Ice fishing for trout splits into two games: stocked rainbows and brook trout cruising shallow in small lakes, and lake trout ice fishing on deep, cold lakes, where big lures and an aggressive, chase-inducing cadence matter more than finesse.
Two kinds of trout, two different approaches
Most anglers who go ice fishing for trout are after one of two situations. The first is a small lake that gets stocked rainbows or brook trout, where fish roam shallow flats and shorelines and bite best on light line and tiny jigs. The second is a large, deep, cold lake with a lake trout population, where fish chase baitfish across a wide range of depths and respond to bigger lures worked hard. The tackle barely overlaps. If you are building a winter kit from scratch, our ice fishing gear guide covers the basics that both styles share, from augers to sleds.
Trout waters often come with their own seasons, designations and gear rules. Check your state’s current rules for the specific water before you go.
Where stocked rainbows and brook trout hold
Stocked trout in small lakes are usually shallower than people expect. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s species-by-species ice fishing tips put the best brook trout water between 4 and 12 feet, with some anglers preferring less than 5 feet. For rainbows, the same page points to large shallow flats or shorelines with soft, sandy bottoms in 4 to 8 feet of water.
In-Fisherman’s guide to rainbow trout through the ice agrees on that 4- to 8-foot band in natural lakes and adds that rainbows usually cruise above the bottom rather than sitting on it. They tend to push up from deeper adjacent flats around dawn, feed for several hours, drop back, and return in the evening. Drill a line of holes from the shoreline out to the edge of the flat and plan to fish the morning and the last hours of light hardest.
Light tackle and baits for stocked trout
These fish reward small presentations. In-Fisherman’s rainbow setup is a 2- to 3-foot medium-light ice rod with 4- or 6-pound monofilament, and jigs as light as 1/125 to 1/80 ounce in natural lakes, moving up to the 1/64- to 1/8-ounce range on bigger reservoirs. Tip them with wax worms, maggots or, where legal, small minnows, and fish them in the top half of the water column. For brook trout, the Maine page recommends small minnows or pieces of nightcrawler and warns that big shiners can draw strikes from brookies that never get hooked.
Jigging usually beats a set line for rainbows. The Maine biologists say jigging is typically far more effective than traps for them, while brook trout will also take worms or minnows fished under tip-ups. Running one jigging rod and one tip-up, where your state allows two lines, covers both habits. Our ice fishing lures guide goes deeper into small jig styles and how to tip them.
Where lake trout hold under the ice
Lake trout are a different animal. In-Fisherman’s article on catching bigger lake trout through the ice says early-season fish are typically found from 20 to 60 feet, often in water approaching or beyond 100 feet deep. Shelves along steep shorelines, mainlake points and sunken islands are the classic starting spots. Maine’s tips for lake trout, called togue there, suggest fishing 15 to 40 feet off points of land.
Depth of water and depth of fish are not the same thing, though. Lake trout chase pelagic baitfish like smelt and cisco, and In-Fisherman’s lake trout feature reports catching more of them 15 to 25 feet down than at any other depth, no matter how deep the water. In lakes with smelt and ciscoes, its quick tips for lake trout describe fish caught just 4 to 10 feet under the ice. The practical answer is to search: drill a spread of holes from about 20 to 60 feet, give each one a few minutes, and move on if nothing shows.
Lake trout ice fishing lures: tubes, spoons and jigging baits
A white or smoke tube is the bait most lake trout anglers reach for first. In-Fisherman’s go-to is a 3- or 4-inch plastic tube on a 1/4- or 3/8-ounce jighead, a size and profile that matches the baitfish lakers hunt in winter. Spoons in the 1/2- to 3/4-ounce range and larger jigging minnows round out the box. Maine adds silver, white and copper jigs to the list, along with smelt, shiners or suckers on traps.
Keep one bright, flashy spoon to call fish in from a distance and one subtler tube for fish that come up to look but will not commit.
An aggressive cadence for lakers
Where stocked rainbows want a quiet jig, lake trout want movement. In-Fisherman’s quick-tips piece recommends sweeping 2- to 4-foot lift-falls, sometimes two or three in a row without a pause, followed by a pause in which the lure barely pulses. Its feature on bigger lakers notes that nine out of ten fish hit as the lure is falling, so control the drop and stay ready.
When a fish rises on the screen and hangs below the lure, take it away. One contributor in the In-Fisherman feature reels steadily back up toward the ice as a laker follows, sometimes three to five times before it strikes. Another option is to make the jig quiver and then raise it 5 feet in one quick move. Slowing down and shaking the lure in place also works on fish that follow but stall. Switch between these until one triggers a bite, and pay attention to which one did. The approach mirrors the lift-fall-pause rhythm in our walleye ice fishing guide, just with longer lifts and more speed.
Electronics, holes and line for lake trout
A flasher or sonar is close to essential for lakers, because the fish move vertically and the cadence depends on seeing them come in. In-Fisherman suggests a narrow beam setting in deep water for a cleaner view of the lure and fish. The same quick-tips article says most trout anglers use augers that cut holes of at least 9 inches, since a big laker needs room to come up. For line, the lake trout feature mentions 10-pound monofilament in shallower water and 6-pound superline when fishing 100 feet or deeper. Maine recommends a leader of 6 feet or more of monofilament or fluorocarbon to reduce visibility.
Mistakes that cost trout through the ice
For stocked trout, the classic error is fishing too deep: drilling the middle of the lake when the fish are cruising a sandy flat in a few feet of water near shore. Oversized baits are another, especially for brook trout. For lake trout, the most common mistake is staying put on a hole that has not shown a fish, rather than moving through a spread. Fishing a lure too timidly for lakers, or pulling it away from a stocked rainbow too fast, mixes up the two cadences. Last, keep the two kits separate: a light rainbow rod will not handle a big laker in 60 feet of water.
Match the plan to the lake. On a small stocked lake, think shallow, light and slow, and fish the morning and evening hard. On a deep lake trout lake, think mobile, flashy and fast, and let the electronics tell you how high the fish are riding.