The Top 30 Fishing Lakes in Maine Ranked

Maine might be famous for its coastline, but ask anyone who fishes here and they will point you to the inland waters. This is one of the best freshwater states in the country, and it earns that reputation on cold water. Maine is the home of the landlocked salmon, so much so that the fish carries Sebago Lake in its scientific name. Add wild brook trout, hard fighting lake trout that locals call togue, and some of the best smallmouth bass water in the Northeast, and you have a state with serious fishing range.

I have fished all over Maine, but I knew I could not build this list alone. So I leaned on local anglers, social media polls, and the state’s own fishery reports to sort out the waters that actually define fishing here. That means the Rangeley region and the Downeast Grand Lakes, the big remote water up at Moosehead, and the Fish River Chain way up in Aroostook County, not just the easy bass ponds down south.

This is a countdown from 30 down to 1, and we weighed access, the quality and variety of the fishery, and how consistent the bite is through the seasons. Whether you are trolling for salmon and togue, swinging flies for brook trout, or chasing smallmouth around rocky points, there is something here for you. Tight lines.

30. Sabattus Pond

Sabattus Pond is a shallow lake of around 1,900 acres near Lewiston that fishes best for warmwater species. It has battled poor water quality and late summer algae blooms for decades, though a long running cleanup effort has slowly turned things around. Northern pike are the main attraction and the most common predator here, running on the smaller side on average but with the occasional gator over 20 pounds. You will also find largemouth bass, white perch, black crappie, and chain pickerel. It really shines in winter, when ice hut villages pop up across the lake and tip ups go down for pike. If you want low pressure warmwater action close to town, Sabattus delivers.

29. Great East Lake

Great East Lake sits right on the Maine and New Hampshire border and has been a favorite for anglers for years. It is known for cold, deep water that holds lake trout and landlocked salmon. The lake also has healthy numbers of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and white perch. You will find rocky shores, clear water, and lots of structure that keeps fishing interesting. Early morning and evening are usually the best times to cast. Some spots get busy in summer, but you can still find quiet water midweek. Locals say fall is especially good for bigger fish.

28. Little Ossipee Pond

Little Ossipee Pond is a calm, quiet spot in southern Maine near Waterboro. The shoreline mixes homes, trees, and small inlets where fish like to hold. Anglers come here for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and stocked rainbow trout, with chain pickerel and perch rounding things out. It is not a huge lake, but it has enough variety to keep a day interesting. Some parts are shallow while others drop off quickly, so you have options depending on what you are after. Early mornings and late afternoons are best for bites in the warmer months. There is room to fish from a kayak or canoe, plus plenty of shoreline access if you would rather stay on the bank.

27. Meddybemps Lake

Meddybemps Lake sits up near the Canadian border in Washington County and has a real local feel. It is a strong pick for smallmouth bass, with white perch and chain pickerel filling out the catch. The shoreline twists and turns into countless quiet coves and inlets where fish stack up. It does not draw big crowds, so you usually have room to cast in peace. Early mornings and cooler evenings tend to be the best windows. Whether you are in a kayak or working the bank, Meddybemps gives you space and time to focus on the fishing.

26. Lake Auburn

Lake Auburn sits just outside Lewiston and Auburn and is known for clean, deep, cold water. It doubles as a public drinking water supply, so there are real access restrictions here, including no body contact, which keeps pressure low and the fishery healthy. That cold water makes it a genuine coldwater lake, with lake trout, landlocked salmon, and brown trout alongside a solid smallmouth bass population. Local anglers favor early mornings in spring and fall, and trolling becomes the go to once the surface warms. Access is limited to a few points, so plan ahead. This one rewards patience over fast action.

25. Androscoggin Lake

Androscoggin Lake sits quietly between Wayne and Leeds in central Maine. It is a warmwater lake at heart, best known for largemouth and smallmouth bass, and some locals swear the bite picks up right after sunrise. Shallow flats mix with deeper channels, so it pays to know where to cast. You also stand a good chance at pickerel, perch, or even a brown trout when conditions line up. Weedy patches make perfect ambush cover for fish, though they can challenge beginners. The mostly wooded shoreline, dotted with a few camps, gives it a quiet, back to nature feel. Expect loons, and maybe an eagle overhead, while you wait on a bite.

