Fishing Report May 11, 2026

We are hearing that Sebago Lake now has a bit of competition now that NH Fish and Game stocked brood stock landlocked salmon up to 8 pounds in Winnisquam Lake. Those fish have not only been stocked but are reportedly biting good. Most local trout waters are firing on all cylinders. Bass are on beds to the south and moving into spawning areas in central and northern New England. Haddock are finally biting very well. Striped bass continue to move up the coastline and will be increasing throughout the next few weeks.

Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago told us that the fishing on Long Pond in Naples was on fire last week. “I forgot to tell you last week that Long Lake has been on fire lately. They are crushing the salmon up there. Most of the fish are around 18 inches or 19 inches, but they are catching as many as 30 a day. They’re also getting some brown trout. I think they are trolling shiners. If you want bigger salmon, come to Sebago, but the numbers are there and they aren’t tiny fish. The salmon fishing on Sebago has slowed down a bit, but they are still getting decent numbers. One guy was in and had done well trolling Flatfish on the inside of the shoals and did really well with lake trout. I was jigging the deep water off of Nason’s and I was doing well until the wind kicked up. Another guy did well jigging just below Fryes the other day. Paddletails on jig heads are always good. I like to tip mine with small shiners. The Sebago Lake Trout Shootout is this Saturday. I’m pretty sure you can register online. They are also catching browns up to Hancock. Nothing big, but they are fun,” he said.

Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago told us that the fishing on Long Pond in Naples was on fire last week. “I forgot to tell you last week that Long Lake has been on fire lately. They are crushing the salmon up there. Most of the fish are around 18 inches or 19 inches, but they are catching as many as 30 a day. They’re also getting some brown trout. I think they are trolling shiners. If you want bigger salmon, come to Sebago, but the numbers are there and they aren’t tiny fish. The salmon fishing on Sebago has slowed down a bit, but they are still getting decent numbers. One guy was in and had done well trolling Flatfish on the inside of the shoals and did really well with lake trout. I was jigging the deep water off of Nason’s and I was doing well until the wind kicked up. Another guy did well jigging just below Fryes the other day. Paddletails on jig heads are always good. I like to tip mine with small shiners. The Sebago Lake Trout Shootout is this Saturday. I’m pretty sure you can register online. They are also catching browns up to Hancock. Nothing big, but they are fun,” he said.

“Fred Kunz was high hook with the most legal fish, a count of 47 total. His largest fish was a 5.5-pound haddock. Tom Murphy (VT) won the boat pool for the largest fish, an 8.25-pound cod. Some of his other good fish included a 6.5-pound haddock and a 5.25-pound haddock. Randy Bodkin (NY) won the boat pool for the second largest fish, a 7.5-pound Maine state trophy haddock. This is Bunny Clark's largest haddock of the fishing season so far.”

“Other Angler Highlights: Mark Fraher (CT) boated a 7-pound Maine state trophy haddock. This is the largest haddock that he has ever caught. It's also Bunny Clark's third-largest haddock of the fishing season so far. Neil Hickey (VT) caught a 5.75-pound haddock, his biggest fish. Dennis Reissig (NY) caught exactly 15 haddock. He wanted to at least catch the bag limit with a jig. He succeeded in doing so during the last minute of fishing. His largest fish was a 4.5-pound haddock. Luke Fraher (CT) landed a 5.5-pound haddock, his best. Caleb Douglas (NY) boated a 6.9-pound haddock, just shy of a Maine state trophy. This is Bunny Clark's fourth-largest haddock of the fishing season so far. I also weighed a 5-pound haddock for him. Chris Willy (VT) landed a 6-pound haddock and the largest cusk of the day at 6 pounds. These were his two biggest fish. A couple of years ago, he caught an 11-pound Maine state trophy haddock with me. Dan Gibbs (NH) caught a 5-pound haddock, his best fish. Jonathan Griffin (MA) pulled a 6-pound haddock over the rail, his biggest fish. Griff was second hook today.”

New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service reported that while the salmon fishing on Winnipesaukee is still relatively consistent, midge hatches were slowing things down a bit. “The midges have become the bane of my existence lately. They have been awful, especially on days with little or no wind. The salmon were hitting Wolfeboro Bay streamers, smelt colored BB Gun spoons best this week. We found fish anywhere from 5 to 25 feet down. They are pretty scattered throughout the water column right now. With the midge hatch, finding schools of smelt has been the ticket. I was lucky enough to find two good areas that had big schools of smelt suspended 20 feet down. There were fish on them all day, but they obviously bit best early and late,” he said.

Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton was excited to see that many anglers were catching the surplus brood stock salmon that NH Fish and Game recently stocked in Winnisquam. “They’re getting those salmon on Winnisquam, and some nice lakers too. They’re getting 3-4 salmon at a whack. They are getting them 15 feet down. That red top copper spoon is hot on Winnisquam and Winnipesaukee. It’s just been a really good color spoon so far this season. Spoons are fishing better than flies overall right now. That could change, but for now that’s how it’s going,” he said.

Ki at Dover Marine/Covered Bridge Sports told us that the haddock fishing was finally on fire. “We are selling a ton of haddock gear. Teasers and bucktails are flying off the wall. I got a few bass yesterday. They are active in the shallows,” he said. They’re trout expert, Camden, chimed in with some local trout info. “Stonehouse Pond in Barrington is fishing well. The Cocheco River is fishing well. They’re hitting smaller baitfish-sized streamers. In the rivers, they are hitting midges and small nymphs; 16s and 18s are good. They’re starting to rise for size 18 gnats. Start with small streamers and if they aren’t hitting them, start sizing down,” he said.