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Lac Courte Oreilles Fishing Report

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

A clear, 90-foot Sawyer County lake where WDNR manages muskellunge, stocked walleye, smallmouth and a cold-water cisco layer.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
72 / 73 F
Wind
S 11 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.

Lac Courte Oreilles is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 11 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 73. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:11 PM-12:11 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60Β°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

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.

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.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

CrappieFair

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Tomorrow: Similar at 72 F with a rain chance. 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 walleye 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 temp72 F
High / Low73 / 52 F
WindS 11-18 mph
Pressure1019.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset07:33 / 18:05
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 Lac Courte Oreilles this week

The best day on Lac Courte Oreilles 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
9:40 AM-11:40 AM and 10:11 PM-12:11 AM
Minor period
4:04 AM-5:04 AM
Sun
07:33 to 18:05
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 11 mph
Rain chance
8%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lac Courte Oreilles: 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.

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.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60Β°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

When to come: the Lac Courte Oreilles 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
Smallmouth bass
Northern pike
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Muskellunge
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 Lac Courte Oreilles 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. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 74 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 7 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 68 F, wind to 11 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 license required. WDNR's 2026-27 page sets muskellunge at a 50-inch minimum, 1 a day; walleye at a 15-inch minimum, 3 a day, with none from 20 to 24 inches kept and only 1 over 24; smallmouth catch and release until June 19, then 1 a day over 18 inches. WDNR's 2024 survey summary gives a pike bag of 10 with no minimum length.

Access

Three public boat landings (WDNR). Respect posted Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation boundaries.

About this water

A 5,139-acre lake in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, up to 90 feet deep, bordering the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation.

Fishing Lac Courte Oreilles: the full guide

A clear two-story lake

WDNR lists Lac Courte Oreilles at 5,139 acres and 90 feet deep, with very clear water and three public boat landings. In WDNR's lake classes it is a complex two-story lake, one deep and cold enough for cisco to live through the summer.

Muskellunge and pike

WDNR's 2024 spring netting caught muskellunge at 0.8 per net night, strong compared with recent years, helped by a successful 2017 stocking; further stockings followed in 2021 and 2024. Two females just under 50 inches and a 48-inch tiger musky were netted. Northern pike are not native to the lake; WDNR has worked since 2017 to improve their size and encourages anglers to harvest pike, especially small ones.

Walleye

The 2024 adult walleye estimate, made jointly with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, came to 1.2 adults per acre, a low density. Natural reproduction has been very low for more than ten years, so the population leans on stocking and is mostly larger, older fish: most were over 15 inches and a third over 20.

Bass, crappie and bluegill

Smallmouth bass are the more abundant bass, using most of the shorelines, bars and points; almost half of those caught in 2024 were over 14 inches. Largemouth bass and bluegill are concentrated in shallow, weedy bays such as Musky Bay, Stukey Bay and Anchor Bay. More than half the black crappie netted were over 10 inches.

Common questions

What is the muskie size limit?

50 inches, with a daily bag of 1, on WDNR's 2026-27 regulation page for the lake.

Why are most walleye large?

Natural reproduction has been very low for over a decade, so WDNR's 2024 survey found mostly older adults sustained by stocking.

Is the lake connected to the reservation?

Yes. Wisconsin DPI says tribal elders sought to protect fishing areas on Lac Courte Oreilles when the reservation was set up; respect posted boundaries.

Is fishing good at Lac Courte Oreilles 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

Chippewa Flowage5 miNamekagon River11 miBois Brule River46 miTurtle-Flambeau Flowage59 miLake Wissota67 miChippewa River67 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.9000, -91.4000 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.