Squam Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass
Target species: Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Atlantic Salmon, Black Crappie
Boat: 2 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Squam Lakes Assn. Ramp.
The lake
Squam Lake covers 6,815 acres in New Hampshire, across Belknap County. It is a lake: 91.2% of it is 45 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 95 feet (29 m). Our records hold 6 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 95 ft (29 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.2% of the water is 45 feet or shallower. We hold 307 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–5 ft: 8.9% of the water
- 5–10 ft: 13.2% of the water
- 10–15 ft: 13% of the water
- 15–20 ft: 12.1% of the water
- 20–25 ft: 12.1% of the water
- 25–30 ft: 11.1% of the water
- 30–35 ft: 10.9% of the water
- 35–40 ft: 6.7% of the water
- 40–45 ft: 3.2% of the water
- 45–50 ft: 2.2% of the water
- 50–55 ft: 1.6% of the water
- 55–60 ft: 1.4% of the water
- 60–65 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 65–70 ft: 1% of the water
- 70–75 ft: 0.8% of the water
- 75–80 ft: 0.2% of the water
- 80–85 ft: 0.2% of the water
- 85–90 ft: 0.2% of the water
5 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass
- Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
- Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
- Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
- Atlantic Salmon — Feeding water: 45–60°F.
- Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
Also recorded here: Lake Whitefish.
Stocking: 7,828 fish in 2026
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department records list 7,828 fish released into this water in 2026.
- Rainbow Trout: 3,917 in 2026
One more species on the stocking list.
Water and conditions
Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 6.6. These readings span 2017–2023.
2 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 2 boat ramps and 3 shore access points.
- Squam Lakes Assn. Ramp — restrooms. Holderness.
- Squam Lakes Boat Access Facility — restrooms. Holderness.
Shore access for bank fishing
- Belknap Woods — Center Harbor.
- Chamberlain-Reynolds Memorial Forest — Center Harbor.
- Squaw Cove Cartop Access — Sandwich.
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 5 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 6,815 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Only 2 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.
Where this data comes from
- NH GRANIT — NH GRANIT: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
