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China Lake Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

China Lake: a 3,845-acre two-basin lake in China and Vassalboro, Maine, managed for stocked trout after salmon stocking ended in 1978.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~44 F est.
Air / High
37 / 53 F
Wind
SSW 4 mph

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

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

China Lake is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSW around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1002 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 44 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:02 PM-1:02 AM and 10:38 AM-12:38 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Lake troutGood

Winter: Vermont says most of its lake trout fishing is done through the ice, and Michigan anglers jig spoons tipped with cut bait in deep Great Lakes bays.

Smallmouth bassFair

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Largemouth bassFair

Below about 50°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Brook troutFair

Below 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 46 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Maine requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $30.00 for residents. What a Maine licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing lake trout here? Check the size and bag limits with MDIFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Maine, read off the agency, are on the Maine seasons page.

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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~44 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp37 F
High / Low53 / 35 F
WindSSW 4-9 mph
Pressure1001.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain39% cloud, 18%
Sunrise / Sunset06:26 / 16:17
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~44 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish China Lake this week

The best day on China Lake this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
11:02 PM-1:02 AM and 10:38 AM-12:38 PM
Minor period
6:40 AM-7:40 AM
Sun
06:26 to 16:17
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 11 mph
Rain chance
18%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

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.

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Spring and fall in shallow water, deep in summer, and through the ice in winter

Lake trout are slow-growing chars of large, deep, cold lakes, native from Alaska and northern Canada to New England and the Great Lakes, and introduced in many western lakes. Winter: Vermont says most of its lake trout fishing is done through the ice, and Michigan anglers jig spoons tipped with cut bait in deep Great Lakes bays.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. Below about 50°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Brook trout illustration

Brook trout

Spring and fall in ponds and lakes, when fish come shallow; summer in the coldest headwater streams

The brook trout is a char native to eastern North America, a fish of cold, clean streams and ponds, and the state fish of Michigan. Below 50°F is the fall spawning band (40-50°F in Vermont), so stay off spawning gravel. In winter Maine IFW finds pond fish close to shore in 4 to 12 feet of water under the ice.

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
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Brown trout
Brook trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 44 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~44 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
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 44 F, wind to 11 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 13 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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 fishing license. MDIFW's special-law list has no China Lake entry, so Maine's general fishing laws apply; see the current Maine fishing law book.

Access

MDIFW lists two public access sites: an improved boat launch in Vassalboro on the west basin near the outlet, and a site at the north end of the lake in China.

About this water

A 3,845-acre, 85-foot-deep lake in China and Vassalboro, Kennebec County, Maine.

Fishing China Lake: the full guide

Two different basins

MDIFW's lake survey map gives China Lake 3,845 acres and a maximum depth of 85 feet, in China and Vassalboro, Kennebec County, northeast of Augusta. The east basin is long and narrow, with an irregular shoreline, many islands, a maximum depth of just 50 feet and heavy shoreline development. The nearly circular west basin is lightly developed because it serves as a water source for Waterville and Winslow.

From salmon to trout

MDIFW stocked salmon in 1969 to re-establish them but ended the effort in 1978 when it failed to produce a lasting fishery. It then switched to large fall-yearling brown trout, which it calls very successful, and later began stocking legal-size brook trout. Lake trout stockings were stopped because nutrient loading from agriculture and shoreline development caused yearly algae blooms and cost the deep basins their oxygen. The map lists brown trout, brook trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, white perch and chain pickerel as the principal fisheries; it was last revised in 2006.

2026 stocking

MDIFW's 2026 year-to-date stocking report shows 450 brook trout of about 9 inches stocked in China Lake on April 27, 2026: 250 at Vassalboro and 200 at China.

Common questions

Are landlocked salmon stocked in China Lake?

No. MDIFW ended salmon stocking in 1978 after it failed to create a lasting fishery; the lake is managed for stocked brown and brook trout.

What was stocked in 2026?

As of MDIFW's year-to-date report, 450 brook trout of about 9 inches on April 27, 2026, split between Vassalboro and China.

Where can I launch a boat?

At the improved launch in Vassalboro on the west basin near the outlet, or the public site at the north end of the lake in China.

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: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Damariscotta Lake24 miKennebec River46 miSebago Lake65 miCasco Bay65 miRangeley Lake68 miPenobscot River68 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.4410, -69.5342 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.