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Lake Onalaska Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Pool 7’s great backwater: Onalaska’s stump fields and running sloughs are the Upper Mississippi’s panfish capital with a walleye degree.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
585 cfs
Air / High
87 / 90 F
Wind
SSE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 05382000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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 Onalaska lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 585 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 90. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

Northern pikeGood

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

White bassFair

The spring river run: small crankbaits and roadrunners up the tributaries.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Similar at 86 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Black River near Galesville.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 05382000.

489548606585 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp87 F
High / Low90 / 75 F
WindSSE 9-15 mph
Pressure1009.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 17%
Sunrise / Sunset06:32 / 19:35
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 90/75 F, wind 10 mph, rain 17%

Fair or better. A 10 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: May-Jun, Oct

The glass-eyed prize of northern lakes. Low light, wind-blown structure and live bait. Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. The spring river run: small crankbaits and roadrunners up the tributaries.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

When to come: the Lake Onalaska 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
White bass
Northern pike
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 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 Onalaska today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 84 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 87 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 89 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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-Minnesota boundary waters rules apply on the pool: either license covers most open water. Panfish limits and walleye slots per current boundary regs: check WDNR.

Access

Brice Prairie landings, Fred Funk ramp, Onalaska spillway access, and Mosey Landing on the Black River side.

About this water

A 7,000-acre backwater lake of Mississippi River Pool 7 at the Black River mouth, La Crosse County, Wisconsin.

Fishing Lake Onalaska: the full guide

The sunfish capital

Lake Onalaska is the 7,000-acre spread of Pool 7 where the Black River joins the Mississippi above La Crosse: a maze of stump fields, weed flats and running sloughs behind the Lock and Dam 7 pool. The sign at Onalaska says Sunfish Capital of the World, and the bluegill and crappie fishery earns the bluster: but the lake also feeds walleye and sauger into the channels, bass through the weeds, and pike everywhere the current softens.

Panfish, properly

Summer bluegills work the weed edges and stump flats in four to eight feet: small jigs tipped with plastics or waxies under floats, drifting until you strike the school. Crappie suspend off the deeper slough edges and bite best early and late. The winter fishery is the crown: safe ice turns the lake into one of the Midwest’s great panfish villages, with the deep holes off the islands giving up slab crappie and bull gills all season.

Walleye where the water moves

The walleye and sauger program follows current: the Black River channel, the sloughs connecting to the main Mississippi channel, and the wing-dam edges below the dam. Jig the channel breaks with a minnow in spring and fall; troll crankbaits along the deeper sloughs in summer. Fall shad migrations pull everything: walleye, white bass, pike: into the running channels at once, the lake’s best mixed-bag window.

Reading a river-lake

The Black River gauge tells you the mood: rising water scatters fish into fresh weeds and timber, falling water pulls them to the channels and holes. Milfoil can carpet by late summer: the cuts and boat lanes through it become fish highways. Ramps at the Onalaska spillway area, Brice Prairie and Fred Funk landing cover the lake: shallow stumps punish the careless prop, so run marked lanes until you learn it.

Common questions

Why is it called the Sunfish Capital?

Sheer production: the stump-and-weed habitat grows bluegill in numbers and sizes that keep generations of families coming back, summer and ice alike.

Is the ice fishing safe?

Usually by January, with local traffic marking the roads: but current runs under parts of the lake. Follow local guidance and stay off the running sloughs.

Which license do I need?

Wisconsin or Minnesota covers the boundary-water pool by boat: bank fishing follows the shore you stand on.

Is fishing good at Lake Onalaska 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

Root River34 miUpper Iowa River35 miWhitewater River38 miKickapoo River41 miMississippi River Pool 949 miLake Pepin56 mi
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