24. Long Lake

Long Lake stretches across Naples, Bridgton, and Harrison and is one of the more consistent fisheries in southern Maine. Part of the Sebago basin, it holds smallmouth bass along with landlocked salmon and lake trout in its cooler depths. The shoreline mixes quiet coves and rocky drop offs, so you can adjust depending on what you are chasing. In winter, ice fishing draws steady crowds. It is long and narrow, deep enough to support coldwater fish but shallow enough along the edges for warmwater species. Whether you cast from shore or a canoe, Long Lake is the kind of place folks return to often.

23. Pushaw Lake

Pushaw Lake sits just outside Bangor and Orono and produces steady fishing, especially early and late in the day. Anglers come for smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, and white perch, and the lake also holds northern pike, which state biologists have been actively tracking and tagging throughout the Pushaw drainage. The shoreline mixes sandy stretches with patches of woods, giving you plenty of casting room from shore or kayak. It is a good place to fish without big crowds, and the calm water makes it easy to read activity on the surface. For a shallow, weedy lake that consistently produces, Pushaw is worth remembering.

22. Maranacook Lake

Maranacook Lake in central Maine offers a genuine mix of warmwater and coldwater fishing. It holds healthy smallmouth and largemouth bass through the warmer months, while the deeper basins give up lake trout and landlocked salmon. The water stays clear most of the year, which helps with sight fishing along rocky shorelines and drop offs. Shallow coves and deep water sit close together, so it suits both boat and shoreline anglers. It is a favorite with locals who fish it year round, right through the ice once the lake locks up in winter.

21. Graham Lake

Graham Lake in eastern Maine, a flowage on the Union River above Ellsworth, has a strong reputation for smallmouth bass. Its long shape and fluctuating water levels create endless coves, drop offs, and submerged structure, so finding fish rewards patience. Local anglers like the early morning hours for topwater action in summer. You also stand a good chance at chain pickerel, yellow perch, and the occasional brown trout. Graham changes through the day, calm and quiet at dawn, then breezy by afternoon as the wind comes up. Knowing your gear and watching the weather makes a real difference here.

20. Megunticook Lake

Megunticook Lake sits just outside Camden, ringed by wooded hills and quiet coves. It is one of the deeper lakes in the midcoast, which keeps it cool through summer and supports a strong mix of species. Anglers come for smallmouth and largemouth bass plus lake trout and landlocked salmon. The deeper channels are made for trolling, while the rocky shoreline and scattered ledges give casters plenty to work. What sets Megunticook apart is how close it is to the coast while still feeling tucked away. Its long stretches, little bays, and narrow sections spread anglers out, so it rarely feels crowded. Reliable and scenic, it is a yearly favorite for folks who come back every season.

19. Branch Lake

Branch Lake in Ellsworth is one of the clearest lakes in the state, and that clean, cold water makes it a standout coldwater fishery. Anglers troll it for landlocked salmon and lake trout, while a strong smallmouth bass population keeps things busy around the rocky shoreline. White perch round out the catch. Because it serves as a public water supply, there are some access and use rules worth checking before you go. The clarity can make fish spooky, so light line and early starts help. For salmon and togue close to the Downeast coast, Branch is a quiet gem.

18. Mousam Lake

Mousam Lake in southern Maine fishes year round and carries a good mix of species. It is known for smallmouth and largemouth bass along with brown trout, chain pickerel, and perch. In the warmer months, anglers work the rocky points and weedy coves where bass hold. Come winter, it turns into a popular ice fishing lake with steady catches of pickerel and panfish. Locals talk about its changing personality, easygoing one day and stubborn the next. Water clarity is good enough to sight fish in spots, which adds to the fun. Mousam is not flashy, just steady and reliable.

