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Lake Sunapee Fishing Report

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

Sunapee Lake in New London, Newbury and Sunapee: a New Hampshire lake trout and salmon lake stocked with landlocked salmon every year.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
84 cfs
Air / High
51 / 53 F
Wind
NNW 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01152500, 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.

Lake Sunapee feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The release below the dam is running 84 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 53. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:21 AM-11:21 AM and 9:51 PM-11:51 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 57 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

New Hampshire requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $45.00 for residents. What a New Hampshire licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing landlocked salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with NHFG before you keep anything. The season dates for New Hampshire, read off the agency, are on the New Hampshire seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Sugar River at West Claremont (outlet drainage).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01152500.

9214519784 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp51 F
High / Low53 / 31 F
WindNNW 9-14 mph
Pressure1027.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:12 / 17:52
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 Lake Sunapee this week

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

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

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:21 AM-11:21 AM and 9:51 PM-11:51 PM
Minor period
3:43 AM-4:43 AM
Sun
07:12 to 17:52
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 11 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Sunapee: 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.

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.

When to come: the Lake Sunapee 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
Lake 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 Lake Sunapee today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 61 F, wind to 15 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 58 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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

A New Hampshire fishing license is required. 2026 rules for Lake Trout and/or Salmon Lakes: trout, lake trout and landlocked salmon 15-inch minimum, head and tail intact; 2 trout combined plus up to 2 lake trout a day; salmon only April 1–Sept. 30. Sunapee adds the Otter Brook and tributary closures and the trolling gear rule (NH regulations updated Aug. 28, 2026).

Access

New Hampshire Fish and Game's special-rules table lists ramp access for Sunapee Lake and notes speed and other boating restrictions.

About this water

A 4,136-acre lake in New London, Newbury and Sunapee, New Hampshire, managed by Fish and Game as a lake trout and salmon lake.

Fishing Lake Sunapee: the full guide

A designated lake trout and salmon lake

New Hampshire Fish and Game lists Sunapee Lake, in New London, Newbury and Sunapee, at 4,136 acres and manages it as a Lake Trout and/or Salmon Lake, open all year under that category's rules. Landlocked salmon were first planted in Sunapee in 1867, and Fish and Game still stocks them every year because natural spawning in New Hampshire's lakes is too limited to sustain the fishery.

Seasons through the year

From April 1 to September 30 all species are open: 2 trout of any kind a day combined, and up to 2 lake trout. Trout, lake trout, salmon and whitefish close from October 1 through December 31, and no trolling is allowed in that period. From January 1 to March 31 fishing is through the ice only, with 2 devices per angler; salmon are closed then. Smelt may not be taken from March 15 to June 15.

Sunapee's own rules

The lake within 500 feet of Otter Brook is closed to all fishing from Oct. 16 to Dec. 31, and all tributaries are closed from Oct. 16 to May 31. When trolling, use only one artificial lure, fly, tandem fly or bait per rod, and only one single-point hook with bait.

Common questions

When can I keep a salmon?

From April 1 to September 30, at least 15 inches, within the 2-trout combined daily limit.

Is Sunapee open in the fall?

Yes for other species, but trout, lake trout, salmon and whitefish are closed from October 1 to December 31 and trolling is banned then; Otter Brook's mouth and the tributaries close entirely.

Are the salmon stocked?

Yes. Fish and Game stocks landlocked salmon in Sunapee every year; they were first planted there in 1867.

Is fishing good at Lake Sunapee 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

Newfound Lake23 miConnecticut River23 miLake Winnisquam29 miWhite River30 miPemigewasset River32 miSquam Lake36 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01152500 β€” Sugar River at West Claremont (outlet drainage)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.3800, -72.0500 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.