The Best Fishing Spots in New Hampshire
New Hampshire offers excellent fishing across clear lakes and fast rivers, with active ice fishing in winter and warm-season opportunities from spring through fall. Anglers commonly target native and stocked brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout, plus landlocked salmon and lake trout in deeper waters. Warmwater species include smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike, chain pickerel, and plentiful yellow perch, making New Hampshire a versatile destination for both fly fishing and conventional boat or shore anglers.
Top Cities For Fishing
River Fishing
Sea Fishing
Dover
(20 km to coast)
Exeter
(19 km to coast)
Greenland
(9 km to coast)
Hampton
(5 km to coast)
Hampton Beach
(1 km to coast)
Hampton Falls
(7 km to coast)
Kensington
(16 km to coast)
North Hampton
(6 km to coast)
Portsmouth
(1 km to coast)
Rye
(4 km to coast)
Seabrook
(7 km to coast)
Stratham Station
(16 km to coast)
Lake Fishing
Lake Winnipesaukee
Top Saltwater Fishing Spots
Piscataqua River
A powerful tidal river along Portsmouth and New Castle known for fast currents, it produces striped bass, mackerel, and in-season pollock; time moving tides, cast soft plastics and bucktails along rock structure and bridge shadows, or drift live bait from boats to intercept fish riding rips and eddies.
Portsmouth Harbor
A classic coastal hub with easy access and constant current, the harbor and surrounding ledges give up striped bass, mackerel, and occasional flounder; cast from piers and breakwalls near Fort Point or run boats to work rips and rock piles where bait stacks on a flooding tide.
Isles of Shoals
A cluster of rocky islands offshore from Portsmouth , these ledges and drop-offs attract striped bass, pollock, and summer mackerel; run charter or private boats to cast bucktails along wash zones, jig metals over structure, and drift live bait around points and saddles.
Great Bay
This broad estuary offers expansive flats and channels that attract striped bass and seasonal bluefish, with access from Newmarket and Greenland ; fish topwater at dawn on breaking tides, work paddle tails along drop-offs, and drift eels or mackerel through current cuts connecting to Little Bay .
Hampton Harbor
Bordering Hampton and Seabrook , this inlet’s jetties, marsh edges, and channels offer reliable action for striped bass and in-season winter flounder; shore anglers fish bait along channel edges while boaters drift bucktails and soft plastics through tide-swept cuts and sandbars.
Little Bay
The narrow connector between Great Bay and the Piscataqua River concentrates current and bait, drawing striped bass and mackerel; work moving tides with soft plastics and bucktails along channel edges, and drift live bait through rips formed by constricted flows.
Top Freshwater Fishing Spots
First Connecticut Lake
In the North Country near Pittsburg , this deep, cold lake is renowned for lake trout, landlocked salmon, and winter cusk; troll smelt imitations along steep breaks, jig heavy spoons over humps, and fish creek mouths during spring smelt movements.
Lake Sunapee
A deep, cold-water jewel noted for landlocked salmon and lake trout, with bonus smallmouth bass; early-season trolling with spoons and stickbaits excels, while summer jigging over humps near Georges Mills and the narrows can produce lakers throughout the day.
Newfound Lake
Ultra-clear and deep, Newfound is prime for lake trout, landlocked salmon, and quality smallmouth bass; run long, light leaders for spooky fish, troll smelt-pattern spoons along the drop, and fish tubes and jerkbaits on rocky points near Hebron and Bristol .
Ossipee Lake
A spacious warmwater lake near Freedom and Ossipee producing strong numbers of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, and black crappie; target weedbeds and sand breaks, and use spinnerbaits around river mouths feeding the main lake.
Pemigewasset River
A scenic river from Lincoln through Plymouth , offering pocket water and pools for rainbow trout, brown trout, and smallmouth bass; work classic runs with nymphs and small spinners, and target boulder fields and eddies with jerkbaits during summer flows.
Spofford Lake
Clear and deep near Chesterfield , Spofford is known for quality smallmouth bass, solid largemouth bass, and stocked rainbow trout; fish tubes and dropshots on rock piles, twitch jerkbaits along points, and troll spoons for trout over mid-lake basins.
Squam Lake
Clear, rocky waters famed for lake trout, landlocked salmon, and trophy smallmouth bass; troll spoons and live smelt over deep basins in spring, fish drop-shots on offshore humps in summer, and work swimbaits along steep banks near Holderness when bait pushes shallow.
Umbagog Lake
Straddling the NH–ME line near Errol , Umbagog’s marshy coves and granite shorelines hold smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, chain pickerel, and yellow perch; paddle or motor into back bays for surface bites at dawn and work rocky points with tubes and spinnerbaits mid-day.
Winnisquam Lake
Linked to Lake Winnipesaukee by the Winnipesaukee River, Winnisquam holds lake trout, rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, and prolific white perch; troll the main basin early, jig metal over deep structure mid-summer, and chase evening white perch blitzes along shoals.
Lake Winnipesaukee
New Hampshire’s largest lake is a year-round destination for landlocked salmon, lake trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and white perch; big-water trolling shines in spring and fall, while summer brings topwater action on rocky points and reefs around Alton Bay , Wolfeboro , and Meredith , and hardwater anglers target cusk and trout across vast mid-lake basins in winter.
Androscoggin River
From Errol through Berlin to Shelburne , the Androscoggin provides varied current for rainbow trout, brown trout, and smallmouth bass; nymph riffles and seams, swing streamers at dusk, and fish crankbaits or tubes in slower pools for bronzebacks.
Top Saltwater & Freshwater Spots
Merrimack River
Flowing through Nashua and Manchester , this big river gives up smallmouth bass, walleye, and seasonal runs of striped bass that push upriver; fish jigs and crankbaits around current seams and bridge pilings, drift live bait for walleye in deeper holes, and work evening plugs for stripers near confluences and outflows.