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Great Bay Fishing Report

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

New Hampshire’s tidal estuary: Great Bay holds stripers, flounder and one of New England’s wildest shorelines.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 11:45 PM
Air / High
83 / 83 F
Wind
NW 6 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8423898, 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.

Great Bay offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 83. Tides: high 4:58 AM and 5:14 PM, low 10:52 AM and 11:45 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 72 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

BluefishExcellent

Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Striped bassGood

Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 73 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.

Tides

NOAA station 8423898 (Fort Point). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH4:58 AM8.2 ft
LOW10:52 AM0.9 ft
HIGH5:14 PM9.5 ft
LOW11:45 PM0.3 ft
Sat
HIGH6:02 AM7.9 ft
LOW11:56 AM1.1 ft
HIGH6:19 PM9.4 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp83 F
High / Low83 / 65 F
WindNW 6-12 mph
Pressure1007.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain18% cloud, 7%
Sunrise / Sunset06:11 / 19:13
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~72 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, 83/65 F, wind 7 mph, rain 7%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Great Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

When to come: the Great Bay 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
Striped bass
Bluefish
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 72 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~72 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 Great Bay 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. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

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

Regulations

New Hampshire saltwater license or registration. Striped bass slot limits and seasons change annually: check current Fish and Game rules.

Access

Ramps at Newmarket, Durham, Greenland and Portsmouth; extensive kayak access on the tributary rivers.

About this water

A tidal estuary reaching seven miles inland from the New Hampshire coast, Rockingham and Strafford counties.

Fishing Great Bay: the full guide

An inland estuary

Great Bay reaches seven miles inland from the New Hampshire coast, a tidal estuary fed by seven rivers and connected to the Atlantic through the Piscataqua at Portsmouth. Tides move enormous volumes of water through narrow channels, and the bay holds striped bass, winter flounder, mackerel and, in the rivers feeding it, seasonal runs of river herring and the occasional shad.

Stripers on the tide

Striped bass are the main target: they follow bait into the bay from May through October, holding on the channel edges, oyster beds and the current seams near the narrows. Fish the moving tide with soft plastics, plugs and flies, concentrating on the last of the incoming and the first of the outgoing when bait flushes through the constrictions.

Rivers and the flats

The Squamscott, Lamprey, Oyster and Bellamy rivers all feed the bay and hold stripers on the tide, offering protected fishing when the bay is rough. Extensive mudflats emerge at low tide, limiting navigation but concentrating fish in the channels. Kayaks and small boats are ideal; the bay is not big-boat water.

Seacoast logistics

Ramps at Newmarket, Durham, Greenland and Portsmouth serve the bay and its rivers, with the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve protecting much of the shoreline. Tides run hard: plan launches around them, since low water strands boats on the flats. Portsmouth is minutes away with full services.

Common questions

When are stripers in the bay?

May through October, following bait on the tides, with the moving water around the narrows the most productive.

Is it good for kayaks?

Ideal: shallow, protected and full of channel structure, though the strong tides demand planning.

What about low tide?

Extensive mudflats emerge, stranding boats and concentrating fish in the channels: plan launches around the tide.

Is fishing good at Great Bay 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

Hampton12 miPlum Island18 miMerrimack River36 miLake Winnipesaukee44 miSebago Lake56 miSquam Lake57 mi
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