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Big Green Lake Fishing Report

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

Green Lake: 7,920 acres and 236 feet deep, with stocked lake trout, cisco and a dense smallmouth population.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
69 / 69 F
Wind
SSE 10 mph

Sources: 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.

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

Big Green Lake rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 69. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 10:01 PM-12:01 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brown troutExcellent

Close to Vermont's 53-66Β°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

Lake troutGood

Spring and fall bring lakers into 10 to 30 feet of water (Michigan DNR), within reach of casters and shallow trollers; fall is also spawning time over rocky shoals.

Smallmouth bassGood

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.

Northern pikeGood

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.

WalleyeGood

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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 68 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

Wisconsin requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $20.00 for residents. What a Wisconsin licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing lake trout here? Check the size and bag limits with WI DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Wisconsin, read off the agency, are on the Wisconsin 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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp69 F
High / Low69 / 50 F
WindSSE 10-13 mph
Pressure1023.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:20 / 17:59
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 Big Green Lake this week

The best day on Big Green Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 10:01 PM-12:01 AM
Minor period
3:54 AM-4:54 AM
Sun
07:20 to 17:59
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 14 mph
Rain chance
1%

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

Species guide

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

Lake trout illustration

Lake trout

Spring and fall in shallow water, deep in summer, and through the ice in winter

Lake trout are slow-growing chars of large, deep, cold lakes, native from Alaska and northern Canada to New England and the Great Lakes, and introduced in many western lakes. Spring and fall bring lakers into 10 to 30 feet of water (Michigan DNR), within reach of casters and shallow trollers; fall is also spawning time over rocky shoals.

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.

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.

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.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Close to Vermont's 53-66Β°F optimum, browns feed more freely; in fall, pre-spawn fish move toward tributaries and gravel, so fish streamers and keep off the redds.

When to come: the Big Green Lake 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
Lake trout
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Walleye
Brown trout
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 Big Green Lake 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. Brown trout led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Lake trout led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Lake trout led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 13 mph.

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

License

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

Regulations

Wisconsin fishing license. WDNR's 2026 page for Green Lake lists walleye at a 15-inch minimum and 3 a day, northern pike at 26 inches and 2 a day, bass at 14 inches and 5 a day, panfish 10 a day and cisco 10 a day, each with its own season dates. Lake trout limits are in WDNR's trout regulations for the lake; check them before you keep one.

Access

WDNR lists eight public boat landings and three public beaches.

About this water

A 7,920-acre lake in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, 236 feet at its deepest point.

Fishing Big Green Lake: the full guide

A deep two-story lake

WDNR gives Big Green Lake 7,920 acres, a maximum depth of 236 feet and a mean depth of 104 feet, and USGS describes it as the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin. WDNR classes it as a complex two-story lake, with cold, oxygenated deep water where lake trout and cisco live alongside the warmwater species.

Lake trout

WDNR says only a handful of inland Wisconsin lakes offer a quality lake trout fishery and Green Lake is one of them. Lake trout were introduced around 1952, and the fishery depends mainly on stocking, with little or no natural reproduction documented. Fall 2022 gill nets caught lake trout from 12.5 to 37.3 inches. Fish stocked since 2016 carry a coded wire tag and a clipped adipose fin, and orange loop tags should be reported. WDNR notes that winter, when there is safe ice, is usually a period of heavy lake trout fishing.

Cisco, brown trout and smallmouth

Cisco survive in Green Lake as in few other inland Wisconsin lakes, though 2022 numbers were well below those of 2016; a more restrictive cisco rule took effect in April 2020. Annual stocking of seeforellen brown trout resumed in 2021. WDNR's 2022 electrofishing caught smallmouth bass at 25.8 per mile, in the 97th percentile statewide, with fish up to 19.9 inches.

Walleye

Since 2016 the Walleyes for Tomorrow chapter has stocked more than 8 million walleye fry a year, and WDNR's fall 2023 sampling found about 70% of the young walleye came from that stocking. WDNR's 2022 netting sampled 838 walleye, the largest a 29.1-inch female.

Common questions

How deep is Green Lake?

WDNR gives a maximum depth of 236 feet and a mean of 104 feet; USGS calls it the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin.

Are the lake trout wild?

Mostly not. WDNR says the fishery depends on stocking, with little or no natural reproduction documented.

How good is the smallmouth fishing?

WDNR's 2022 survey ranked the smallmouth catch rate in the 97th percentile statewide, with fish to 19.9 inches.

Is fishing good at Big Green Lake 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 Puckaway12 miLake Poygan27 miLake Winnebago32 miWolf River42 miLake Wisconsin42 miCastle Rock Lake50 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.8000, -88.9700 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.