Primary inflows Basin countries United States Max. width 0.8 mi (1.3 km) | Primary outflows Winnipesaukee River Max. length 4.5 mi (7.2 km) | |
Location Belknap County, New Hampshire | ||
Paugus Bay is a 1,227-acre (4.97 km2) water body located in Belknap County in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, in the city of Laconia. At its northern end, it is connected by a short channel at the village of Weirs Beach to Lake Winnipesaukee, while at the southern end, a dam separates it from Opechee Bay in the village of Lakeport. The bay is named after Chief Paugus, who fought in the Battle of Pequawket during Dummer's War. With the 19th-century construction of the dam in Lakeport, the elevation of Paugus Bay was raised to that of Lake Winnipesaukee, effectively making the smaller water body an arm of the larger one. Water flowing out of Paugus Bay travels down the Winnipesaukee River to the Merrimack River.
The lake is classified as a cold- and warmwater fishery, with observed species including brook trout, rainbow trout, lake trout, land-locked salmon, lake whitefish, smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, white perch, black crappie, bluegill, and horned pout.