Shad run crests and stripers push north as NH spring migration peaks

What's Biting

What's Next

The Merrimack River is running at 162 cfs at the upstream gauge (USGS 01073500) as of early Saturday morning — a modest mid-May flow that typically clears the water column and concentrates shad and migratory stripers in the main channel bends. Stable or slightly dropping flows through the weekend should improve wading access in the lower river and make it easier to locate fish stacked in the deeper runs.

Shad are the featured bite right now. North Andover on the lower Merrimack is the confirmed hot zone this week, per Surfland Bait and Tackle via The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME. Dart lures and small shad spoons worked vertically on light spinning gear are the traditional go-to in this corridor; with moderate, clearing flows, anglers who can locate the main channel bends should have consistent shots at fresh fish pushing upriver through the weekend and into early next week.

Striped bass are close behind. On The Water's May 8 striper migration update puts the 2026 push at "full speed," with post-spawn fish advancing rapidly from southern New England toward the Gulf of Maine. Dave Anderson, writing in The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, anticipates "a rapid increase in numbers and size over the coming 10 days" — placing peak striper opportunity at the Merrimack mouth squarely in the upcoming week. The confirmed 35-inch holdover near the river mouth may be a preview; fresh migratory fish behind it could arrive in volume quickly. Paddletail shads and topwater plugs at dawn are the recommended approach as fish move into the estuary zone.

For Lake Winnipesaukee, the post-spawn bass window is wide open. Tactical Bassin reports the bluegill spawn is now in full swing — a reliable calendar marker that puts big largemouth cruising shallow heavy cover in search of easy meals. Frogs over matted vegetation and dock edges are producing across the broader region; those patterns should translate directly to Winnipesaukee's western coves and weedy bays. Smallmouth on rocky points and gravel bars are likely in post-spawn recovery mode, most receptive to slower finesse presentations. No water temperature reading is available from the gauge this week — check conditions locally before targeting depth, as bass activity will accelerate noticeably once surface temps push past 65°F.

Plan around the Last Quarter moon and early-morning low-light windows for the best topwater results through the weekend.

Context

Mid-May is historically one of the most dynamic windows on the Merrimack River system. American shad typically begin their upriver push in earnest during late April, peaking through the second and third weeks of May before spawning activity crests and fish begin dropping back toward the estuary. By that calendar measure, this week's action — shad concentrated in the North Andover zone, stripers just reaching the river mouth — appears on schedule for a normal New England spring, with no signal of an unusual delay or early surge.

Lake Winnipesaukee's seasonal rhythm in mid-May is equally predictable. Ice typically departs by mid-April in most years, and the first four to six post-ice weeks are characterized by landlocked salmon and lake trout holding near the surface before retreating to cooler depths as May progresses. By the second week of May, both largemouth and smallmouth bass have usually completed or nearly completed spawning in the warmer, shallower coves along the southern and western shorelines. The post-spawn dispersal — fish spreading from beds to adjacent feeding cover — is precisely where the season should be right now, making this one of the more predictable and productive weeks of the calendar for Winnipesaukee bass anglers.

No direct comparative season data for NH inland waters appears in this week's angler-intel feeds, so a specific early-or-late verdict for Winnipesaukee cannot be rendered from available information alone. The broader Northeast signal, however, supports a normal-to-slightly-brisk 2026 spring: On The Water pegs the striper migration at "full speed" by May 8, shad are arriving on pace across southern New England, and bass are in active post-spawn transition across multiple regions. If that pattern holds, the late-May transition to early-summer deep-water patterns on Winnipesaukee should arrive on its typical schedule — plan for suspended fish over basin structure and nearshore weed growth beginning to consolidate by month's end.