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Merrymeeting Lake Fishing Report

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

Merrymeeting Lake: a deep, low-nutrient lake in New Durham that New Hampshire Fish and Game stocks and manages for lake trout and landlocked salmon.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~44 F est.
Air / High
39 / 52 F
Wind
WSW 4 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.

Merrymeeting Lake asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1003 hPa and a high of 52. Water sits around 44 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:08 PM-1:08 AM and 10:44 AM-12:44 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.

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.

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 46 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 / Low52 / 39 F
WindWSW 4-7 mph
Pressure1002.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain5% cloud, 15%
Sunrise / Sunset06:30 / 16:25
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 Merrymeeting Lake this week

The best day on Merrymeeting Lake 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
11:08 PM-1:08 AM and 10:44 AM-12:44 PM
Minor period
6:43 AM-7:43 AM
Sun
06:30 to 16:25
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 15 mph
Rain chance
15%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Merrymeeting 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. 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.

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 Merrymeeting 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
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
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 Merrymeeting Lake 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 49 F, wind to 16 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 57 F, wind to 14 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 13 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

New Hampshire fishing license. Designated Lake Trout and/or Salmon Lake (NH Freshwater Fishing Digest, read 2026-10-06): salmon April 1–Sept 30; combined trout limit 2; Jan 1–Mar 31 ice fishing only; no trolling Oct 1–Dec 31; trolling gear limited to one bait or lure per rod; cusk devices allowed. Check the digest for current length limits, which were revised for 2026.

Access

NH Fish and Game ramp on the south shore, New Durham.

About this water

A 1,233-acre oligotrophic lake, maximum depth 120 ft, in New Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire.

Fishing Merrymeeting Lake: the full guide

The lake

NH Fish and Game's lake map gives Merrymeeting Lake in New Durham 1,233 acres, an average depth of 29 feet and a maximum of 120 feet, and classes it as oligotrophic (low in nutrients) with both coldwater and warmwater fish. The department lists rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel and brown bullhead, notes the lake is stocked, and designates it a Lake Trout and/or Salmon Lake.

Lake trout and salmon rules

As a designated lake, Merrymeeting is managed for both lake trout and landlocked salmon. Salmon may be taken only from April 1 to September 30, the combined trout and salmon limit is 2 fish, and trolling is prohibited from October 1 to December 31. When trolling, only one artificial bait, fly, tandem fly or bait may be used per rod, and only a single hook with one point when using bait.

Through the ice

From January 1 to March 31 the lake is open to ice fishing only; landlocked salmon are closed, and each angler may use two ice-fishing devices with single-point hooks for bait. Merrymeeting is one of the waters where cusk (burbot) devices are allowed: up to six extra lines set on the bottom, checked once every 24 hours, with any other species released by cutting the line.

Access

Fish and Game's map shows its ramp on the south shore as the public access. For rules on boats and motors, the department refers anglers to the NH Department of Safety, Marine Patrol.

Common questions

Is Merrymeeting stocked?

Yes. NH Fish and Game's map marks the lake as stocked and as a lake trout and/or salmon lake, with rainbow trout, landlocked salmon and lake trout among the species listed.

Can I keep a salmon through the ice?

No. Landlocked salmon are closed from October 1 to March 31. Lake trout may be taken through the ice from January 1 to March 31 under the 2-fish trout limit.

Is cusk fishing allowed?

Yes. Merrymeeting Lake is on the state's short list of waters where cusk fishing devices may be set through the ice, up to six per angler in addition to the normal lines.

Is fishing good at Merrymeeting 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

Lake Winnipesaukee12 miLake Winnisquam17 miOssipee Lake19 miSquam Lake26 miGreat Bay32 miPemigewasset River32 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.4900, -71.1600 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.