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China Lake Fishing Report

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

A central Maine salmon lake: China Lake holds landlocked salmon, brown trout and smallmouth.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
54 / 70 F
Wind
WSW 4 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

China Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 4 mph, falling pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 70. 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

Landlocked salmonExcellent

Transition depths: work 15-30 ft along drop-offs and points with trolled smelt imitations, or find them where cold tributaries enter. Early morning is the honest window.

Brook troutExcellent

Prime pocket-water fishing. Work upstream with an attractor dry or a dry-dropper, hitting every seam behind boulders and the head of each plunge pool. Short casts, quiet feet.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

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

Lake troutGood

Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

Tomorrow: Similar at 73 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 12, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Maine requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $25.00 for residents. What a Maine licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing landlocked salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with MDIFW 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 temp54 F
High / Low70 / 54 F
WindWSW 4-15 mph
Pressure1010.5 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:12 / 18:56
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 · Clear, 70/54 F, wind 13 mph, rain 0%

Fair or better. A 13 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Landlocked salmon illustration

Landlocked salmon

Best: ice-out through June, and September

Atlantic salmon that never see the sea: smelt-chasing acrobats of Maine and New England lakes, and the reason ice-out is a holiday up north. Transition depths: work 15-30 ft along drop-offs and points with trolled smelt imitations, or find them where cold tributaries enter. Early morning is the honest window.

Brook trout illustration

Brook trout

Best: May-Jun and Sep-Oct

North America’s native char: a small-stream specialist that demands cold, clean water and repays it with the prettiest fish in the woods. Prime pocket-water fishing. Work upstream with an attractor dry or a dry-dropper, hitting every seam behind boulders and the head of each plunge pool. Short casts, quiet feet.

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Best: ice-out and fall turnover

The char of the deep: 40-year-old predators patrolling the cold basins of glacial lakes, from the Finger Lakes to the Rockies. Transition depths: work 40-80 ft structure edges with white tubes and flutter spoons. Early mornings can find fish surprisingly high over deep water chasing bait.

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.

When to come: the China Lake 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
Landlocked salmon
Brook trout
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
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 China Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 10

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 82 F, wind to 17 mph.

Wed, Sep 9

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Landlocked salmon led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 8

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Landlocked salmon led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Maine license. Landlocked salmon and trout are size- and season-regulated: check the current MDIFW law book for lake-specific rules.

Access

State boat launch plus town access points; Waterville and Augusta both within twenty minutes.

About this water

A 3,900-acre two-basin lake in China, Kennebec County, Maine.

Fishing China Lake: the full guide

A lake with two basins

China Lake covers about 3,900 acres in Kennebec County, Maine, split into a larger east basin and a narrower west basin, with the town of China on its shores and Waterville a short drive west. It holds landlocked salmon, brown trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, white perch and other panfish, and it has been the subject of a long water-quality restoration effort.

Salmon and brown trout

Landlocked salmon are stocked and trolled with streamers and small spoons near the surface at ice-out, then deeper as summer warms. Brown trout hold the cooler water and take trolled hardware and bait. Both fisheries are best in the shoulder seasons, with midsummer pushing fish down to the thermocline.

Bass and perch

Smallmouth work the rocky shoreline, points and drop-offs; largemouth hold the weedy shallows and the coves. White perch school heavily and provide fast light-tackle action once found. The lake produces a good ice fishery through the winter for salmon, perch and pickerel.

Kennebec County logistics

A state boat launch serves the lake with additional town access, and Waterville and Augusta are both within twenty minutes. Water quality has improved substantially through sustained watershed work, which anglers notice in clarity and weed patterns. Summer boat traffic is moderate compared with the bigger Maine lakes.

Common questions

When is salmon fishing best?

At ice-out for surface trolling and again in fall; midsummer pushes fish to the thermocline.

Has water quality improved?

Yes: sustained watershed restoration has improved clarity noticeably over recent decades.

Is there ice fishing?

Yes: salmon, white perch and pickerel are all taken through the ice in winter.

Is fishing good at China Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Damariscotta Lake24 miKennebec River46 miCasco Bay65 miSebago Lake66 miRangeley Lake68 miPenobscot River68 mi
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