17. China Lake

China Lake sits between Vassalboro and China, a long, narrow lake with quiet water and steady fishing. Anglers come for smallmouth and largemouth bass, white perch, and chain pickerel. The shoreline mixes camps, homes, and woods for a natural feel even in a busy summer. The lake splits into a deeper eastern basin that fishes well for bass and a shallower, weedy northern section that is great for pickerel. It can get weedy late in the season, so spring and early summer are usually prime. A solid smelt population helps support healthy gamefish, and ongoing alewife restoration work continues to improve water quality. Not the flashiest lake around, but reliable and productive.

16. Great Pond

Great Pond is the largest of the Belgrade Lakes and one of central Maine’s best known fisheries. It is loaded with smallmouth and largemouth bass, with plenty of room to find a quiet corner from a boat or canoe. Switch up your gear and you can pick up brown trout and perch as well. The lake has a wide, varied shoreline, mixing rocky sections with weedy cover, plus deeper pockets that hold fish through the summer heat. It draws crowds but rarely feels packed if you time it right. Locals and visitors keep coming back season after season.

15. Messalonskee Lake

Messalonskee Lake, known to locals as Snow Pond, sits in the Belgrade chain and has a relaxed, lived in feel. It carries one of the broadest species lists around, with largemouth and smallmouth bass, brown trout, landlocked salmon, northern pike, and perch all in play. It stretches across several towns, so there is no shortage of water to explore. Some sections are shallow and quiet while others run deep enough to hold bigger fish. Early mornings and late afternoons tend to fish best, and public access is good, so you do not need lakefront property to get out. It stays active in summer without being overrun, and the fall foliage makes for a fine backdrop.

14. Square Lake

Square Lake is the largest water in the Fish River Chain, deep in the remote forest of Aroostook County. This is classic northern Maine, far from the crowds and rich in cold, clean water. Square is known for quality landlocked salmon, lake trout, and brook trout, all supported by a strong rainbow smelt forage base. Getting here takes some effort, often by boat through the connected chain or down gravel road, and that remoteness is exactly the appeal. Trolling produces salmon and togue through the open water season. For anglers willing to make the trip north, Square Lake is the real Maine.

13. Sebec Lake

Sebec Lake in Piscataquis County, just north of Dover-Foxcroft, is a long, deep lake split by The Narrows into an upper and lower basin. It is a strong coldwater fishery, best known for landlocked salmon and lake trout, with a healthy smallmouth bass population and white perch mixed in. Barriers on the outlet dams help keep invasive northern pike out of the system, which protects the salmon fishing. Peaks-Kenny State Park offers public access and a beach on the lower basin. Trolling is the go to method for salmon and togue, while the rocky shorelines hold bass all summer. Scenic, deep, and underrated.

12. Flagstaff Lake

Flagstaff Lake is a large, shallow impoundment in western Maine, sitting right at the foot of the Bigelow Range with some of the best mountain scenery of any lake in the state. It fishes for brook trout and landlocked salmon along with warmwater species, and the wide open water suits both trolling and casting. Because it is shallow and dam created, water levels can swing through the season, so a little local knowledge goes a long way. The remote setting and the Bigelows looming over the water make this as much a scenery trip as a fishing trip. Bring a camera along with the rods.

11. Spednic Lake

Spednic Lake straddles the Maine and New Brunswick border along the St. Croix River and is widely considered one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the Northeast. The numbers here can be staggering, and the average size is excellent. Because the fishery is so valued, special regulations apply, including catch and release rules on smallmouth in parts of the system, so check the law book before you go. Landlocked salmon are also present. The lake is remote and sprawling, full of islands, ledges, and rocky structure that smallmouth love. For a true trophy smallmouth experience, few Maine waters match Spednic.

