Ontario Lake Depths

Game fish · trout and salmon family

Brook trout

Salvelinus fontinalis · also called speckled trout

Native to OntarioRecorded in 253 Ontario lakes

Native across most of Ontario; populations in the northwest were introduced.

Illustration of a brook trout in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Typical adult
15–40 cm (6–16 in), about 0.5–1.4 kg (1–3 lb)
Lives
Commonly 4–8 years
Spawns
September to November, in streams and lakes, at 3.5–9 °C (38–48 °F)
Eats
Insects and other invertebrates, and small fish
Needs
Cold, clear water below 22 °C (72 °F); prefers 13–17 °C (55–63 °F)

Where brook trout have been recorded

253 of the 1,347 Ontario lakes on this site with angler catch reports list brook trout, across 24 counties and districts. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Lake Abitibi, Cochrane DistrictLake Nipissing, Nipissing DistrictManitou Lake, Manitoulin DistrictLake of Bays, MuskokaKenogamisis Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictKawagama Lake, Haliburton CountyWhite Lake, Lanark CountyNorth Tea Lake, Nipissing DistrictKennisis Lake, Haliburton CountyBright Lake, Algoma DistrictWaweig Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictChemong Lake, Peterborough CountyVermilion Lake, Sudbury DistrictDunlop Lake, Algoma DistrictFlack Lake, Algoma DistrictPeninsula Lake, MuskokaPaudash Lake, Haliburton CountyCarty Lake, Sudbury DistrictMijinemungshing Lake, Algoma DistrictEugenia Lake, Grey CountyOtter Lake, Leeds and GrenvillePalmerston Lake, Frontenac CountyThree Mile Lake, Nipissing DistrictGavor Lake, Algoma DistrictMichipicoten River, Algoma DistrictCanoe Lake, Nipissing DistrictSteenburg Lake, Hastings CountyPigeon River, Kawartha LakesCarson Lake, Renfrew CountyFletcher Lake, Haliburton CountyPurdom Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictOxtongue Lake, Haliburton CountyCauchon Lake, Nipissing DistrictLittle Kennisis Lake, Haliburton CountyFanshawe Lake, LondonKimball Lake, Haliburton CountyTrout L., Algoma DistrictGamitagama Lake, Algoma DistrictLivingstone Lake, Haliburton CountyOliver Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictBig Mink Lake, Hastings CountyGeorge Lake, Sudbury DistrictDarragh Lake, Algoma DistrictRound Schooner Lake, Frontenac CountyBlack Beaver Lake, Algoma DistrictBurns Lake, Algoma DistrictWindigo Lake, Renfrew CountyCentre Lake, Haliburton CountyHelenbar Lake, Algoma DistrictShelden Lake, Algoma DistrictRobertson Lake, Algoma DistrictKingsford Lake, Frontenac CountyHanes Lake, Algoma DistrictGavor Lake, Algoma DistrictGarden Lake, Algoma DistrictLittle Trout Lake, Nipissing DistrictTimber Lake, Nipissing DistrictTown Line Lake, Algoma DistrictSaddle Lake, Algoma DistrictMcMaster Lake, Renfrew CountyBigwind Lake, MuskokaLorne Lake, Nipissing DistrictHuff Lake, Algoma DistrictSaunders Lake, Algoma DistrictReserve Lake, Algoma DistrictLena Lake, Algoma