Michigan Lake Depths

Game fish · trout and salmon family

Rainbow trout

Oncorhynchus mykiss · also called steelhead, “bow”

Introduced to MichiganRecorded in 97 Michigan lakes and bays

Brought to Michigan from California in 1876.

Illustration of a rainbow trout in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Arrived
1876, first stocked in the Au Sable River
Steelhead
The same species, living in the Great Lakes and running up rivers to spawn
Eats
Water fleas and insects when young; later small fish
Spawns
In a nest (redd) dug in stream gravel
Michigan record
Rainbow Trout / steelhead: 26 lb 8 oz, 39.5 in — Lake Michigan, 1975

Where rainbow trout have been recorded

97 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list rainbow trout, across 49 counties, including 5 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Saginaw Bay, Bay CountyGrand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse CountyLittle Bay de Noc, Delta CountyLittle Traverse Bay, Emmet CountyTorch Lake, Antrim CountyBurt Lake, Cheboygan CountyLake Charlevoix, Charlevoix CountyMullett Lake, Cheboygan CountyHiggins Lake, Roscommon CountyCrystal Lake, Benzie CountyTawas Bay, Iosco CountyElk Lake, Antrim CountyLake Leelanau, Leelanau CountyGlen Lake, Leelanau CountyLake Michigamme, Marquette CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountySouth Manistique Lake, Mackinac CountyPlatte Lake, Benzie CountyPortage Lake, Manistee CountyGull Lake, Kalamazoo CountyLake Macatawa, Ottawa CountyVan Etten Lake, Iosco CountyMillecoquins Lake, Mackinac CountyKent Lake, Oakland CountyLake Medora, Keweenaw CountyClark Lake, Jackson CountyLake Thumb, Charlevoix CountyNinth Street Pond, Alpena CountyMaceday Lake, Oakland CountyAvalon Lake, Montmorency CountyBeatons Lake, Gogebic CountyBear Lake, Kalkaska CountyBirch Lake, Cass CountySquaw Lake, Marquette CountyLake Roland, Houghton CountyPleasant Lake, St. Joseph CountyDeer Lake, Alger CountyHart Lake, Oceana CountyTwin Lake, Kalkaska CountyFarewell Lake, Jackson CountyRainy Lake, Presque Isle CountyFlat Rock Impoundment, Wayne CountyOcqueoc Lake, Presque Isle CountyDeer Lake, Oakland CountyBear Lake, Hillsdale CountyBird Lake, Hillsdale CountyHarwood Lake, Cass CountyStarvation Lake, Kalkaska CountyLittle Shag Lake, Marquette CountyLake Angeline, Marquette CountyShupac Lake, Crawford CountyMcCormick Lake, Montmorency CountyLoon Lake, Oscoda CountyGrousehaven Lake, Ogemaw CountyLake Lavine, Branch CountyCary Lake, Branch CountyShafer Lake, Van Buren CountySwains Lake, Jackson CountyBig Chub Lake, Otsego CountyHemlock Lake, Cass CountyBridge Lake, Otsego CountyCamp Eight Lake, Luce CountySilver Lake, Cheboygan CountyHeart Lake, Otsego CountyDeep Lake, Lenawee CountyAllen Lake, Lenawee CountyHalf Moon Lake, Muskegon CountyLong Lake, Iron CountyAppleton Lake, Livingston CountyEmily Lake, Houghton CountyLittle Long Lake, Clare CountyPerch Lake, Marquette CountyNevins Lake, Montcalm CountyPickerel Lake, Otsego CountyLittle Duck Lake, Gogebic CountyGuernsey Lake, Kalkaska CountyCenter Lake, Osceola CountyMirror Lake, Alger CountyFoch Lakes, Montmorency CountyBear Den Lake, Presque Isle CountyHoister Lake, Gladwin CountyBig Trout Lake, Marquette CountyLake On-Three, Houghton CountyPratt Lake, Luce CountyGreen Lake, Antrim CountyBlue Lake, Gladwin CountyHigh Banks Lake, Chippewa CountyReid Lake, Alcona CountyHowes Lake, Crawford CountyAckerman Lake, Alger CountyCondon Lake, Newaygo CountyO'Brien Lake, Alcona CountyDukes Lake, Chippewa CountyChurchill Lake, Oscoda CountySpring Mill Pond, Livingston CountyWolverine Lake, Luce CountyBright Lake, Crawford County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 18lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 18lakes where a DNR fisheries survey netted them
  • 75lakes the DNR has stocked since 2016; 64 of them are listed on that stocking alone

A lake can appear in more than one line. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked them.

Lakes listed on stocking alone are ones the DNR has stocked since 2016. Older stocking isn’t counted, because trout in most inland lakes don’t reproduce.

Inland lakes on this list run from 7 to 18,998 acres (median 94) and from 3 to 285 ft deep (median 54.5 ft).