10. Big Lake

Big Lake, part of the Grand Lake Stream chain in Washington County, is a Downeast classic that delivers on two fronts. It is one of the premier trophy smallmouth bass fisheries in Maine, with hard fighting fish around its endless rocky structure, and it also holds landlocked salmon that move through the connected waters. White perch and chain pickerel add to the mix. The setting is remote and quiet, tied into the famous Grand Lake Stream system that fly anglers travel across the country to fish. Whether you are throwing topwater for smallmouth or chasing salmon after ice out, Big Lake rarely disappoints.

9. Schoodic Lake

Schoodic Lake is a big, deep, coldwater lake in Piscataquis County with a wild, undeveloped feel. It is best known for landlocked salmon and lake trout, with a strong smallmouth bass fishery and brook trout in the mix. State biologists currently encourage anglers to harvest lake trout here to rebuild the rainbow smelt forage base, which in turn grows larger, healthier salmon and togue. The water stays cold right through summer, keeping fish active, and the tree lined shoreline gives it a remote feel even though it is not far from town. This is quality coldwater fishing without the boat traffic.

8. Eagle Lake

Eagle Lake anchors the southern end of the Fish River Chain in Aroostook County and is one of the crown jewels of northern Maine fishing. This is far north, true North Woods country, and the state’s own biologists call the Fish River Chain home to unrivaled landlocked salmon and lake trout fishing. Eagle holds salmon, togue, and brook trout, all fed by a healthy rainbow smelt population. Trolling the open water is the classic approach, and spring and fall are prime. If your idea of a Maine trip is big, cold, remote water and trophy salmon far from the crowds, Eagle Lake is exactly that.

7. Lake Cobbosseecontee

Lake Cobbosseecontee, in the rolling country west of Augusta, is the best all around bass lake in central Maine. It is packed with structure, rocky points, coves, and islands, that make it a magnet for smallmouth and largemouth bass. What sets it apart is consistency, since the fishing holds up across the seasons whether you are in a boat, a kayak, or working the shoreline. Early mornings bring surface action, while deeper channels produce later in the day. Along with bass, you can run into pickerel, perch, and even brown trout or northern pike. Big, varied, and reliable, Cobbosseecontee is the southern bass lake every Maine list needs.

6. East Grand Lake

East Grand Lake spans the Maine and New Brunswick border at the edge of Aroostook and Washington counties, a big, deep, clear lake with a serious coldwater reputation. Anglers come here for landlocked salmon, lake trout, and lake whitefish, while hard fighting smallmouth bass patrol the rocky shorelines. The water is cold and clean, ideal for trolling salmon and togue through the open season. Its size and border setting give it a remote, big water feel, and local lodges have catered to traveling anglers for generations. Named again and again by Maine anglers as a favorite, East Grand earns its spot.

5. Mooselookmeguntic Lake

Mooselookmeguntic is the largest Heritage water in Maine, the fourth largest lake in the state, and the heart of the Rangeley region’s legendary fishing. This is wild fish country, producing self sustaining brook trout and landlocked salmon along with lake trout and summer smallmouth bass. The Rangeley area is where American fly fishing took shape, and trolling classics like the Mooselook Wobbler still produce here. Toothaker Island and the connected inlets and outlets are proven hotspots. Ringed by mountains and steeped in fly fishing history, Mooselookmeguntic is a bucket list lake for anyone serious about trout and salmon.

4. Rangeley Lake

Rangeley Lake sits at the center of western Maine’s famous lakes region, surrounded by mountains and old forest that have drawn anglers for well over a century. This is the birthplace of modern fly fishing, and its waters are among the most storied brook trout and landlocked salmon fisheries in New England. Trolling streamers and casting to feeding fish near the surface both produce, especially in the cool weeks after ice out and again in fall. Rangeley Lake State Park offers a boat launch and clean public access. With Saddleback Mountain rising over the water, it is as scenic as it is productive. A true Maine classic.

