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Moosehead Lake Fishing Report

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

Moosehead Lake: 74,890 acres and 246 feet deep, where togue, landlocked salmon and wild brook trout share the water with smallmouth and perch.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
48 / 48 F
Wind
N 12 mph

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

Tap a marker for today's tip
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.

Moosehead Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 12 mph, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 48. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:11 AM-11:11 AM and 9:41 PM-11:41 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.

Rainbow troutExcellent

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near 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.

Lake troutGood

Spring and fall bring lakers into 10 to 30 feet of water (Michigan DNR), within reach of casters and shallow trollers; fall is also spawning time over rocky shoals.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 53 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.

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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp48 F
High / Low48 / 34 F
WindN 12-18 mph
Pressure1027.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:06 / 17:39
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 Moosehead Lake this week

The best day on Moosehead Lake 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
9:11 AM-11:11 AM and 9:41 PM-11:41 PM
Minor period
3:33 AM-4:33 AM
Sun
07:06 to 17:39
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 19 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

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

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.

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. Spring and fall bring lakers into 10 to 30 feet of water (Michigan DNR), within reach of casters and shallow trollers; fall is also spawning time over rocky shoals.

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. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

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
Yellow perch
Rainbow trout
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 Moosehead Lake 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 52 F, wind to 18 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 53 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Brook trout led the card at excellent. High of 56 F, wind to 15 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. MDIFW special laws for Moosehead Lake: closed to taking smelts; live bait allowed; brook trout 1 a day, 14 in. minimum, 18–22 in. released; landlocked salmon 1 a day (18 in. minimum while ice fishing, closed to taking until Feb 15); togue 5 a day, no minimum, only 1 over 18 in. Ice fishing Jan 1–Apr 30 with listed bays and stream mouths closed Jan 1–Mar 31. Tributaries such as the Moose and Roach rivers and the Kennebec outlets have their own rules.

Access

Lily Bay State Park (east shore): trailered boat launch, campground, open 9 a.m. to sunset daily, fee charged.

About this water

Moosehead Lake, Piscataquis and Somerset counties, Maine: 74,890 acres, maximum depth 246 feet (MDIFW).

Fishing Moosehead Lake: the full guide

Salmon, togue and brook trout

MDIFW's lake survey map gives Moosehead 74,890 acres and a maximum depth of 246 feet. It says landlocked salmon are stocked to add to the wild population and raise catch rates, lake trout (togue) were last stocked in 1975 and the wild population has grown since, and the brook trout fishery depends on natural reproduction because stocking brook trout produced poor results. MDIFW notes that the fishery swings with togue numbers: when togue increase they outcompete salmon for smelt, and salmon numbers and growth fall.

Introduced species

According to MDIFW, yellow perch were introduced to Moosehead in the mid-1950s, smallmouth bass in the mid-1970s and white perch in 1984, and their establishment severely compromises the lake's potential for a high-quality wild brook trout fishery. Lake whitefish once lived in the lake but have disappeared. Rainbow smelt, round whitefish, suckers and several minnow species complete the fish list.

When the fishing is best

Maine's Bureau of Parks and Lands says fishing on Moosehead for salmon and trout is usually best in the weeks after ice-out, typically early to mid-May, or when the water cools in September. The lake is open to ice fishing from January 1 to April 30, but several bays and stream mouths, including Spencer Bay, Socatean Bay, the Moose River mouth and part of Lily Bay, are closed to ice fishing and to open-water fishing from January 1 to March 31.

Common questions

What is togue?

Maine's name for lake trout. MDIFW last stocked togue in Moosehead in 1975, and the wild population has grown since.

When is the best fishing for salmon and trout?

Maine's Bureau of Parks and Lands says the weeks after ice-out, typically early to mid-May, and again in September when the water cools.

How many togue can I keep?

Five a day with no minimum length, but only one may be longer than 18 inches.

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 River33 miChesuncook Lake34 miKennebec River38 miPenobscot River58 miKennebago Lake61 miRangeley Lake65 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.6000, -69.7000 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 6, 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 6, 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.