DistrictToobee Lake, Algoma DistrictBells Lake, Grey CountyNorthland L., Algoma DistrictMacdonald Lake, Sudbury DistrictPine Lake, MuskokaIzaak Lake, Algoma DistrictGrand River section, Waterloo RegionBijou Lake, Algoma DistrictSouthbear Lake, Timiskaming DistrictSunset Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictJordan Lake, Haliburton CountyEcho Lake, Hastings CountyHeyden Lake, Algoma DistrictTurkey Lake, Algoma DistrictWaterclear Lake, Nipissing DistrictJerry Lake, MuskokaBernard Lake, Algoma DistrictDowes Lake, Sudbury DistrictStewleen Lake, Algoma DistrictNalla Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictSouth Crook Lake, Kenora DistrictMorgan Lake, Sudbury DistrictSill Lake, Algoma DistrictDavid Lake, Nipissing DistrictLoon Lake, Algoma DistrictBroder Lake 23, Sudbury DistrictPortage Lake, Algoma DistrictMay Lake, Sudbury DistrictAdrian Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictClara Lake, Renfrew CountySnafu Lake, Algoma DistrictEsker Lake, Algoma DistrictGreens Lake, Sudbury DistrictMile 30 Lake, Cochrane DistrictMink Lake, Algoma DistrictKaufman Lake, Algoma DistrictElephant Lake, Algoma DistrictFish Lake, Algoma DistrictClara Lake, Algoma DistrictTrout Lake, Renfrew CountyThunder Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictHeron Lake, Nipissing DistrictScott Lake, Nipissing DistrictLong Lake, Algoma DistrictNiger Lake, Haliburton CountyHart Lake, Algoma DistrictSlievert Lake, Algoma DistrictHarburn Lake, Haliburton CountyFinn Lake, Algoma DistrictAide Lake, Hastings CountyBuckshot Lake, Algoma DistrictSilver Buck Lake, Haliburton CountyMetivier Lake, Algoma DistrictVanhorn Lake, Algoma DistrictWalker Lake, Renfrew CountyPaquette Lake, Algoma DistrictEast Jeannie Lakes, Haliburton CountyOtter Lake, Renfrew CountyRabbit Blanket Lake, Algoma DistrictProctor Lake 3, Algoma DistrictPanagapka Lake, Cochrane DistrictPigeon Lake, Sudbury DistrictKenny Lake, Algoma DistrictAdams Lake, Haliburton CountyWhetstone Lake, Parry Sound DistrictHeal Lake, Algoma DistrictBlackcat Lake, Haliburton CountyOtter Lake, Algoma DistrictLong Lake, Nipissing DistrictBond Lake, York RegionBuch Lake, Renfrew CountyBirch Lake, Algoma DistrictLallan Lake, Cochrane DistrictFeeny Lake, Lennox and Addington CountyWest Joco Lake, Algoma DistrictEu Lake, Nipissing DistrictCrib Lake, Frontenac CountyChain Of Lakes 1, Renfrew CountyDoc Greig Lake, Algoma DistrictLewis Lake 2, Algoma DistrictCabin Lake, Algoma DistrictWhite Spruce Lake, Algoma DistrictTee Lake, Algoma DistrictHighway Lake, Kenora DistrictBillys Lake, Renfrew CountyBlithfield Long Lake, Renfrew CountyTarrison Lake B, Thunder Bay DistrictBurdock Lake, Haliburton CountyBeaver Lake, Renfrew CountyBrilliant Lake, Algoma DistrictAcorn Lake, Renfrew CountyPistol Lake, Sudbury DistrictFinger Lake, Algoma DistrictPeterwhite Lake, Lanark CountyCrescent Lake, Algoma DistrictWiley's Lake, Haliburton CountyGlennie