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Pipestem Reservoir Fishing Report

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

Pipestem Reservoir: an 840-acre Corps of Engineers lake on Pipestem Creek north of Jamestown, where North Dakota Game and Fish finds pike, perch and walleye abundant.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
53 cfs
Air / High
61 / 73 F
Wind
SSE 14 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06469400, 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.

Pipestem Reservoir feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The main inflow is running 53 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 14 mph, falling pressure near 1008 hPa and a high of 73. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:42 PM-12:42 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.

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 62 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 Pipestem Creek near Pingree (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06469400.

16304553 cfs10/0210/0910/1610/23

Today’s flow against 53 years of October 23

At 53 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06469400 (Pipestem Creek near Pingree (inflow)) is at the 91st percentile for the date: much above normal. In half of the 53 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 2 cfs; the highest was 2,070 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 0median 2p90 34

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06469400; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp61 F
High / Low73 / 55 F
WindSSE 14-30 mph
Pressure1008.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 7%
Sunrise / Sunset08:04 / 18:33
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 Pipestem Reservoir this week

Today is the pick of the week on Pipestem Reservoir, 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
10:11 AM-12:11 PM and 10:42 PM-12:42 AM
Minor period
4:35 AM-5:35 AM
Sun
08:04 to 18:33
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 20 mph
Rain chance
7%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Pipestem Reservoir: 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.

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 Pipestem Reservoir 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
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 Pipestem Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 75 F, wind to 18 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 65 F, wind to 9 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 71 F, wind to 15 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. NDGF 2026-28 rules: 14-inch minimum for walleye in Pipestem Reservoir up to and including the first bridge or crossing; other limits are statewide.

Access

Corps of Engineers recreation areas at Parkhurst (camping, courtesy dock, fishing docks, picnic areas) and the Pipestem area; status and day-use passes through the Corps Lakes Gateway and Recreation.gov.

About this water

840-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir (Corps figure) on Pipestem Creek, Stutsman County, ND. Flow on this page comes from USGS gauge 06469400 on Pipestem Creek near Pingree, upstream of the reservoir.

Fishing Pipestem Reservoir: the full guide

A Corps flood-control lake

Pipestem Dam stands on Pipestem Creek north of Jamestown. The Corps of Engineers describes an 840-acre Pipestem Lake with camping, picnicking and wildlife viewing all year, reached by driving 5 miles north of Jamestown on US 52/281.

The fishery

North Dakota Game and Fish's 2026 fishing waters list rates pike, perch and walleye as abundant in Pipestem Reservoir and places it 5 miles northwest, 0.8 mile west and 1 mile south of Jamestown.

Walleye length limit

Under the 2026-28 fishing proclamation, walleye shorter than 14 inches may not be kept in Pipestem Reservoir upstream to and including the first bridge or crossing. Jamestown Reservoir carries the same rule.

Common questions

Who runs Pipestem Reservoir?

The Corps of Engineers operates Pipestem Dam and its recreation areas from a project office in Jamestown; fishing rules come from North Dakota Game and Fish.

Is there a special walleye rule at Pipestem?

Yes. Walleye under 14 inches must be released in the reservoir up to and including the first bridge or crossing.

What does North Dakota Game and Fish say about the fishing?

Its 2026 list calls pike, perch and walleye abundant.

Is fishing good at Pipestem Reservoir 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

Jamestown Reservoir5 miLake Ashtabula37 miDevils Lake75 miSheyenne River86 miMissouri River96 miRed River of the North105 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06469400 β€” Pipestem Creek near Pingree (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 14:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 46.9690, -98.7770 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.