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Lake Puckaway Fishing Report

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

The upper Fox River's shallow lake: Puckaway holds northern pike, walleye, bluegill and yellow perch in water only a few feet deep.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
70 / 70 F
Wind
SSE 9 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.

Lake Puckaway rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 70. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:32 AM-11:32 AM and 10:02 PM-12:02 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

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.

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.

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.

Yellow perchGood

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.

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 69 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 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 temp70 F
High / Low70 / 49 F
WindSSE 9-12 mph
Pressure1023.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:21 / 18:00
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 Lake Puckaway this week

The best day on Lake Puckaway 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
9:32 AM-11:32 AM and 10:02 PM-12:02 AM
Minor period
3:55 AM-4:55 AM
Sun
07:21 to 18:00
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 10 mph
Rain chance
1%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Puckaway: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Lake Puckaway 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
Crappie
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
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 Lake Puckaway 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 73 F, wind to 7 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 73 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 7 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

A Wisconsin fishing license is required. WDNR's 2026 regulation page for Puckaway Lake lists northern pike open all year, 2 a day, with every pike from 25 to 35 inches released; walleye are open all year at a 15-inch minimum, 3 a day. The pike slot replaced the 32-inch, one-fish rule WDNR set in 1995. Other species: see the same WDNR page.

Access

WDNR lists seven public boat landings. With a maximum depth of 5 to 6 feet, run boats with care.

About this water

A 5,013-acre complex riverine lake on the upper Fox River in Green Lake and Marquette counties, Wisconsin.

Fishing Lake Puckaway: the full guide

A shallow lake on the upper Fox

WDNR lists Puckaway Lake at 5,013 acres in Green Lake and Marquette counties. Its lake page gives a maximum depth of 5 feet and its 2023 survey report gives 6 feet, with 27.6 miles of shoreline and seven public boat landings. WDNR classes it as a complex riverine lake and rates its water clarity as low.

What the 2023 survey found

WDNR's 2023 comprehensive survey rated northern pike abundance and size structure high, with fish up to 40.5 inches, and found a moderate-density walleye population that ranks high among lakes of its class. Bluegill and yellow perch were at high density with above-average growth, while black crappie numbers were low to moderate and tend to swing from boom to bust. Largemouth bass were moderately abundant, and only eight smallmouth bass turned up, with more seen near the Fox River inlet and outlet.

Walleye stocking and tagged fish

Genetic sampling showed that 42% of the young-of-year walleye sampled in fall 2022 came from the portable hatchery run with the Lake Puckaway Protection and Rehabilitation District. Since 2022 WDNR has tagged walleye on the upper Fox River for a Winnebago system movement study; report orange reward tags and white floy tags with the tag number, fish length, place and date.

Winter and weeds

WDNR notes that much of the lake becomes uninhabitable for fish in winter because it is so shallow, so the fish that stay concentrate in the deeper areas. Aquatic vegetation has increased across the lake, and the 2023 report found that so far it has helped most of the species sampled.

Common questions

How deep is Lake Puckaway?

Very shallow: WDNR gives a maximum of 5 feet on its lake page and 6 feet in its 2023 survey report.

Can I keep a northern pike?

Yes, up to 2 a day, but WDNR's 2026 rules require releasing every pike from 25 to 35 inches.

Are the walleye stocked?

Partly. WDNR found that 42% of young walleye sampled in fall 2022 came from the lake district's portable hatchery.

Is fishing good at Lake Puckaway 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

Big Green Lake12 miLake Wisconsin31 miLake Poygan35 miCastle Rock Lake39 miLake Winnebago43 miPetenwell Lake44 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.7540, -89.1990 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.