Lake, Haliburton CountyBottle Lake, Lanark CountyRioux Lake 35, Algoma DistrictEmerson Lake, Algoma DistrictLittle Mosque Lake, Frontenac CountyDunlop Lake, Renfrew CountyJohn Run Lake, Algoma DistrictTriangle Lake, Algoma DistrictBolgers Lake, Algoma DistrictChub Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictMcCreary Lake, Frontenac CountyLittle Clear Lake, Peterborough CountyGuilfoyle Lake 64, Cochrane DistrictDugan Lake, Renfrew CountyDunn's Lake, Algoma DistrictLemke Lake, Renfrew CountyReed Lake, Algoma DistrictBouck L. 21, Algoma DistrictWanamaker Lake, Algoma DistrictWhite Birch L., Algoma DistrictLake Twentythree, Algoma DistrictAmanda Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictMousseau Lake, Frontenac CountyMcDonald Lake, Renfrew CountyRaindrop Lake, Frontenac CountyOlver Lake (LeCaron Lake 11), Algoma DistrictLees Lake, Algoma DistrictHuppe Lake, Algoma DistrictIvans Lake, Algoma DistrictRheaume Lake, Algoma DistrictRose Lake, Lennox and Addington CountyEarl Tapp Lake, Algoma DistrictNehemiah Lake, Haliburton CountyChainy Lake, Hastings CountyDevon Lake, Renfrew CountyOtter Lake 34, Algoma DistrictPearce Lake 11, Cochrane DistrictSnyder Lake, Kenora DistrictWine Lake, Sudbury DistrictTetsmine Lake, Frontenac CountyPartridge Lake, Haliburton CountyNorth Chainy Lake, Hastings CountyGoddard Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictTuesday Lake (Unnamed L.), Thunder Bay DistrictSilver Doe Lake, Haliburton CountyHaughton Lake 4, Algoma DistrictRock Lake, Algoma DistrictMoulton Lake, Frontenac CountyTooeys Lake, Renfrew CountyGreen Lake, Lanark CountyGreen Lake, Cochrane DistrictUnnamed lake 16-3197-53968, Thunder Bay DistrictJohnson Lake, Sudbury DistrictSweezy Lake, Renfrew CountyPearl Lake, Sudbury DistrictWee Lake, Sudbury DistrictScully Lake, Renfrew CountyMill Lake, Renfrew CountySoldier Lake, Renfrew CountyGling Lake, Renfrew CountyLoon Lake, Renfrew CountyElgin Pond, Durham RegionLittle Echo Lake, Haliburton CountyHardwood Lake, Renfrew CountyNo-Name Lake, Haliburton CountyRozon Lake, Timiskaming DistrictBelanger Lake, Renfrew CountyHarrow Lake 28, Sudbury DistrictMinnow Lake, Frontenac CountyAlaska's Lake, Sudbury DistrictMistry Lake, Lennox and Addington CountyGuilfoyle Lake 68, Cochrane DistrictClearwater Lake, Frontenac CountyMousseau Lake, Sudbury DistrictMcDowall Lake, Frontenac CountyChappise Lake 8, Sudbury DistrictSpot Lake, Frontenac CountyTwin Mountain Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictLittleFox Lake, Lennox and Addington CountyWright's Lake, Sudbury DistrictBullseye Lake, Frontenac CountyLake #1, Sudbury DistrictMom Lake, Algoma DistrictOtter Lake, Frontenac CountyVannier Lake, Cochrane DistrictMud Lake, Leeds and GrenvilleSouth Fallingsnow East Lake, Thunder Bay DistrictTeetzel Lake 10, Cochrane DistrictCedar Lake, Hastings CountyHeart Lake, Cochrane DistrictParkinson's Pothole, Algoma District

