Share your catch

Grand Lake Stream Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Three miles of the most famous salmon water in Maine: Grand Lake Stream is a village, a fly and a fishery all at once.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
125 cfs
Air / High
73 / 73 F
Wind
NNW 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01019000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Grand Lake Stream lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 125 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1007 hPa and a high of 73. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Landlocked salmonGood

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 troutGood

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.

Brown troutGood

Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Grand Lake Stream at Grand Lake Stream.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01019000.

161229296125 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp73 F
High / Low73 / 60 F
WindNNW 8-14 mph
Pressure1007.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain19% cloud, 19%
Sunrise / Sunset05:56 / 19:03
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
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 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 73/60 F, wind 8 mph, rain 19%

Fair or better. A 8 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Grand Lake Stream: 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.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

When to come: the Grand Lake Stream 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
Brown trout
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 Grand Lake Stream today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

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 62 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Landlocked salmon led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 75 F, wind to 6 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

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

Regulations

Fly fishing only with catch-and-release rules for salmon on most of the stream. Maine license required: read the current MDIFW law book for this water carefully.

Access

Walk-in access from the village of Grand Lake Stream, the dam pool and the hatchery road paths.

About this water

A three-mile controlled-flow river between West Grand Lake and Big Lake, Washington County, Maine: the state’s signature landlocked salmon stream.

Fishing Grand Lake Stream: the full guide

A stream with its own zip code

Grand Lake Stream runs just over three miles from West Grand Lake to Big Lake in eastern Maine, and those three miles carry a reputation out of all proportion to their length. It is the state’s premier landlocked salmon river: cold, controlled flows from the dam, classic pools with names anglers know by heart, and a village built entirely around fishing, guiding and the Grand Laker canoes made here for generations.

Fishing the flows

The dam releases keep the stream fishable through the season, and the salmon fishery peaks in spring and again in fall. May and early June bring fish up from Big Lake chasing smelt: streamers swung through the Dam Pool, Hatchery Pool and the runs below produce best. Summer holds fish in the deeper, oxygenated water where anglers switch to nymphs and small wets. September and October bring the fall run and the year’s best chance at a large salmon.

Wading a controlled river

Flows are managed and posted: roughly 150-300 cfs makes for excellent wading and swinging conditions, while higher releases push anglers to the edges. The stream is entirely fly-fishing-only water under Maine’s special regulations, catch-and-release for salmon in most of it: know the current rules, which are specific and enforced. Brook trout share the water and are equally protected.

The village and the region

The village of Grand Lake Stream offers lodges, guides and the annual folk art festival, and sits at the center of the Downeast Lakes region: West Grand, Big, Pocumcus and Sysladobsis lakes all hold salmon and smallmouth for anglers who want to alternate river and lake days. Access to the stream is on foot from the village and the hatchery road, with well-worn paths connecting the pools.

Common questions

Is it really fly fishing only?

Yes, on the stream itself, with catch-and-release requirements for salmon in most sections. The regulations are specific: check the law book before your first cast.

When should I visit?

May and early June for the spring run, and mid-September through October for the fall fishery, which produces the biggest salmon of the year.

What is a Grand Laker?

A long, square-stern cedar canoe built in this village for guiding on the big Downeast lakes: still made and still used by local guides.

Is fishing good at Grand Lake Stream right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Penobscot River43 miWest Branch Penobscot River88 miMoosehead Lake98 miKennebec River103 miRangeley Lake144 miKennebago Lake146 mi
Share your catch