Share your catch
US

Lake Ilo Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Ilo: a reservoir in a national wildlife refuge near Dunn Center, North Dakota, where Game and Fish reports low water from dam problems and an unusable boat ramp.

Boat ramp not usable. North Dakota Game and Fish’s 2026 list of fishing waters says Lake Ilo has low water because of problems with the dam and that its boat ramp cannot be used; the 2024 and 2025 lists said the same. Source, read October 8, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~44 F est.
Air / High
42 / 55 F
Wind
W 15 mph

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

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Ilo is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. Today brings cloud cover, wind W around 15 mph, steady pressure near 1015 hPa and a high of 55. Water sits around 44 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 10:55 AM-12:55 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Northern pikeGood

Ice season: tip-ups with live bait near weed beds; where water stays open, slow live-bait presentations.

Yellow perchGood

Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 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 northern pike 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.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~44 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp42 F
High / Low55 / 35 F
WindW 15-24 mph
Pressure1014.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain81% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:46 / 16:22
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~44 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 Ilo this week

The best day on Lake Ilo this week looks like Wednesday Nov 11, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Wednesday, Nov 11 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
11:19 PM-1:19 AM and 10:55 AM-12:55 PM
Minor period
7:11 AM-8:11 AM
Sun
06:46 to 16:22
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 17 mph
Rain chance
1%

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

Species guide

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

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. Ice season: tip-ups with live bait near weed beds; where water stays open, slow live-bait presentations.

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. Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

When to come: the Lake Ilo 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
Northern pike
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 44 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~44 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 Ilo today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Northern pike led the card at good. High of 62 F, wind to 15 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Northern pike led the card at excellent. High of 61 F, wind to 21 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Northern pike led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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. Refuge rules: boat fishing May 1-Sept. 30 at idle speed only; dam spillways and islands closed to all public use. See North Dakota Game and Fish's current regulations for limits.

Access

Accessible fishing pier at the refuge park; the boat ramp just west of the park on the north shore was reported unusable in 2026 because of low water.

About this water

A reservoir in Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge, 1 mile west and 1 mile south of Dunn Center in Dunn County, North Dakota.

Fishing Lake Ilo: the full guide

Status in 2026

North Dakota Game and Fish's 2026 fishing waters list places Lake Ilo 1 mile west and 1 mile south of Dunn Center and reports low water levels because of problems with the dam; the boat ramp is not usable, and anglers are told to contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service with questions. A fishing pier is listed.

Refuge rules

Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Portions of the lake are open to fishing from shore or boat; shoreline fishing is open year-round, while boat fishing runs May 1-Sept. 30 at idle speed only. The concrete spillways on the dam and the islands are closed to all public use.

Fish and events

The refuge lists northern pike, yellow perch, carp and bluegill as popular game fish. Its Kids' Fishing Day falls each year on the first Saturday in June, during North Dakota's free fishing weekend, and the refuge lends a limited number of rods and reels and provides bait.

Common questions

Can I launch a boat at Lake Ilo?

Not in 2026: Game and Fish reports the boat ramp unusable because of low water linked to dam problems. Contact the refuge for updates.

When is boat fishing allowed?

From May 1 through Sept. 30, at idle speed only; shore fishing is open all year.

What fish does the refuge list?

Northern pike, yellow perch, carp and bluegill.

Is fishing good at Lake Ilo right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Sakakawea34 miLake Tschida65 miNelson Lake69 miLake Audubon71 miLake Darling92 miMissouri River95 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 47.3400, -102.6650 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 8, 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 8, 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.