Recorded here Other lakes with catch reports

How we know

  • 253lakes where an angler logged one in Fish ON-Line; on 137 of them a single trip, one angler’s report

Self-reported by anglers, not a Ministry survey. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: a lake appears here only once an angler has logged this fish there.

Brook trout, and the aurora trout form, are raised in Ontario's fish culture stations and stocked into provincial waters.

Inland lakes on this list run from 2 to 234,979 acres (median 49) and from 5 to 249 ft deep (median 50 ft).

When and how anglers catch brook trout

From 737 trip reports naming brook trout on the lakes above, logged by anglers in Ontario’s Fish ON-Line app. These are self-reported trips, not a Ministry survey: they show when and how people fish for them, not how many fish a lake holds.

Trips by month

The busiest month is January (20% of trips); 36% were logged December–February (lighter bars).

How they were fishing

From a boat33%
From shore20%
Through the ice48%

Share of the 733 trips that recorded boat, shore or ice.

Fish reported

2,968 brook trout reported on these trips. Anglers kept 54% of the ones they reported and released the rest. The app records no sizes.

Lakes on this site with the most trips

  1. Feeny Lake, Lennox and Addington 29
  2. Green Lake, Lanark 27
  3. Broder Lake 23, Sudbury District 21
  4. Rose Lake, Lennox and Addington 21
  5. Belanger Lake, Renfrew 20
  6. Peterwhite Lake, Lanark 18
  7. Scully Lake, Renfrew 17
  8. Niger Lake, Haliburton 16
  9. Moulton Lake, Frontenac 14
  10. Soldier Lake, Renfrew 14

Trips that logged this fish on each lake. A busy lake gets more trips; this is not a ranking of fishing quality. 137 of the 253 lakes are listed on a single trip, one angler’s report.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

How to recognize it

A dark olive, brown or black back with pale worm-like markings, and spots on the sides that include red ones ringed in blue. The tail is square, the lower fins have a white front edge set off by a black line, and the mouth reaches well past the eye.

Don’t confuse it with

Splake — Splake have a slightly forked tail, and their red spots lack the brook trout's blue halos.
Lake trout — Lake trout have a deeply forked tail, no red spots, and no black line behind the white fin edges.
Aurora trout — Aurora trout look like a brook trout without the pale worm-like markings or the spots and halos.

Life in an Ontario lake

Brook trout need a year-round supply of cold, clear, well-oxygenated water. They are found across much of Ontario, from small brooks in southern farm country to the larger rivers, ponds and lakes of the north, including clear, cold lakes and beaver ponds with plenty of cover from logs, rocks and overhanging branches. In inland lakes they are most active in spring and fall.

They spawn in the fall in both streams and lakes and usually mature at two or three years old. Great Lakes fish that spawn in tributaries are known as coasters. A cross with lake trout is the splake, and a cross with brown trout is called a tiger trout. The aurora trout, a rare colour form of brook trout, is found only in a few small, cold lakes in northeastern Ontario.

Source: the sources below.

Rules and eating

Before fishing, check the current Ontario Fishing Regulations Summary for your Fisheries Management Zone, any exceptions for the waterbody, and your licence type. Angler catch reports show what people logged, not what is legal to catch or keep. Fish ON-Line itself (how to use it) maps the zones and exceptions. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check the Guide to Eating Ontario Fish.

All 253 lakes with brook trout

Show every lake, by county

Algoma District 86

Bernard Lake, Bijou Lake, Birch Lake, Black Beaver Lake, Bolgers Lake, Bouck L. 21, Bright Lake, Brilliant Lake, Buckshot Lake, Burns Lake, Cabin Lake, Clara Lake, Crescent Lake, Darragh Lake, Doc Greig Lake, Dunlop Lake, Dunn's Lake, Earl Tapp Lake, Elephant Lake, Emerson Lake, Esker Lake, Finger Lake, Finn Lake, Fish Lake, Flack Lake, Gamitagama Lake, Garden Lake, Gavor Lake, Gavor Lake, Hanes Lake, Hart Lake, Haughton Lake 4, Heal Lake, Helenbar Lake, Heyden Lake, Huff Lake, Huppe Lake, Ivans Lake, Izaak Lake, John Run Lake, Kaufman Lake, Kenny Lake, Lake Twentythree, Lees Lake, Lena Lake, Lewis Lake 2, Long Lake, Loon Lake, Metivier Lake, Michipicoten River, Mijinemungshing Lake, Mink Lake, Mom Lake, Northland L., Olver Lake (LeCaron Lake 11), Otter Lake, Otter Lake 34, Paquette Lake, Parkinson's Pothole, Portage Lake, Proctor Lake 3, Rabbit Blanket Lake, Reed Lake, Reserve Lake, Rheaume Lake, Rioux Lake 35, Robertson Lake, Rock Lake, Saddle Lake, Saunders Lake, Shelden Lake, Sill Lake, Slievert Lake, Snafu Lake, Stewleen Lake, Tee Lake, Toobee Lake, Town Line Lake, Triangle Lake, Trout L., Turkey Lake, Vanhorn Lake, Wanamaker Lake, West Joco Lake, White Birch L., White Spruce Lake

