Share your catch

Moosehead Lake Fishing Report

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

Maine’s inland sea: 75,000 acres of salmon, togue and brook trout water with Mount Kineo standing in the middle of it.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
70 / 71 F
Wind
NNW 11 mph

Sources: 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.

Moosehead Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 71. 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.

Smallmouth bassGood

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

Lake troutFair

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: Cooler at 62 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.

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 temp70 F
High / Low71 / 56 F
WindNNW 11-15 mph
Pressure1008.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 27%
Sunrise / Sunset06:04 / 19:11
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, 71/56 F, wind 11 mph, rain 27%

Fair or better. A 11 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Moosehead 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 Moosehead 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 Moosehead Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 63 F, wind to 16 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 14 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

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 73 F, wind to 12 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

Maine license. Salmon, togue and brook trout are managed with specific length and bag limits, and tributaries have their own rules: consult the current MDIFW law book.

Access

Greenville and Rockwood public launches, Lily Bay State Park ramp and campground, plus numerous carry-in points.

About this water

A 74,890-acre lake in Piscataquis County, Maine: the largest lake in New England within a single state, at the gateway to the north woods.

Fishing Moosehead Lake: the full guide

The largest lake in New England

Moosehead spreads 75,000 acres across the north woods of Piscataquis County, the largest lake entirely within one New England state and the northern anchor of Maine’s coldwater fishing. Landlocked salmon and lake trout (togue, in Maine) are the primary sport fish, with wild brook trout in the tributaries and coves and smallmouth bass in the warmer southern basins. The scale is the defining feature: 400 miles of shoreline, mostly forest, with Mount Kineo’s cliff rising 700 feet out of the middle.

Salmon and togue by season

Ice-out in early May starts the surface season: troll streamers and smelt imitations in the top ten feet along the shorelines and around the islands, where salmon hunt smelt aggressively for several weeks. Togue take the same offerings deeper. As summer sets in, both drop below the thermocline: downriggers and lead core at 40-80 feet over the deep basins near Kineo and Spencer Bay produce steadily. September brings salmon back up and stages them near the tributaries.

Brook trout and the tributaries

Wild brook trout hold in the cold tributary mouths and the shaded coves, especially in spring and fall. The Roach River, Moose River and Socatean Stream feed the lake and hold their own fisheries under special regulations, with the Roach in particular drawing anglers for its September run of lake-fed salmon and brookies. These are fly-fishing waters with strict rules: read the law book before wading.

North woods logistics

Greenville anchors the south end with launches, floatplanes, guides and supplies; Rockwood serves the middle of the lake near Kineo; Lily Bay State Park adds a ramp and camping on the east shore. Weather changes fast and the lake builds serious waves: this is big water that deserves respect, a checked forecast and a life jacket worn rather than stowed.

Common questions

What is togue?

The Maine name for lake trout. They share the lake with landlocked salmon and are caught deep through most of the open-water season.

When is the best fishing?

The weeks after ice-out in May for surface trolling, and September when salmon return shallow and stage near the tributary mouths.

Is it safe for a small boat?

Only with a careful eye on the weather: the lake is large enough to build dangerous waves quickly. Fish the mornings and stay near shore in small craft.

Is fishing good at Moosehead Lake 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

West Branch Penobscot River28 miKennebec River38 miPenobscot River58 miKennebago Lake64 miRangeley Lake65 miMooselookmeguntic Lake71 mi
Share your catch