A large, slow-growing char of deep cold northern lakes, prized for its size, longevity, and oily flesh.
Where it lives
Lake trout inhabit large, deep, cold lakes across Canada, Alaska, and the northern United States. They require summer temperatures below 15 C and high dissolved oxygen, often staying below the thermocline. They are absent from rivers except as occasional migrants.
How to recognise it
A long, robust body with a deeply forked tail. The base color is gray to greenish, peppered with hundreds of pale cream or yellow spots over the back, flanks, dorsal fin, and tail. Spots have no red color and no halos, separating lake trout from brook trout.
Diet & behavior
Lake trout are top predators in their lakes, eating cisco, smelt, sculpin, and other available forage fish. Where prey fish are scarce, they subsist on invertebrates and grow very slowly. Spawning happens in autumn over rocky shoals — no redd is built.
Fisheries & Conservation
Globally Least Concern. Slow growth makes them sensitive to overharvest; sea-lamprey invasions devastated Great Lakes stocks in the 20th century, and rebuilding has been slow.
Find more fish by letter
Lake Trout starts with L and ends with T. Browse other fish along the same letter.
Fish that contain a letter from "Lake Trout":