Trout in Lakes and Ponds Through the Year

Trout in ponds and lakes don't have current to bring them food, so they cruise and hunt. Where they cruise depends almost entirely on water temperature. Trout like water from the mid-30s to the upper 60s °F, and they'll move from the shallows to the depths and back again over the year to stay in it. Follow the temperature and you'll follow the trout.

Spring: shallow and on the move

After ice-out and in spring, the whole lake is cool, and trout can be anywhere. They often cruise the shallows, near shore, points and inlets, and recently stocked trout travel in schools in shallow water. Early in the season they roam the whole pond, so a bait cast from shore and left to sit will get found.

Where: shorelines, points, the shallows near inlets and outlets, and anywhere with moving water. Submerged logs and branches hold fish.

How:

• From shore: a sliding-sinker rig with floating dough bait or an air-inflated nightcrawler, cast out and left on the bottom. See Trout Baits and Rigs.
• Casting: small spinners, spoons and minnow plugs along shore.
• From a boat: troll a small spoon, a worm behind a small attractor, or a small crankbait along the shoreline.

When: the first couple of hours after sunrise and before sunset, and on overcast or drizzly days.

Summer: deep, but not too deep

As the surface warms, the shallows get too hot for trout. They move deeper, toward the middle of the lake, looking for cool water. But in many ponds, the deepest water runs low on oxygen in summer, so trout can't go all the way down either. They end up in a narrow band of water that's both cool enough and oxygenated enough, often near the thermocline, the layer where warm surface water gives way to colder water below. How deep that band is varies from lake to lake and through the summer.

Where: the deep, central part of the lake. A depth map helps you find it. You'll usually need a boat, canoe or kayak to reach it.

How:

• Drift or still-fish bait at the depth where the fish are.
• Troll spoons, spinners or small crankbaits deep enough to reach them.
• At dusk and in the evening, trout often come up to feed on insects. Rainbows are very active in June and July, and browns feed most at dusk. That's the time for small lures, dry flies and nymphs near the surface.

Fall: back to the shorelines

As the water cools in fall, trout come shallow again and roam the shorelines and points. Brook and brown trout spawn in fall and move along shorelines and points. Some states stock trout again in fall, and fresh stockers school up in the shallows.

How: cast small lures and flies along the shoreline, or fish an inflated nightcrawler or dough bait on the bottom from shore. Few anglers fish trout in fall, but the fishing can be very good.

Winter: open water and ice

Some states stock trout in ponds in late fall and winter, which keeps trout fishing going until spring. Fish that aren't caught hold over and are caught the next spring. Smaller ponds tend to give better catch rates than big lakes.

Open water from shore: worms, minnows, mealworms or dough bait on the bottom.

Through the ice: trout can be at any depth under the ice, and rainbows often cruise just below it, even in a few inches of water over shallow spots.

• Start shallow. Fish just under the ice first, then work deeper.
• Jig: small jigs or ice flies tipped with a wax worm or a minnow, on light line.
• Tip-ups: set with dough bait or a small minnow.

Some parks with stocked ponds don't allow ice fishing. Check before you go, and only go out on safe ice.

The year at a glance

Season	Where trout are	Best approach
Spring	Shallows, shorelines, inlets and outlets	Floating bait from shore, casting spinners, shallow trolling
Summer	Narrow cool band in deep water, up at dusk	Deep trolling, drifting bait at depth, evening surface feeding
Fall	Back along shorelines and points	Casting lures and flies, bait from shore
Winter	Anywhere, often just under the ice	Jigging, tip-ups, bottom bait in open water

For streams, see Where Trout Hold in Streams. For stocked fish, see How to Catch Stocked Trout.

Before you go

Trout seasons, bag limits and ice-fishing rules differ by state and by water. Check your state's current freshwater rules before you go.