A	10.5 ft	56 ft	Trout
15	Beaver Lake	Keweenaw	MI	B	8 ft	-	Brook trout, Rainbow trout
16	Gunflint Lake	Cook	MN	A	16.5 ft	200 ft	cisco species, lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
17	Black Oak Lake	Vilas	WI	B	29 ft	85 ft	Trout
18	Chicagon Lake Central Basin; Stambaugh Township	Iron	MI	B	20.3 ft	-	Lake whitefish
19	Kabekona Lake	Hubbard	MN	A	12.1 ft	133 ft	brook trout, lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
20	Lake Lucerne	Forest	WI	B	18.7 ft	73 ft	Trout
21	Siskiwit Lake	Keweenaw	MI	B	19.3 ft	-	Lake whitefish
22	Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	A	25 ft	84 ft	rainbow trout, tullibee (cisco)
23	Beasley Lake	Waupaca	WI	B	18.4 ft	47 ft	Trout
24	Lake Richie	Keweenaw	MI	B	8.3 ft	-	Trout-perch
25	Mayhew Lake	Cook	MN	A	20.6 ft	84 ft	lake trout, rainbow trout
26	Thunder Lake	Marinette	WI	B	18 ft	62 ft	Trout
27	Lake Desor	Keweenaw	MI	B	7.8 ft	-	Lake whitefish
28	Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	18.5 ft	100 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
29	Squash Lake	Oneida	WI	B	17.5 ft	74 ft	Trout
30	Crooked Lake	Emmet	MI	B	-	-	Rainbow trout
31	Bluewater Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18.5 ft	120 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
32	Crystal Lake	Marquette	WI	B	16.8 ft	60 ft	Trout
33	Lake Charlevoix	Charlevoix	MI	C	-	-	Lake whitefish, Round whitefish
34	Cass Lake	Beltrami	MN	A	18.5 ft	120 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
35	Tozer Lake	Washburn	WI	B	16 ft	53 ft	Trout
36	Elk Lake	Antrim	MI	NR	14.5 ft	-	Lake trout, Lake whitefish, Rainbow trout
37	Birch Lake	Cook	MN	A	18 ft	69 ft	lake trout, rainbow trout
38	Deep Lake	Adams	WI	B	15.5 ft	49 ft	Trout
39	Long Lake	Grand Traverse	MI	NR	24 ft	-	Lake whitefish, Rainbow trout
40	Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18 ft	157 ft	lake trout, tullibee (cisco)
41	Wolf Lake	Adams	WI	B	15 ft	58 ft	Trout
42	Long Lake	Cheboygan	MI	NR	18 ft	-	Lake whitefish, Rainbow trout
43	Rush Lake	Crow Wing	MN	A	18 ft	105 ft	lake whitefish, tullibee (cisco)
44	Wood Lake	Marquette	WI	B	14 ft	53 ft	Trout
45	Lake Charlevoix	Charlevoix	MI	NR	17.8 ft	-	Lake whitefish, Round whitefish
46	Erskine Lake	Itasca	MN	A	18 ft	56 ft	rainbow trout, splake
47	Sunset Lake	Portage	WI	B	13.3 ft	55 ft	Trout
48	Burt Lake	Cheboygan	MI	NR	15.5 ft	-	Brown trout, Rainbow trout
49	Pike Lake	Cook	MN	A	17.4 ft	45 ft	brook trout, lake whitefish
50	Silver Lake	Barron	WI	B	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 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 →

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