19 species named: brook trout, brown trout, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, crappie, cutthroat trout…
Read at Oregon ODFWLake trout Salvelinus namaycush
5 of 18worth the trip today
Best right now at Lake Champlain, New York. Water is inside the 40–52° range lake trout like at 0 of the 3 spots with a live reading.
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Where lake trout score best right now
About lake trout
The native deepwater char of the Great Lakes and cold northern lakes. Holds in cold, deep water through summer and moves shallow to reefs in spring and fall. Targeted by deep trolling, jigging, and from shore early and late in the season.
Salvelinus namaycush, family Salmonidae.
Lake trout, spot by spot
All 15 spots with lake trout in season, scored for lake trout, best first.
Marquette Park Beach (Gary, Miller Beach)Lake County, IndianaLake trout
59° water · 15 mph wind
48Sit it out
Not scored today
3 other spots where people fish for lake trout: 3 closed to lake trout or out of season today.
The water they want
Lake trout feed from about 40° to 52°F and best near 48°. Each pin is one spot’s water right now, from NOAA and USGS gauges; 0 of 3 are inside the range.
ideal 48°
40°52°
How they feed
- Water40–52°F, best near 48°
- TideEither, as long as it moves
- MoonEither
- DepthUsually 30–200 ft
- Active monthsSep–Jun
Scored against their own temperature range and tide preference first, then wind, weather and warnings. Solunar periods only break ties. How the score works
Keep or release
- Colorado non-tidal4 a dayColorado statewide: 4 trout a day in aggregate (brook, brown, cutbow, cutthroat, golden, lake, rainbow, splake, tiger), 8 in possession, no minimum length. Brook trout 8" or shorter are an extra 10 a day. Blue Mesa and Lake Granby set their own lake trout limits.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Illinois10" minimum · 2 a dayIllinois Lake Michigan: trout and salmon 10" minimum, 5 a day singly or in aggregate; lake trout no more than 2 a day.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Indiana14" minimum · 3 a dayIndiana Lake Michigan and tributaries: 14" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in total, no more than 3 of them lake trout.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Maine non-tidal18" minimum · 2 a dayMaine general law: 18" minimum, 2 togue a day.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Michigan15" minimum · 3 a dayLake trout and splake: 15" minimum, 3 a day combined in units MM 6–8 (Arcadia to New Buffalo, Ludington included) and MH 3–6; 2 a day in MM 1–5. Michigan Great Lakes: 10" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in any combination, no more than 3 of any one species except up to 5 coho, chinook or pink salmon. Open all year.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Montana Eastern District3 a dayEastern District: 3 lake trout a day, 6 in possession.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Montana Western District20 a dayWestern District: 20 lake trout a day, 40 in possession.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Nevada non-tidal5 a dayNevada general limits: 5 trout a day in the Western Region. At Lake Tahoe every game fish counts toward one 5-fish limit.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- New Hampshire non-tidal15" minimum · 2 a dayNew Hampshire (2026): 15" minimum, 2 lake trout a day, Jan 1–Sep 30. Lake trout no longer count against the salmon limit. Lake Trout and Salmon Lakes close Oct 1–Dec 31 and ban trolling then.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- New York2 a dayLake Ontario and the Lower Niagara: 2 lake trout a day, no minimum length, but no more than 1 from 25 to 30". Open Dec 1–Sep 30; closed Oct 1–Nov 30.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- New York21" minimum · 3 a dayNew York statewide: 21" minimum, 3 lake trout a day, Apr 1–Oct 15, closed the rest of the year. Lake Champlain and the Finger Lakes have their own all-year rules.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Ohio12" minimum · 2 a day (Jan 1–May 15, Sep 1–Dec 31); 12" minimum · 5 a day (May 16–Aug 31)Lake Erie and the full length of its tributaries: 12" minimum, trout and salmon combined. 2 a day Mar 1–May 15, 5 a day May 16–Aug 31, 2 a day Sep 1–Feb 28.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Pennsylvania15" minimum · 3 a day (Jan 1–Apr 2, Sep 7–Dec 31); 15" minimum · 5 a day (Apr 3–Sep 6)Lake trout: 15" minimum, 2 a day. Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay and all tributaries. All trout and salmon combined: 5 a day from 8 a.m. on the trout opener (the first Saturday in April; Apr 3 in 2027) through Labor Day, 3 a day after. Tributary streams are closed to trout fishing from 12:01 a.m. on the Friday before the opener until 8 a.m. on opening day.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Pennsylvania7" minimum · 3 a day (Jan 1–Apr 2, Sep 7–Dec 31); 7" minimum · 5 a day (Apr 3–Sep 6)Raystown Lake: trout of all species, no closed season, 7" minimum, 5 a day from the first Saturday in April through Labor Day and 3 a day from the day after Labor Day to the next opener.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 21, 2026 · source
- Utah non-tidal4 a dayUtah statewide: 4 trout, kokanee and grayling a day combined, no statewide size limit. Lake trout count toward it except at Flaming Gorge.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Vermont non-tidal18" minimum · 2 a dayVermont lakes: 18" minimum; 2 lake trout and salmon a day combined, harvest Jan 1–Mar 15 and from the second Saturday in April to Oct 31. Lake Champlain is 15" and 3 a day all year.Non tidal waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
- Wisconsin10" minimum · 5 a dayWisconsin Lake Michigan and Green Bay: 10" minimum, 5 trout and salmon a day in total, lake trout included. Open all year, except no lake trout season on the Mid Lake Reef Complex. A Great Lakes trout and salmon stamp is required.Great lakes waters · verified Oct 23, 2026 · source
Rules change, and they differ by state and often by water. Each spot page shows the limits for its own water. Lake trout are fished at spots in 11 states: Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont.
Waters with their own rules
These waters set limits for lake trout that differ from the rest of their state.
Reports that mention lake trout
3 state agencies named lake trout in their latest reports, newest first, linked to the source.
10 species named: channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, crappie, lake trout, largemouth bass, muskellunge…
Read at Indiana DNR11 species named: brook trout, brown trout, chinook salmon, crappie, lake trout, largemouth bass, muskellunge…
Read at New York DECFished in the same water
Species people target at the same spots as lake trout, and how they’re doing today.
Smallmouth bassMicropterus dolomieu50 of 118 spots worth the trip
Best now at Potomac River, MD100
Bites in 55–78° water
WalleyeSander vitreus33 of 81 spots worth the trip
Best now at Presque Isle, PA96
Bites in 50–72° water
Yellow perchPerca flavescens31 of 69 spots worth the trip
Best now at Presque Isle, PA96
Bites in 45–70° water
Brown troutSalmo trutta27 of 64 spots worth the trip
Best now at Selkirk Shores, NY100
Bites in 45–68° water