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Forecast
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© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2161 · b4069346

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United States / Minnesota / Minnesota River

Bite forecast: Minnesota River

  • length 352 mi
Loading map…

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    68/100high activity

    Drizzle: 54–59 °F

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Nearby rivers

  • Camp Pope Creek6 mi
  • Beaver Creek6 mi
  • Smith Creek6 mi
  • East Fork Beaver Creek8 mi

Nearby water bodies

  • LakeSulphur Lake0.9 mi
  • LakeTiger Lake1 mi
  • LakeDavis Lake5 mi
  • LakeLake Redwood6 mi

Minnesota River (Minnesota) — a spot well known among anglers. About 566 km long. Nearby towns: Mankato, West Saint Paul and Saint Paul. This page shows an hourly bite forecast for today and the week ahead; the algorithm factors in the weather, atmospheric pressure, and the moon phase.

Fish biting at this waterbody

Choose a fish to see its hourly forecast, catches and BiteGuide.

  • Walleye

Catches

Recorded 13 catches here. Most commonly caught: Walleye, Channel catfish, Flathead catfish. Peak season: January–September.

  • Walleye — Minnesota River, Aug 04, 2019, 9:35 AM
    Walleye
    Minnesota River
    84 °F4 mph
    Aug 04, 2019, 9:35 AM
  • Walleye — Minnesota River, Aug 04, 2019
    Walleye
    Minnesota River
    84 °F4 mph
    Aug 04, 2019
  • Walleye — Minnesota River, May 30, 2018, 4:25 PM
    Walleye
    Minnesota River
    70 °F2 mph
    May 30, 2018, 4:25 PM
  • Walleye — Minnesota River, Apr 21, 2018, 1:29 PM
    Walleye
    Minnesota River
    54 °F0 mph
    Apr 21, 2018, 1:29 PM
  • Walleye — Minnesota River, Apr 12, 2018, 3:09 PM
    Walleye
    Minnesota River
    Apr 12, 2018, 3:09 PM
  • Pike — Minnesota River, Jan 19, 2018
    Pike
    Minnesota River
    37 °F7 mph
    Jan 19, 2018
  • Walleye — Minnesota River, Mar 28, 2017, 11:45 AM
    Walleye
    Minnesota River
    Mar 28, 2017, 11:45 AM
  • Sauger
    Minnesota River
    54 °F0 mph
    Apr 21, 2018, 1:29 PM
WednesdaySeptember 2weather-based forecast
63/100high activity

Clear: 61–84 °F

  • ThursdaySeptember 3weather-based forecast
    61/100high activity

    Cloudy: 63–90 °F

  • Nearby towns

    • Mankato0.2 mi
    • West Saint Paul3 mi
    • Saint Paul5 mi

    Bite calendar

    Wednesday, September 2

    Aug 31 – Sep 6
    Mon
    Tue
    Wed
    Thu
    Fri
    Sat
    Sun
    Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
    Based on:weatherseasonal
    What is a bite calendar?
    PikeYellow perchBurbotCoho salmonMuskellungeSmallmouth bassWalleyeWhite bassBrook troutLake troutBlack crappieSteelheadWhite crappieWhitefishBluegillCarpChannel catfishFlathead catfishLargemouth bassRainbow troutChinook salmon

    Black crappie

    6/10 · Fair

    Hourly activity

    0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
    Bite activity:highmediumlow

    The bite is strong — fish are active. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued.

    Peak bite hours

    Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 20:00–22:00 (dusk bite).

    Tactics

    Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

    Lures

    In clear water, natural colors work best: small jig or minnow bait.

    Gear

    It's a hot day — a hat, sunglasses, and plenty of water are a must.

    Summary

    Worth going — it's a productive day.

    How this forecast is calculated

    Why this forecast

    The computed water temperature is around 70 °F — inside the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie, so baseline activity is high.

    Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 57–75 °F comfort rangecomfort 57–75 °F70 °F
    JFMAMJJASOND

    Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

    The day: daylight hours and when Black crappie feeds0:0012:0024:00

    Pressure is dropping 0.06 inHg over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.

    Pressure through the day, 0.06 inHg change
    00:00 · 29.8823:00 · 29.83 inHg

    One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.

    Feeding windows on the day scale0:0012:0024:00

    September is an active season for Black crappie here.

