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Lake Winnisquam Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Winnisquam: a 4,214-acre Lakes Region lake that New Hampshire Fish and Game manages for both coldwater and warmwater fish.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~44 F est.
Air / High
39 / 54 F
Wind
S 5 mph

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

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 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 Winnisquam asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1003 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 44 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:10 PM-1:10 AM and 10:46 AM-12:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Lake troutGood

Winter: Vermont says most of its lake trout fishing is done through the ice, and Michigan anglers jig spoons tipped with cut bait in deep Great Lakes bays.

CrappieGood

Bites slow; a minnow or small jig fished slowly near deeper cover is the usual approach, and through the ice where lakes freeze.

Rainbow troutGood

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Smallmouth bassFair

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Largemouth bassFair

Below about 50Β°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Landlocked salmonSlow

Right after ice-out salmon are near the surface; through the ice, Maine IFW advises fishing the first 15 feet below it. Wild fish spawn in tributaries from mid-October to late November.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 49 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 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.

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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~44 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp39 F
High / Low54 / 38 F
WindS 5-6 mph
Pressure1003.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 13%
Sunrise / Sunset06:32 / 16:27
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~44 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 Winnisquam this week

The best day on Lake Winnisquam this week looks like Thursday Nov 12, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Thursday, Nov 12 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
11:10 PM-1:10 AM and 10:46 AM-12:46 PM
Minor period
6:45 AM-7:45 AM
Sun
06:32 to 16:27
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 10 mph
Rain chance
13%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Winnisquam: 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. Right after ice-out salmon are near the surface; through the ice, Maine IFW advises fishing the first 15 feet below it. Wild fish spawn in tributaries from mid-October to late November.

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. Winter: Vermont says most of its lake trout fishing is done through the ice, and Michigan anglers jig spoons tipped with cut bait in deep Great Lakes bays.

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. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. Below about 50Β°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Bites slow; a minnow or small jig fished slowly near deeper cover is the usual approach, and through the ice where lakes freeze.

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. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

When to come: the Lake Winnisquam 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
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 44 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~44 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 Winnisquam today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Lake trout led the card at good. High of 52 F, wind to 11 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Lake trout led the card at good. High of 56 F, wind to 8 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Lake trout led the card at good. High of 66 F, wind to 7 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

Fish with a valid New Hampshire license. The Fish and Game map flags Winnisquam as a lake trout and/or salmon lake with restrictions: see the current NH Freshwater Fishing Digest before keeping salmon or lake trout.

Access

Fish and Game's map lists the Water Street ramp in Laconia as the public access. For boat and motor restrictions the map refers to NH Marine Patrol (Department of Safety).

About this water

A 4,214-acre lake, average depth 49 feet and maximum 173 feet (Fish and Game map), Belknap County, New Hampshire.

Fishing Lake Winnisquam: the full guide

What Fish and Game's lake map says

New Hampshire Fish and Game's bathymetry map for Winnisquam Lake (Laconia, Sanbornton and Meredith) lists 4,214 acres, an average depth of 49 feet and a maximum of 173 feet, and classes the fishery as cold and warm water. The map notes that the lake is stocked and is a lake trout and/or salmon lake with restrictions. Its species list covers rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, brown bullhead, white perch, black crappie, bluegill, rock bass, burbot and American eel.

Part of the Large Lakes program

Winnisquam is one of the central New Hampshire lakes in the agency's Large Lakes program. Fish and Game says most of these lakes are stocked each year with landlocked salmon and rainbow trout, while other species reproduce naturally, and that rainbow smelt are the main open-water forage for salmon, lake trout and rainbow trout. Salmon stocking rates are set after smelt surveys so that the forage base is not overgrazed.

Where the biologists point anglers

On its suggested-locations list, Fish and Game names Winnisquam for lake trout, landlocked salmon, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, white perch, cusk (burbot), fallfish and American eel.

Common questions

How deep is Lake Winnisquam?

Fish and Game's bathymetry map gives a maximum depth of 173 feet and an average of 49 feet over 4,214 acres.

Is Winnisquam stocked?

Yes. The agency's map marks the lake as stocked, and its Large Lakes page says most of these lakes receive landlocked salmon and rainbow trout every year.

Where can I launch a boat?

The public access shown on the Fish and Game map is the Water Street ramp in Laconia.

Is fishing good at Lake Winnisquam 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

Lake Winnipesaukee9 miSquam Lake15 miNewfound Lake16 miMerrymeeting Lake17 miPemigewasset River18 miOssipee Lake25 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.5300, -71.5000 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 7, 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 7, 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.