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Lake Darling Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Darling: the 9,600-acre heart of Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, fished for walleye, pike, perch and smallmouth under refuge rules.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Lake level
1597.56 ft
Air / High
68 / 70 F
Wind
SSE 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05115500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Lake Darling rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The gauge reads 96.50 ft, holding steady. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 11 mph, falling pressure near 1001 hPa and a high of 70. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:22 AM-12:22 PM and 10:53 PM-12:53 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeExcellent

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Northern pikeExcellent

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perchExcellent

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

North Dakota requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $29.00 for residents. What a North Dakota licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with NDGF before you keep anything. The season dates for North Dakota, read off the agency, are on the North Dakota seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from LAKE DARLING NEAR FOXHOLM, ND.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05115500.

96.4596.6496.8396.50 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp68 F
High / Low70 / 46 F
WindSSE 11-22 mph
Pressure1001.4 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset08:18 / 18:41
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Darling this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lake Darling, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
10:22 AM-12:22 PM and 10:53 PM-12:53 AM
Minor period
4:47 AM-5:47 AM
Sun
08:18 to 18:41
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 14 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Darling: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Lake Darling calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
Northern pike
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Darling today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

North Dakota requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

North Dakota fishing license and state limits, plus Upper Souris NWR rules: open-water boat fishing May 1-September 30 in designated areas, motorboats for fishing only, refuge hours 5 a.m.-10 p.m.

Access

14 bank fishing areas signed 'Public Fishing Area' and two boat fishing areas on the refuge.

About this water

A 9,600-acre Souris River impoundment in Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, Ward County, North Dakota. The flow gauge on this page (USGS 05116000, Souris River near Foxholm) is downstream of the dam.

Fishing Lake Darling: the full guide

A refuge impoundment

Lake Darling is the largest impoundment on Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge, created by executive order in 1935 along 35 miles of the Souris River valley in northwestern North Dakota as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds. The lake covers 9,600 acres and is named for conservationist Ding Darling; its dam holds a two-year water supply for the refuge's downstream marshes and helps manage Souris River floods.

Fish

USFWS lists walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and smallmouth bass in Lake Darling and the Souris River, and describes the refuge as one of the best year-round fisheries in north-central North Dakota.

Refuge rules

Boats, canoes, kayaks and float tubes may fish designated areas from May 1 to September 30, and motorboats are allowed on Lake Darling for fishing only. There are 14 signed bank fishing areas and two boat fishing areas. Ice fishing is open on all refuge waters from freeze-up to the end of the state season; ATVs, UTVs and snowmobiles are allowed for ice fishing only, between Carter Dam and Lake Darling Dam. The refuge is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., with no camping or open fires.

Common questions

When can I fish from a boat?

May 1 through September 30, in designated areas; motorboats on Lake Darling are for fishing only.

What species are there?

Walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and smallmouth bass, according to the refuge.

Is ice fishing allowed?

Yes, on all refuge waters from ice-up to the close of the state season, with off-road vehicles allowed only for ice fishing between Carter Dam and Lake Darling Dam.

Is fishing good at Lake Darling right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Lake Sakakawea59 miLake Audubon63 miLake Metigoshe67 miLake Ilo92 miNelson Lake97 miMissouri River120 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 05115500 β€” LAKE DARLING NEAR FOXHOLM, ND
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 48.4700, -101.6000 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.