    JFMAMJJASOND

    These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

    2 SepWednesday, September 2
    +79°

    Clear · feels like +82°

    Low / high
    +61°…+83°
    Precipitation
    0.00 in
    Wind
    1 mph NE
    Cloud cover
    0%
    Humidity
    45%
    Pressure
    29.91 inHg
    00:00+69°—4 mphnortheast wind, 4 mph58%61%
    01:00+67°—5 mpheast wind, 5 mph59%100%
    02:00+67°—5 mphsoutheast wind, 5 mph61%89%
    03:00+67°—2 mphsoutheast wind, 2 mph61%91%
    04:00+66°—5 mphsoutheast wind, 5 mph62%100%
    05:00+64°—4 mphsoutheast wind, 4 mph69%42%
    06:00+62°—3 mpheast wind, 3 mph76%13%
    07:00+61°—4 mphnortheast wind, 4 mph76%4%
    08:00+64°—4 mpheast wind, 4 mph74%47%
    09:00+68°—2 mpheast wind, 2 mph65%15%
    10:00+73°—3 mphnorth wind, 3 mph55%2%
    11:00+77°—0 mphnorthwest wind, 0 mph49%82%
    12:00+79°—1 mphnortheast wind, 1 mph45%0%
    13:00+81°—3 mphnortheast wind, 3 mph41%0%
    14:00+83°—5 mphnorth wind, 5 mph38%0%
    15:00+83°—7 mphnortheast wind, 7 mph36%2%
    16:00+83°—7 mphnortheast wind, 7 mph34%0%
    17:00+83°—7 mphnortheast wind, 7 mph34%1%
    18:00+82°—9 mpheast wind, 9 mph36%0%
    19:00+80°—9 mpheast wind, 9 mph39%0%
    20:00+75°—7 mpheast wind, 7 mph45%0%
    21:00+72°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph51%0%
    22:00+70°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph59%0%
    23:00+69°—7 mpheast wind, 7 mph60%0%
    +83°+72°+61°
    Weather throughout the day
    0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

    Sun and moon

    Wednesday, September 2
    The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
    DaylightMoon above the horizon
    Sunrise
    06:45
    Sunset
    20:01
    Day length
    13 h 16 min
    Sunshine hours
    12 h
    UV index
    5
    moderate
    Moon
    Waning gibbous
    Moonrise
    22:10
    Moonset
    13:13

    The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.

    Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

    Solunar feeding periods

    +11% in the windowWednesday, September 2
    Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
    Major periodsMinor periods
    • Major04:17–06:17Moon overhead
    • Minor12:43–13:43Moonset
    • Major16:45–18:45Moon underfoot
    • Minor21:40–22:40Moonrise

    The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

    What are solunar periods?

    BiteGuide·From anglers’ reports

    What actually worked on this water

    Based on 13 verified catchesPeriod: 2017–2019

    This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.

    By fish species

    vertical axis — number of catches

    036
    63211
    WalleyeChannel catfishFlathead catfishPikeSauger
    By fish species
    ValueCatchesShare
    Walleye646%
    Channel catfish323%
    Flathead catfish215%
    Pike18%
    Sauger18%

    By month

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    1131223
    JanMarAprMayJunAugSep
    By month
    ValueCatchesShare
    Jan18%
    Mar18%
    Apr323%
    May18%
    Jun215%
    Aug215%
    Sep323%

    By time of day

    11 catches have this data · vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    11121131
    146810111819
    By time of day
    ValueCatchesShare
    01:0019%
    04:0019%
    06:0019%
    08:00218%
    10:0019%
    11:0019%
    18:00327%
    19:0019%

    Air temperature, °F

    7 catches have this data · vertical axis — number of catches

    012
    12112
    3250596877
    Air temperature, °F
    ValueCatchesShare
    32–39 °F114%
    50–57 °F229%
    59–66 °F114%
    68–75 °F114%
    77–84 °F229%

    Pressure, inHg

    7 catches have this data · vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    1132
    28.5428.9429.3329.53
    Pressure, inHg
    ValueCatchesShare
    28.54–28.70 inHg114%
    28.94–29.09 inHg114%
    29.33–29.49 inHg343%
    29.53–29.69 inHg229%

    Wind direction

    5 catches have this data · vertical axis — number of catches

    024
    14
    NES
    Wind direction
    ValueCatchesShare
    NE120%
    S480%

    Wind speed, mph

    7 catches have this data · vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    331
    049
    Wind speed, mph
    ValueCatchesShare
    0–2 mph343%
    4–7 mph343%
    9–11 mph114%

    Measured river conditions are available for Minnesota River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.

    Water

    Gauge height
    7.54 ft
    Streamflow
    331 ft³/s

    USGS gauge MINNESOTA RIVER AT MORTON, MN, 1 mi away · measured 2026-09-02 05:00 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision