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Newfound Lake Fishing Report

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

One of the cleanest lakes in the country: Newfound’s spring-fed clarity holds salmon, lake trout and smallmouth.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
77 / 77 F
Wind
NW 9 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Newfound Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 77. 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: Similar at 73 F with a rain chance. 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 temp77 F
High / Low77 / 61 F
WindNW 9-15 mph
Pressure1009.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain5% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:14 / 19:17
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 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 77/61 F, wind 10 mph, rain 1%

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 Newfound 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 Newfound 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 Newfound Lake 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. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 71 F, wind to 5 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 68 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Landlocked salmon led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 5 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

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

Regulations

New Hampshire license. Salmon and lake trout limits and seasons per current NH Fish and Game regulations.

Access

Wellington State Park ramp and shoreline on the west shore; additional access at the south end near Bristol.

About this water

A 4,106-acre spring-fed lake 183 feet deep in Grafton County, New Hampshire, noted for exceptional water clarity.

Fishing Newfound Lake: the full guide

Spring-fed clarity

Newfound Lake covers 4,100 acres in central New Hampshire, fed by underground springs that refill it every few years and give it water clarity ranked among the cleanest in the nation. It reaches 183 feet deep and holds a classic New Hampshire coldwater fishery: landlocked salmon, lake trout, rainbow trout, plus smallmouth bass, pickerel and panfish along the shorelines.

Coldwater season

Ice-out brings salmon and lake trout to the surface in April and May: trolling streamers, smelt imitations and small spoons in the top twenty feet is the traditional method. Summer sends them deep, 50-100 feet for lakers, where downriggers reach them. Fall stages salmon near the Cockermouth River inflow at the north end, one of the better fall spots on the lake.

Bass and clarity

Smallmouth work the rocky points and drop-offs from June onward, with the exceptional clarity demanding light line, natural colors and longer casts than most anglers expect. Largemouth and pickerel hold in the weedier coves. Yellow perch school in numbers, and ice fishing draws a following for salmon, lakers and perch when the lake locks up.

Bristol-area logistics

The state ramp at Wellington State Park on the west shore provides the main access, with additional shoreline access at the park. Bristol is at the south end with services. Newfound is smaller and less trafficked than Winnipesaukee, and its clarity makes it as much a swimming and paddling destination as a fishing one: early mornings belong to anglers.

Common questions

Why is the water so clear?

Underground springs refill the lake regularly and the watershed is small and protected: it ranks among the cleanest lakes in the country.

When do salmon bite?

April and May after ice-out near the surface, and again in fall when they stage near the Cockermouth inflow.

Does clarity make fishing harder?

Yes: light line, natural colors and low-light periods matter more here than on stained lakes.

Is fishing good at Newfound 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

Pemigewasset River9 miSquam Lake14 miLake Winnipesaukee22 miLake Sunapee23 miConnecticut River27 miWhite River32 mi
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