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Rangeley Lake Fishing Report

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

Where American sport fishing grew up: Rangeley’s cold water still gives up landlocked salmon and brook trout under the western Maine mountains.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
69 / 71 F
Wind
WNW 10 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.

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

Rangeley Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WNW around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1010 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 temp69 F
High / Low71 / 57 F
WindWNW 10-17 mph
Pressure1009.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain38% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset06:08 / 19:14
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 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 71/57 F, wind 10 mph, rain 8%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Rangeley 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 Rangeley 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 Rangeley Lake 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 65 F, wind to 9 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 64 F, wind to 9 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 70 F, wind to 7 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. Rangeley is subject to special regulations including tackle restrictions and slot limits for salmon and brook trout: read the current MDIFW law book for this water before fishing.

Access

Rangeley Lake State Park boat launch and campground, town landing in Rangeley, and multiple carry-in access points.

About this water

A 6,000-acre coldwater lake at 1,500 feet in Franklin County, Maine: the heart of the historic Rangeley Lakes region.

Fishing Rangeley Lake: the full guide

The lake that made the sport famous

Rangeley Lake spreads 6,000 acres at 1,500 feet in Maine’s western mountains, the centerpiece of a chain that drew Gilded Age anglers north by train to chase brook trout of legendary size. Those eight-pound squaretails are history, but the fishery endures: landlocked salmon are the headline species today, with wild and stocked brook trout alongside them, all sustained by cold, deep water and the rainbow smelt that feed everything in this region.

Ice-out is the season

The calendar here starts when the ice goes out, usually in early May, and for three or four weeks salmon and brook trout roam the surface hunting smelt in water cold from top to bottom. Trolling tandem streamers: Grey Ghost, Nine-Three, Black Ghost, patterns invented on these very lakes: within the top ten feet is the traditional method and still the deadliest. Casting to shoreline schools and tributary mouths at dawn produces for anglers without boats.

Summer depth and September

Once the lake stratifies in June, salmon slide down to the 50-58 degree band and stay there: lead core, downriggers and flutter spoons work them at 20-40 feet through the summer. Brook trout go deeper still, holding near spring holes. September cooling brings both species back within reach and stages them near the outlet and inlet streams before the fall spawning run, making the last weeks of the season some of the best fishing of the year.

Rangeley logistics

The state boat launch at Rangeley Lake State Park on the south shore and the town landing serve trailer boats, with the park adding camping and shoreline access. The Rangeley Lakes region includes Mooselookmeguntic, Cupsuptic and Richardson lakes plus the Rapid River, so a week here can be spent without repeating water. The town supplies guides, tackle and the Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum, which tells the story of how this valley shaped American angling.

Common questions

What can I catch in Rangeley Lake?

Landlocked salmon are the primary sport fish, with brook trout the historic prize. Both are managed with special regulations designed to protect size quality.

When is ice-out?

Typically early May, varying by year. The three weeks after ice-out are the traditional peak for surface trolling and casting.

Do I need a boat?

It helps enormously, but the state park shoreline, the outlet and tributary mouths give shore anglers legitimate opportunity in spring and fall.

Is fishing good at Rangeley 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

Mooselookmeguntic Lake6 miKennebago Lake8 miRapid River19 miAndroscoggin River25 miKennebec River41 miMoosehead Lake65 mi
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