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Where to fish

  • Forecast
  • Catches

Mine

  • Favorites
Forecast
AboutHow the forecast worksWhere fish livePrivacyTerms[email protected]
© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2161 · b4069346

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United States / Wisconsin / Lake Winnebago

Bite forecast: Lake Winnebago

  • 205.3 sq mi
  • depth up to 15 ft
Loading map…

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    79/100high activity

    Cloudy: 52–61 °F

  2. SundaySeptember 6weather-based forecast
    72/100high activity

    Cloudy: 61–66 °F

  3. ThursdaySeptember 3weather-based forecast
    58/100medium activity

    Cloudy: 63–77 °F

Nearby towns

  • Oshkosh0.7 mi
  • Fond du Lac1 mi
  • Appleton4 mi

Lake Winnebago (Wisconsin) — a spot well known among anglers. About 531.6 km² in area, up to 4.7 m deep. Nearby towns: Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Appleton. 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.

Loading map…

Catches

Recorded 8 catches here. Most commonly caught: Walleye, Largemouth bass, Black crappie. Peak season: May–December.

  • Walleye
    Lake Winnebago
    72 °F2 mph
    Jun 21, 2019
  • Black crappie
    Wisconsin, Winnebago County
    55 °F16 mph
    May 21, 2019
  • Yellow perch
    Wisconsin, Winnebago County
    30 °F7 mph
    Dec 17, 2018
  • Walleye
    Lake Winnebago
    Jul 20, 2018
  • Largemouth bass
    Little Lake Butte des Morts
    73 °F9 mph
    Jun 12, 2018
  • Smallmouth bass
    Wisconsin, Winnebago County
    63 °F9 mph
    Jun 06, 2018
  • Largemouth bass
    Wisconsin, Winnebago County
    63 °F9 mph
    Jun 06, 2018
  • Walleye
    Menasha Canal Approach
    52 °F11 mph
    Nov 28, 2017

BiteGuide·From anglers’ reports

What actually worked on this water

Based on 8 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

023
32111
WalleyeLargemouth bassBlack crappieSmallmouth bassYellow perch
By fish species
ValueCatchesShare
Walleye338%
Largemouth bass225%
Black crappie113%
Smallmouth bass113%
Yellow perch113%

By month

vertical axis — number of catches

024
14111
MayJunJulNovDec
By month
ValueCatchesShare
May113%
Jun450%
Jul113%
Nov113%
Dec113%

Air temperature, °F

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

012
1222
23505968
Air temperature, °F
ValueCatchesShare
23–30 °F114%
50–57 °F229%
59–66 °F229%
68–75 °F229%

Pressure, inHg

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

023
232
28.9429.1329.33
Pressure, inHg
ValueCatchesShare
28.94–29.09 inHg229%
29.13–29.29 inHg343%
29.33–29.49 inHg229%

Wind direction

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

023
2311
ESWNW
Wind direction
ValueCatchesShare
E229%
S343%
W114%
NW114%

Wind speed, mph

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

024
1141
04913
Wind speed, mph
ValueCatchesShare
0–2 mph114%
4–7 mph114%
9–11 mph457%
13–16 mph114%

Nearby rivers

  • Sawyer Creek6 mi

Nearby water bodies

  • PondLake Louisa5 mi
  • PondLake Fly5 mi
  • PondParkwood Neighborhood Pond8 mi

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

Water

Gauge height
3.11 ft

USGS gauge LAKE WINNEBAGO AT OSHKOSH, WI, 3 mi away · measured 2026-09-02 04:00 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision

Bite calendar

Aug 31 – Sep 6
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
Based on:weatherseasonal
What is a bite calendar?
PikeYellow perchBrook troutChannel catfishCoho salmonLargemouth bassMuskellungeSmallmouth bassWalleyeWhite bassBluegillCarpFlathead catfishSteelheadWhitefishBlack crappieRainbow troutWhite crappieChinook salmonLake troutBurbot

Black crappie

5/10 · Fair

Hourly activity

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

The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. A thunderstorm is possible: activity rises before the front and drops after.

Peak bite hours

Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 20:00–21:00 (dusk bite).

Tactics

Look for drop-offs and gaps in the weeds, retrieve slowly, lingering over promising spots.

Lures

The water's turning murky — go with bright, noisy lures: small jig or minnow bait.

Gear

No special gear needed — seasonal clothing will do. A thunderstorm is possible — bring a rain jacket, and pack up at the first rumble of thunder.

Summary

An average day — best chances during peak windows.

How this forecast is calculated

Why this forecast

The computed water temperature is around 67 °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 °F67 °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 flat: it moves no more than 0.00 inHg over the day, so the weather isn't shifting today's bite.

Pressure through the day, 0.00 inHg change
00:00 · 29.9023:00 · 29.91 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

3 SepThursday, September 3
+72°

Cloudy · feels like +75°

Low / high
+62°…+77°
Precipitation
0.00 in
Wind
1 mph S
Cloud cover
97%
Humidity
68%
Pressure
29.91 inHg
00:00+66°—5 mpheast wind, 5 mph66%17%
01:00+66°—5 mphnortheast wind, 5 mph68%39%
02:00+64°—4 mpheast wind, 4 mph73%45%
03:00+65°—3 mpheast wind, 3 mph77%100%
04:00+64°—3 mphnortheast wind, 3 mph79%5%
05:00+62°—4 mpheast wind, 4 mph82%10%
06:00+63°—4 mpheast wind, 4 mph83%28%
07:00+62°—4 mpheast wind, 4 mph84%100%
08:00+66°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph76%31%
09:00+69°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph71%100%
10:00+70°—5 mpheast wind, 5 mph68%100%
11:00+72°—6 mpheast wind, 6 mph67%99%
12:00+72°—1 mphsouth wind, 1 mph68%97%
13:00+67°0.02 in5 mphsoutheast wind, 5 mph92%100%
14:00+70°0.04 in11 mphsoutheast wind, 11 mph92%100%
15:00+73°0.03 in5 mphnorth wind, 5 mph81%100%
16:00+74°—3 mphnortheast wind, 3 mph73%100%
17:00+77°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph68%100%
18:00+74°0.01 in5 mphsoutheast wind, 5 mph82%100%
19:00+72°0.12 in5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph90%100%
20:00+71°—6 mphsoutheast wind, 6 mph96%100%
21:00+69°—5 mphsoutheast wind, 5 mph98%13%
22:00+68°—8 mpheast wind, 8 mph98%81%
23:00+67°—9 mphsoutheast wind, 9 mph98%100%
+77°+69°+62°
Weather throughout the day
0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

Sun and moon

Thursday, September 3
The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
DaylightMoon above the horizon
Sunrise
06:22
Sunset
19:32
Day length
13 h 10 min
Sunshine hours
2 h 51 min
UV index
4
moderate
Moon
Last quarter
Moonrise
22:28
Moonset
13:56

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

+13% in the windowThursday, September 3
Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
Major periodsMinor periods
  • Major04:45–06:45Moon overhead
  • Minor13:26–14:26Moonset
  • Major17:15–19:15Moon underfoot
  • Minor21:58–22:58Moonrise

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?