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Lake Willoughby Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A 1,653-acre, 308-foot-deep lake between Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor, and the water that produced Vermont's record lake trout.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
46 / 47 F
Wind
NNW 8 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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 Willoughby feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings clear skies, wind NNW around 8 mph, rising pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 47. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:21 AM-11:21 AM and 9:51 PM-11:51 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

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.

Landlocked salmonGood

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 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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Vermont requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $28.00 for residents. What a Vermont licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing landlocked salmon here? Check the size and bag limits with VTFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Vermont, read off the agency, are on the Vermont 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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp46 F
High / Low47 / 31 F
WindNNW 8-11 mph
Pressure1028.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:14 / 17:50
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 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 Willoughby this week

The best day on Lake Willoughby this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:21 AM-11:21 AM and 9:51 PM-11:51 PM
Minor period
3:43 AM-4:43 AM
Sun
07:14 to 17:50
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Willoughby: 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. 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.

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.

When to come: the Lake Willoughby 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
Rainbow trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Willoughby today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Landlocked salmon led the card at excellent. High of 51 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 54 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Vermont fishing license required. Under Vermont's Fish Management Rule (Appendix 122), Willoughby Lake is on the list of waters with a two-fish aggregate daily limit for brook, brown, rainbow and lake trout and salmon, open water and ice fishing from the second Saturday in April through October 31 and from January 1 through March 15. Size limits are set water by water: check the current Vermont Fish and Wildlife regulations.

Access

Vermont Fish and Wildlife's Lake Willoughby Access Area in Westmore (accessible dock added in 2023). Willoughby State Forest surrounds the cliffs, with more than 12 miles of hiking trails and no developed campground.

About this water

A 1,653-acre lake, 308 feet at its deepest, in Westmore, Orleans County, Vermont, between Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor.

Fishing Lake Willoughby: the full guide

Deep water under the cliffs

Vermont's Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation gives Lake Willoughby 1,653 acres and a maximum depth of 308 feet, among the deepest lakes in the Northeast. Mount Pisgah (2,751 feet) rises on the east shore and Mount Hor (2,648 feet) on the west, and their cliffs drop straight to the water inside Willoughby State Forest. The lake lies in the town of Westmore in the Northeast Kingdom.

Lake trout and salmon

Vermont Fish and Wildlife lists Willoughby among the Northeast Kingdom's popular lake trout waters and among its landlocked salmon fisheries. The state record lake trout, 35 lb 3.2 oz, came from Lake Willoughby in 2003. The department's general advice for both species applies here: after ice-out they hold in shallow water around shoals, rock outcrops and shoreline structure, where trolled stickbaits, spoons and smelt-imitating streamers work; as the lake warms they go deep, and downriggers, lead core or wire line are needed to reach them. In fall lake trout return to rocky shorelines and reefs to spawn.

Spawning tributaries

Several brooks entering the lake in Westmore (Dorin, Wells, Myers, Schoolhouse and Mill brooks, which pass under Route 5A) have closed reaches near their mouths in spring under the state fish management rule. Check the rule before fishing any inlet.

Common questions

How deep is Lake Willoughby?

Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation lists a maximum depth of 308 feet over 1,653 acres.

What is the record fish?

Vermont's state record lake trout, 35 lb 3.2 oz, was caught in Lake Willoughby in 2003, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife.

When can I fish for trout and salmon?

Willoughby is on Vermont's two-fish aggregate list, with seasons from the second Saturday in April through October 31 and January 1 through March 15; confirm in the current regulations.

Is fishing good at Lake Willoughby 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

Seymour Lake11 miClyde River15 miLake Memphremagog18 miWaterbury Reservoir42 miAndroscoggin River45 miFirst Connecticut Lake45 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.7500, -72.0500 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 5, 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 5, 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.