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Grand Lake Stream Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Grand Lake Stream: fly-fishing-only water below West Grand Lake in Washington County, Maine, with brook trout, landlocked salmon and a state salmon hatchery.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
118 cfs
Air / High
49 / 49 F
Wind
N 12 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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 feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 118 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 12 mph, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 49. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:03 AM-11:03 AM and 9:33 PM-11:33 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brook troutExcellent

The best band: Vermont's ideal is 55-60°F. Fish feed in daylight, since Michigan DNR notes they are more diurnal than other trout, and in ponds and lakes Maine IFW says spring and fall bring them near shore and the surface.

Landlocked salmonGood

Spring after ice-out and the fall cool-down are the surface seasons, with fish near shore and at stream mouths feeding on smelt: troll or cast streamers and smelt imitations.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 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 landlocked salmon 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 from Grand Lake Stream at Grand Lake Stream.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01019000.

166257347118 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 98 years of October 23

At 118 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01019000 (Grand Lake Stream at Grand Lake Stream) is at the 14th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 98 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 211 cfs; the highest was 825 cfs and the lowest 75 cfs.

p10 112median 211p90 471

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01019000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp49 F
High / Low49 / 35 F
WindN 12-21 mph
Pressure1025.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:57 / 17:32
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Grand Lake Stream this week

The best day on Grand Lake Stream this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:03 AM-11:03 AM and 9:33 PM-11:33 PM
Minor period
3:25 AM-4:25 AM
Sun
06:57 to 17:32
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 14 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

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

Spring and fall near the surface, deep in summer, and under the ice in winter

Landlocked salmon are Atlantic salmon that complete their whole life in fresh water, feeding mainly on rainbow smelt in cold lakes of Maine and the Northeast. Spring after ice-out and the fall cool-down are the surface seasons, with fish near shore and at stream mouths feeding on smelt: troll or cast streamers and smelt imitations.

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. The best band: Vermont's ideal is 55-60°F. Fish feed in daylight, since Michigan DNR notes they are more diurnal than other trout, and in ponds and lakes Maine IFW says spring and fall bring them near shore and the surface.

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. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

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
Largemouth bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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, Oct 22

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 55 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brook trout led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brook trout led the card at excellent. High of 59 F, wind to 11 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 fishing license. 2026 law book: fly fishing only; closed within 150 feet of Grand Lake Stream Dam; April 1-Aug. 15, 2 brook trout and 1 landlocked salmon a day; Oct. 1-25, all fish released except largemouth bass; no size or bag limit on largemouth bass.

Access

Walk-in access from the village of Grand Lake Stream or Grand Lake Stream Road (MDIFW).

About this water

The outlet stream of West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream Plantation, Washington County, Maine, flowing to Big Lake. Flow on this page comes from USGS gauge 01019000, Grand Lake Stream at Grand Lake Stream.

Fishing Grand Lake Stream: the full guide

Below West Grand Lake

MDIFW's Grand Lake Region guide lists brook trout and landlocked salmon as the stream's primary fishery, with walk-in access from the village or Grand Lake Stream Road. Upstream, West Grand Lake covers 14,340 acres and reaches 128 feet deep, with trailered boat access at West Grand Dam. The stream ends in Big Lake, where the law book closes the area at its mouth to ice fishing.

2026 rules

The 2026 law book makes Grand Lake Stream fly fishing only and closes all fishing within 150 feet of Grand Lake Stream Dam. The general-law maximum length on landlocked salmon does not apply, and largemouth bass have no size or bag limit. From April 1 to Aug. 15 the daily limit is 2 brook trout and 1 landlocked salmon; from Oct. 1 to 25 every fish caught must be released at once, except largemouth bass.

The state hatchery

MDIFW's Grand Lake Stream State Fish Hatchery opened in 1936 and draws its water from West Grand Lake into 14 covered raceways. It rears landlocked salmon and brook trout, about 80,000 catchable fish a year, and the department notes that the federal government first opened a hatchery at Grand Lake Stream in 1875.

Common questions

Is Grand Lake Stream fly fishing only?

Yes, the whole stream, and all fishing is banned within 150 feet of the dam.

Can I keep fish in October?

No. From Oct. 1 to 25 every fish caught must be released at once, except largemouth bass.

Is there a hatchery at Grand Lake Stream?

Yes. MDIFW's state fish hatchery, opened in 1936, raises landlocked salmon and brook trout with water from West Grand Lake.

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

East Grand Lake41 miPenobscot River43 miWest Branch Penobscot River82 miMoosehead Lake98 miChesuncook Lake99 miChina Lake100 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01019000 — Grand Lake Stream at Grand Lake Stream
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.1800, -67.7700 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.