Lake trout

Where lake trout have been recorded

40 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list lake trout, across 29 counties, including 6 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

When and how big lake trout are caught

From 1,580 Master Angler entries, 1994–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 34 in, so these describe big fish that anglers chose to register — where and when people fish, not how many fish a lake holds.

Lakes on this site with the most entries

1. Higgins Lake, Roscommon 82
2. Saginaw Bay, Bay 49
3. Grand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse 36
4. Crystal Lake, Benzie 22
5. Glen Lake, Leelanau 10
6. Green Lake, Grand Traverse 5
7. Torch Lake, Antrim 5
8. Lake Charlevoix, Charlevoix 4
9. Tawas Bay, Iosco 4
10. Grand Lake, Presque Isle 3

Master Angler entries matched to each lake. A busy lake gets more entries; this is not a ranking of fishing quality.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

• Smallmouth bass 70%
• Bluegill 62%
• Northern pike 60%
• Rainbow trout 55%
• Walleye 52%
• Yellow perch 52%
• Brown trout 50%
• Rock bass 50%

How to recognize it

Light spots on a black-to-gray body, a deeply forked tail with equal lobes, and orange lower fins with a white leading edge.

Don’t confuse it with

Life in a Michigan lake

Lake trout live in all five Great Lakes and in many large, deep, cold inland lakes; the DNR names Higgins, Elk, Torch and Crystal among the best-known inland waters. They come as shallow as 10–30 ft in fall, winter and spring, then follow cold water down to 100–200 ft or more in summer.

They spawn in fall on the same shoals year after year, scattering eggs among cobble after dark. Overfishing and sea lamprey crashed Great Lakes stocks between 1935 and 1965; lamprey control and management have been bringing them back.

Source: Michigan DNR species page.

Rules and eating

Check the rules before you keep fish. Each lake page shows the regulations that apply there, and the Michigan Fishing Guide is the official source. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check Michigan’s Eat Safe Fish guidelines.

All 40 lakes with lake trout