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Lake Zoar Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 11, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A Housatonic impoundment: Lake Zoar holds walleye, smallmouth and pike below Lillinonah.

5/5
Excellent. Go now.Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
62 / 75 F
Wind
WNW 5 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
11
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

5/5Excellent. Go now.Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor.

Lake Zoar lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings cloud cover, wind WNW around 5 mph, falling pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 75. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:32 PM-1:32 AM and 11:32 AM-1:32 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeExcellent

Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pikeExcellent

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Yellow perchGood

Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

Tomorrow: Similar at 77 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 12, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Connecticut requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $28.00 for residents. What a Connecticut licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with CT DEEP before you keep anything.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp62 F
High / Low75 / 61 F
WindWNW 5-9 mph
Pressure1013.8 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset06:29 / 19:08
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 11 · Overcast, 75/61 F, wind 10 mph, rain 4%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Zoar: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: May-Jun, Oct

The glass-eyed prize of northern lakes. Low light, wind-blown structure and live bait. Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Good most of the year

The great lakes and northern panfish staple. Schools tight to bottom; where you catch one there are fifty. Drifting flats and weed edges with small jigs tipped with bait.

When to come: the Lake Zoar calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Zoar today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 10

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 9

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 78 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Sep 8

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Connecticut requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Connecticut license. Walleye, bass and pike limits per current DEEP regulations; check for lake-specific rules.

Access

State boat launch off the Route 34 corridor; shoreline access limited by steep private banks.

About this water

A 975-acre Housatonic River impoundment behind Stevenson Dam, Fairfield and New Haven counties, Connecticut.

Fishing Lake Zoar: the full guide

A narrow river lake

Lake Zoar covers about 975 acres on the Housatonic River behind Stevenson Dam in western Connecticut, a long narrow impoundment below Lake Lillinonah with steep wooded banks. It holds walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, catfish and panfish, and like Lillinonah it fishes as much like a river as a lake.

Walleye and smallmouth

Walleye are stocked and hold the channel, the points and the deeper structure, taken on jigs, crawler harnesses and trolled crankbaits in low light. Smallmouth work the rock, the bluff walls and the current seams, particularly in the upper end where the river enters below Shepaug Dam. Current from generation positions fish predictably.

Pike, bass and the seasons

Northern pike hold the shallower coves and any vegetation. Largemouth work the wood and the backwater areas. Spring and fall fish best, with summer pushing fish deeper and bringing heavy recreational boat traffic to the wider sections. Winter fishing is limited by ice conditions that vary with current.

Fairfield and New Haven county logistics

A state boat launch serves the lake near the Route 34 corridor, with limited shoreline access given the steep private banks. Newtown, Monroe and Southbury surround it, and Danbury is twenty minutes northwest. Generation at the dams changes conditions through the day: expect current and plan for it.

Common questions

How does it differ from Lillinonah?

It is smaller and narrower, sitting immediately downstream, but fishes similarly as a river-lake with current.

Does current matter?

Yes: generation at the dams pushes current through the lake and positions fish along seams and points.

Is bank fishing possible?

Limited: banks are steep and largely private. Most fishing is done from boats.

Is fishing good at Lake Zoar right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor.

Nearby waters

Lake Lillinonah7 miCandlewood Lake11 miSaugatuck Reservoir12 miLake Waramaug20 miNaugatuck River21 miHousatonic River22 mi
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