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Ossipee Lake Fishing Report

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

Ossipee Lake: a stocked Carroll County 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
~51 F est.
Air / High
41 / 54 F
Wind
SSW 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.

Ossipee Lake is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1002 hPa and a high of 54. Water sits around 51 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

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66Β°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

Rainbow troutGood

This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

CrappieGood

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

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.

Smallmouth bassFair

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Largemouth bassFair

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Landlocked salmonSlow

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.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 48 F with a rain chance. 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 smallmouth bass 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.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~51 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp41 F
High / Low54 / 38 F
WindSSW 4-5 mph
Pressure1002.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 9%
Sunrise / Sunset06:31 / 16:25
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~51 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 Ossipee Lake this week

The best day on Ossipee 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
6:44 AM-7:44 AM
Sun
06:31 to 16:25
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 10 mph
Rain chance
9%

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

Species guide

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

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. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

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. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

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. This band overlaps Vermont's 54-66Β°F stream preference: fish feed across riffles, runs and pocket water, and in lakes WDFW says spring and fall bring them near the surface.

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. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Close to Vermont's 53-66Β°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

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 Ossipee 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
Smallmouth bass
Largemouth bass
Rainbow trout
Crappie
Yellow perch
Brown trout
Landlocked salmon
Lake trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 51 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~51 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 Ossipee 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. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 51 F, wind to 13 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 57 F, wind to 9 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 8 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

Fish with a New Hampshire license. As a lake trout and/or salmon lake, Ossipee falls under the digest's limits for salmon, trout and lake trout; the Bearcamp River closure and trolling rules above apply (digest updated January 12, 2026). For boat and motor restrictions, Fish and Game refers anglers to NH Marine Patrol.

Access

Fish and Game's map lists the Pine River boat ramp as the public access.

About this water

3,257 acres (Fish and Game map), average depth 27 feet, maximum 73 feet; Ossipee and Freedom, Carroll County, New Hampshire.

Fishing Ossipee Lake: the full guide

What the Fish and Game map shows

New Hampshire Fish and Game's bathymetry map for Ossipee Lake (Ossipee and Freedom) gives 3,257 acres, an average depth of 27 feet and a maximum of 73 feet, and classes the lake as oligotrophic with a cold and warm water fishery. It notes that the lake is stocked and is a lake trout and/or salmon lake with boat and speed restrictions.

Species

The map's species list includes rainbow and brown trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, brown bullhead, white perch, black crappie and yellow perch. Fish and Game's where-to-fish list names Ossipee for landlocked salmon, smallmouth bass and white perch.

Special rules

Under the New Hampshire digest, the part of the lake within 500 feet of the Bearcamp River is closed to all fishing from October 16 through December 31. When trolling, only one artificial bait, one fly, one tandem fly or one bait may be used per rod, and bait may be fished only on a single-point hook.

Common questions

How deep is Ossipee Lake?

Fish and Game's map gives a maximum depth of 73 feet and an average of 27 feet.

Where is the public boat ramp on Ossipee Lake?

The public access shown on the Fish and Game map is the Pine River boat ramp.

Are any areas closed?

Yes. Waters within 500 feet of the Bearcamp River are closed to all fishing from October 16 through December 31.

Is fishing good at Ossipee 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 Winnipesaukee16 miSaco River16 miMerrymeeting Lake19 miSquam Lake20 miLake Winnisquam25 miPemigewasset River27 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.7700, -71.1300 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 8, 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 8, 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.