3. West Grand Lake

West Grand Lake is the crown jewel of the Downeast Lakes region and the source of legendary Grand Lake Stream, home to one of the four original native landlocked salmon strains in the lower 48. The lake itself gives up wild salmon, lake trout, lake whitefish, and a strong smallmouth bass fishery, while the stream below it has drawn fly anglers since the 1800s and sits on Trout Unlimited’s list of the 100 best trout streams in America. After ice out, trolling streamers for salmon is as good as it gets in Maine. Remote, historic, and loaded with fish, West Grand is a place every Maine angler should fish at least once.

2. Sebago Lake

Sebago Lake is the deepest lake in Maine and the namesake of the landlocked salmon, whose scientific name, Salmo salar sebago, traces right back to this water. It is deep, cold, and full of structure, which can make it challenging, but the payoff is real when you hook a big salmon or one of its trophy lake trout. Smallmouth bass and brown trout add variety, and the lake fishes from shore, by troll, and through the ice in winter. Connected to a network of rivers and streams, Sebago supports year round fishing close to Portland. Big water, deep history, and the original home of Maine’s signature fish.

1. Moosehead Lake

Moosehead Lake is the biggest lake in Maine and the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States, a vast stretch of cold, remote North Woods water out beyond Greenville. People come for far more than the size. The deep, cold water makes it a premier fishery for landlocked salmon, brook trout, and lake trout, and the fishing only gets better in the cool weeks of spring and fall. Islands, inlets, and rocky points give fish endless places to hold, so there is always new water to explore by boat or from shore. Steeped in fishing tradition and still delivering year after year, Moosehead is the clear number one. This is what Maine fishing is all about.

More Info About Fishing Lakes in Maine

If you are planning a Maine fishing trip, you are spoiled for choice. The state is dotted with thousands of lakes and ponds, from easy access bass water in the south to remote salmon and trout lakes up north. Many waters are stocked or hold wild populations of brook trout, landlocked salmon, lake trout, bass, and even pike. Regulations and access points vary by lake, so it is smart to check with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife before you go. They publish a detailed online guide and an app that lists boat launches, rules, and stocking reports.

You will also want to read up on seasonal regulations. Some lakes are open year round, while others are closed part of the year or limited to certain methods such as fly fishing only. Coldwater lakes in particular often carry special tackle and length rules designed to protect salmon and trout, so it pays to read the law book for the water you plan to fish.

Lodging is easy to find near the popular lakes, especially in the Belgrade Lakes region, around Moosehead, and near Sebago. For a more remote experience, the Rangeley region, the Downeast Grand Lakes, and the Fish River Chain in Aroostook County all have lodges and traditional sporting camps built around the fishing.

FAQ: Fishing Lakes in Maine

Do I need a fishing license?
Yes. Anyone 16 or older needs a Maine fishing license. You can buy it online or at most sporting goods stores.

What kinds of fish can I catch in Maine lakes?
You will find landlocked salmon, brook trout, lake trout (togue), smallmouth and largemouth bass, white perch, chain pickerel, northern pike, and more, depending on the lake and the region.

Is Maine better for trout and salmon or for bass?
Both, but Maine is first and foremost a coldwater state. It supports one of the largest landlocked salmon fisheries in the world, plus wild brook trout and lake trout, especially in the Rangeley region, the Downeast Grand Lakes, and northern Aroostook County. Smallmouth bass fishing is also excellent, particularly Downeast on waters like Spednic and Big Lake. Largemouth bass are mostly a southern Maine story.

When is the best time to fish?
Spring and fall are prime for trout and salmon, when fish hold near the surface and feed hard. Bass fishing peaks in summer. Ice fishing is popular across much of the state once the lakes lock up in winter.

Are there boat rentals available?
Yes, especially around the larger lakes. Places like Moosehead, Sebago, and the Rangeley and Grand Lake Stream regions have outfitters that rent boats and canoes or run fully guided fishing trips.

Can I fish from shore?
Absolutely. Some lakes have public access with docks or rocky shorelines you can fish from. That said, a small boat or kayak opens up a lot more water, especially on the bigger coldwater lakes.

Where can I find local fishing rules?
Head over to maine.gov/ifw. They update the rules every year and break them down by region and lake.