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Raystown Lake Fishing Report

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

Pennsylvania's big lake: striper depths, smallmouth points and Allegheny ridgelines.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Lake level
786.47 ft 0.47 vs pool
Air / High
80 / 83 F
Wind
WNW 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01563100, 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.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Raystown Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The gauge reads 786.47 ft, 0.47 ft above pool, up 0.10 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind WNW around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 83. Water sits around 84 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: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 77 F. 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 from Raystown Lake near Huntingdon, PA.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01563100. Conservation pool is 786 ft.

786.03786.25786.48pool 786786.47 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp80 F
High / Low83 / 69 F
WindWNW 6-13 mph
Pressure1013.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain30% cloud, 71%
Sunrise / Sunset06:43 / 19:39
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 83/69 F, wind 11 mph, rain 71%

Slow. High rain chance; fish the front edge before it arrives.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Raystown 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
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 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 Raystown 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 early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 87 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 83 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 91 F, wind to 11 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

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

Regulations

Striper 20-inch minimum. Lake trout 18-inch: check PFBC.

Access

Seven Points Marina, Snyders Run, Aitch, Tatman Run ramps.

About this water

8,300 acres on the Raystown Branch Juniata, Huntingdon County, PA. Corps, current dam 1973.

Fishing Raystown Lake: the full guide

The keystone giant

Raystown is Pennsylvania's largest wholly-contained lake: 8,300 deep, clear acres where stripers (a genuine trophy fishery) track alewives, smallmouth work every point, and lake trout add a coldwater floor. Summer means downlines at dawn; fall turns the points into topwater roulette.

Striper depths of Pennsylvania

Raystown is PA's only true striper lake: alewife-fed fish past 30 lb working the thermocline off Seven Points all summer. Live-bait downlines at 25-45 ft at dawn, trolled umbrellas midday: a southern fishery transplanted into ridge-and-valley country.

Lake trout and the two-story rule

The same cold water sustains lake trout: jigging the 80-120 ft basins in winter. Above them, smallmouth own the rock points and largemouth the coves' laydowns: a two-story fishery where your depth choice picks your species.

Common questions

How big do Raystown stripers get?

The state record (53-plus lb) swam here: alewife schools and cold depth build genuine giants. Winter and early spring move them shallow enough for bank casters at dawn.

Trophy muskie sleeper

Raystown discreetly grows Pennsylvania's biggest muskies: trolled big cranks over the 15-30-ft points connect every November, and the lake's alewife forage builds 50-inch frames. Between striper trips, casting bucktails across the weed edges of the Juniata arm earns follows that stop hearts. It is the state's most underrated apex fishery: the striper fame keeps the muskie crowd thin.

When is Raystown's muskie window?

October-December while bait schools ball up: trolling covers water best. Summer fish exist deep but the by-catch striper crowd rarely targets them: fall is your uncontested shot.

Is fishing good at Raystown Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Little Juniata River17 miSpring Creek37 miPenns Creek52 miJuniata River52 miYellow Breeches Creek60 miSouth Branch Potomac River70 mi
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