Cochrane District 11

Green Lake, Guilfoyle Lake 64, Guilfoyle Lake 68, Heart Lake, Lake Abitibi, Lallan Lake, Mile 30 Lake, Panagapka Lake, Pearce Lake 11, Teetzel Lake 10, Vannier Lake

Durham Region 1

Elgin Pond

Frontenac County 16

Bullseye Lake, Clearwater Lake, Crib Lake, Kingsford Lake, Little Mosque Lake, McCreary Lake, McDowall Lake, Minnow Lake, Moulton Lake, Mousseau Lake, Otter Lake, Palmerston Lake, Raindrop Lake, Round Schooner Lake, Spot Lake, Tetsmine Lake

Grey County 2

Bells Lake, Eugenia Lake

Haliburton County 24

Adams Lake, Blackcat Lake, Burdock Lake, Centre Lake, East Jeannie Lakes, Fletcher Lake, Glennie Lake, Harburn Lake, Jordan Lake, Kawagama Lake, Kennisis Lake, Kimball Lake, Little Echo Lake, Little Kennisis Lake, Livingstone Lake, Nehemiah Lake, Niger Lake, No-Name Lake, Oxtongue Lake, Partridge Lake, Paudash Lake, Silver Buck Lake, Silver Doe Lake, Wiley's Lake

Hastings County 7

Aide Lake, Big Mink Lake, Cedar Lake, Chainy Lake, Echo Lake, North Chainy Lake, Steenburg Lake

Kawartha Lakes 1

Pigeon River

Kenora District 3

Highway Lake, Snyder Lake, South Crook Lake

Lanark County 4

Bottle Lake, Green Lake, Peterwhite Lake, White Lake

Leeds and Grenville 2

Mud Lake, Otter Lake

Lennox and Addington County 4

Feeny Lake, LittleFox Lake, Mistry Lake, Rose Lake

London 1

Fanshawe Lake

Manitoulin District 1

Manitou Lake

Muskoka 5

Bigwind Lake, Jerry Lake, Lake of Bays, Peninsula Lake, Pine Lake

Nipissing District 14

Canoe Lake, Cauchon Lake, David Lake, Eu Lake, Heron Lake, Lake Nipissing, Little Trout Lake, Long Lake, Lorne Lake, North Tea Lake, Scott Lake, Three Mile Lake, Timber Lake, Waterclear Lake

Parry Sound District 1

Whetstone Lake

Peterborough County 2

Chemong Lake, Little Clear Lake

Renfrew County 27

Acorn Lake, Beaver Lake, Belanger Lake, Billys Lake, Blithfield Long Lake, Buch Lake, Carson Lake, Chain Of Lakes 1, Clara Lake, Devon Lake, Dugan Lake, Dunlop Lake, Gling Lake, Hardwood Lake, Lemke Lake, Loon Lake, McDonald Lake, McMaster Lake, Mill Lake, Otter Lake, Scully Lake, Soldier Lake, Sweezy Lake, Tooeys Lake, Trout Lake, Walker Lake, Windigo Lake

Sudbury District 21

Alaska's Lake, Broder Lake 23, Carty Lake, Chappise Lake 8, Dowes Lake, George Lake, Greens Lake, Harrow Lake 28, Johnson Lake, Lake #1, Macdonald Lake, May Lake, Morgan Lake, Mousseau Lake, Pearl Lake, Pigeon Lake, Pistol Lake, Vermilion Lake, Wee Lake, Wine Lake, Wright's Lake

Thunder Bay District 16

Adrian Lake, Amanda Lake, Chub Lake, Goddard Lake, Kenogamisis Lake, Nalla Lake, Oliver Lake, Purdom Lake, South Fallingsnow East Lake, Sunset Lake, Tarrison Lake B, Thunder Lake, Tuesday Lake (Unnamed L.), Twin Mountain Lake, Unnamed lake 16-3197-53968, Waweig Lake

Timiskaming District 2

Rozon Lake, Southbear Lake

Waterloo Region 1

Grand River section

York Region 1

Bond Lake

Sources

← All fish of Ontario