When and how big rainbow trout are caught

From 1,606 Master Angler entries, 1975–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 32 in, so these describe big fish that anglers chose to register — where and when people fish, not how many fish a lake holds. Master Angler files rainbow trout and steelhead together, so these include Great Lakes steelhead.

Entries by month

The busiest month is April (17% of entries); 12% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 34 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 36.8 in.

Method

Trolling34%
Spincasting27%
Fly Fishing14%
Still Fishing13%
Drift Fishing12%

Bait

Artificial lures41%
Spawn and eggs25%
Flies12%
Live bait (type not given)9%
Combination5%
Other3%

Share of entries that recorded a method (1,534) or a bait (932).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Elk Lake, Antrim 5
  2. Little Traverse Bay, Emmet 5
  3. Grand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse 4
  4. Muskegon Lake, Muskegon 4
  5. Crystal Lake, Benzie 3
  6. Clark Lake, Jackson 2
  7. Flat Rock Impoundment, Wayne 1
  8. Hart Lake, Oceana 1
  9. Lake Charlevoix, Charlevoix 1
  10. Lake Leelanau, Leelanau 1

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.

How to recognize it

An adipose fin, light-colored mouth and gums, small spots along the rays of the whole tail, and 10–12 rays in the anal fin.

Don’t confuse it with

Brown trout — A square tail and 9–10 rays in the anal fin.
Brook trout — Worm-like markings on the back and lower fins edged in white.

Life in a Michigan lake

Rainbow trout are most often found in clear northern lakes, but the DNR has stocked them successfully into a number of southern Michigan lakes too. In lakes they are often caught at night at the thermocline — the depth where the water temperature changes sharply.

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 97 lakes with rainbow trout

Show every lake, by county

Alcona County 2

O'Brien Lake, Reid Lake

Alger County 3

Ackerman Lake, Deer Lake, Mirror Lake

Alpena County 1

Ninth Street Pond

Antrim County 3

Elk Lake, Green Lake, Torch Lake

Bay County 1

Saginaw Bay

Benzie County 2

Crystal Lake, Platte Lake

Branch County 2

Cary Lake, Lake Lavine

Cass County 3

Birch Lake, Harwood Lake, Hemlock Lake

Charlevoix County 2

Lake Charlevoix, Lake Thumb

Cheboygan County 3

Burt Lake, Mullett Lake, Silver Lake

Chippewa County 2

Dukes Lake, High Banks Lake

Clare County 1

Little Long Lake

Crawford County 3

Bright Lake, Howes Lake, Shupac Lake

Delta County 1

Little Bay de Noc

Emmet County 1

Little Traverse Bay

Gladwin County 2

Blue Lake, Hoister Lake

Gogebic County 2

Beatons Lake, Little Duck Lake

Grand Traverse County 1

Grand Traverse Bay

Hillsdale County 2

Bear Lake, Bird Lake

Houghton County 3

Emily Lake, Lake On-Three, Lake Roland

Iosco County 2

Tawas Bay, Van Etten Lake

Iron County 1

Long Lake

Jackson County 3

Clark Lake, Farewell Lake, Swains Lake

Kalamazoo County 1

Gull Lake

Kalkaska County 4

Bear Lake, Guernsey Lake, Starvation Lake, Twin Lake

Keweenaw County 1

Lake Medora

Leelanau County 2

Glen Lake, Lake Leelanau

Lenawee County 2

Allen Lake, Deep Lake

Livingston County 2

Appleton Lake, Spring Mill Pond

Luce County 3

Camp Eight Lake, Pratt Lake, Wolverine Lake

Mackinac County 2

Millecoquins Lake, South Manistique Lake

Manistee County 1

Portage Lake

Marquette County 6

Big Trout Lake, Lake Angeline, Lake Michigamme, Little Shag Lake, Perch Lake, Squaw Lake

Montcalm County 1

Nevins Lake

Montmorency County 3

Avalon Lake, Foch Lakes, McCormick Lake

Muskegon County 2

Half Moon Lake, Muskegon Lake

Newaygo County 1

Condon Lake

Oakland County 3

Deer Lake, Kent Lake, Maceday Lake

Oceana County 1

Hart Lake

Ogemaw County 1

Grousehaven Lake

Osceola County 1

Center Lake

Oscoda County 2

Churchill Lake, Loon Lake

Otsego County 4

Big Chub Lake, Bridge Lake, Heart Lake, Pickerel Lake

Ottawa County 1

Lake Macatawa

Presque Isle County 3

Bear Den Lake, Ocqueoc Lake, Rainy Lake

Roscommon County 1

Higgins Lake

St. Joseph County 1

Pleasant Lake

Van Buren County 1

Shafer Lake

Wayne County 1

Flat Rock Impoundment

Sources

← All fish of Michigan