Bitespan

Fishing report

Butternut Lake Smallmouth Bass Fishing Report

Three Lakes, WI

Illustration of a smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)

Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 8, 2026 at 2:47 AM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.

A state fisheries survey records Smallmouth Bass in Butternut Lake.

Max depth

42 ft

Deepest measurement on record

Max depth: Stachelek et al. (2021), LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, Environmental Data Initiative (CC BY 4.0)

Overall rating

Smallmouth Bass at Butternut Lake — 2026-08-08

Good · 72/100

Best window: 8 PM (Excellent · 86/100)

Season
Summer
Moon
25% illuminated, waningWaning Crescent
Est. surface temp
65.7°F
Pressure
29.95 inHgStable

Est. water temp

65.7°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Below Smallmouth Bass's 70-80°F range

Sun & moon

Sunrise
5:47 AM
Sunset
8:15 PM
Moonrise
12:27 AM
Moonset
5:33 PM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 8 PM
Cloud cover
24%
Precip chance
1%
Wind
1 mph WSW
Pressure
29.95 inHg Stable

Species context

Why this score

Good (72/100) for Smallmouth Bass: water is estimated at 65.7°F, below Smallmouth Bass's 70-80°F optimal range. Best window: Dusk — boosts feeding activity by about 30%, one of their peak feeding windows. That hour also overlaps a major solunar period. 29.95 inHg and stable pressure modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline. Calm (0-5 mph) wind modeled about 10% below this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 8 PM score

Water temperature (65.7°F estimated) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 65.7°F estimated, about 11.5 points below its best.

  • Water temperature · neutral
  • Light window · helping
  • Solunar period · helping
  • Barometric pressure · helping
  • Wind · helping
Show the numbers behind this

  1. Water temperature: 65.7°F estimated

    28.5 of 40 pts

    Optimal range 70-80°F

    Well supportedWater temperature governs a cold-blooded fish's metabolism, so it is the largest term in the model (Christie & Regier 1988). The figure is a thermal-lag estimate built from forecast air temperature and the time of year — not a sensor reading, and not this lake's actual measured water.

  2. Light window: Dusk

    25 of 25 pts

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%

    Well supportedLow-light feeding windows are the strongest timing signal inside a single day. How much each window is worth is this species' own cited response, sourced in its model file, not a generic curve.

  3. Solunar period: Major period

    15 of 15 pts

    Not supported by testingPeer-reviewed testing of North American freshwater fisheries found no significant relationship between solunar values, lunar phase or lunar illumination and catch rates (SN Applied Sciences, 2023) — air temperature predicted catch better than any solunar table tested. It is shown because anglers expect it, and it is shown separately so you can discount it. Its weight is under owner review.

  4. Barometric pressure: Stable

    9.5 of 10 pts

    Modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline

    ContestedThe barometric effect is real to most anglers but small and contested in the literature — several of the species studies cited in this model report null results — so it carries one of the smallest weights here.

  5. Wind: Calm (0-5 mph)

    7.8 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 10% below this fish's baseline

    Moderately supportedWind stacks forage on windward structure, but both the size and the direction of the effect depend on the species and the water, so it carries a modest weight.

Then the whole score is scaled

Season: Summer — ×1.00 (100% of the ungated score)

How catchable Smallmouth Bass are at this point in the year. This scales the whole score rather than competing with the factors above — a fish that is dormant this time of year cannot score well no matter how good the hour looks.

Weather front: No clear front — ×1.00 (100% of the ungated score)

A multi-hour frontal pattern read from the day's forecast trajectory. No front is classified today, so this changes nothing and the single-reading pressure factor above does its normal job.

Those five factors add up to 85.9 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 86. The weights are v1 tuning constants under owner review — they are shown here rather than hidden so you can weigh them against your own judgement.

What this score does not know

  • Water clarity. We have no source for it and do not estimate it.
  • Measured water temperature. The figure in the breakdown is a model over forecast air temperature, not a reading from a buoy or a probe.
  • Baitfish and forage activity.
  • How much fishing pressure this water has had.
  • Where the fish actually are. Depth bands are the species' published seasonal ranges, not an observation of this lake.
  • What anyone actually caught. No catch reports feed this score.

Conditions read from the National Weather Service as of Aug 8, 2026 at 2:47 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently summer. Smallmouth Bass typically hold 20-40 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 65.7°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.

Current depth

20-40 ft

This is the seasonal depth band from the species model — relative to this species' typical behavior, not this lake's actual structure. True depth relative to this lake's bottom contours needs lake bathymetry (tracked in issue #175).

Today's solunar periods

  • Minor: 11:57 PM–12:57 AM
  • Major: 7:58 AM–9:58 AM
  • Minor: 5:03 PM–6:03 PM
  • Major: 8:31 PM–10:31 PM

Best times

When do smallmouth bass feed during the day?

Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows.

  • Dawn1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Daytime0.70x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Dusk1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Night1.00x

    Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.

Hour by hour

Hourly bite forecast

HourBite scoreRatingLightWind
2 AM
70
GoodNight3 mph NW
3 AM
70
GoodNight3 mph NW
4 AM
70
GoodNight3 mph NW
5 AM
70
GoodNight3 mph WNW
6 AM
75
GoodDawn3 mph WNW
7 AM
74
GoodDay3 mph WNW
8 AM
77
GoodDay5 mph WNW
9 AM
77
GoodDay5 mph WNW
10 AM
66
GoodDay6 mph WNW
11 AM
66
GoodDay7 mph WNW
12 PM
66
GoodDay7 mph WNW
1 PM
66
GoodDay7 mph WNW
2 PM
66
GoodDay7 mph WNW
3 PM
66
GoodDay7 mph WNW
4 PM
66
GoodDay7 mph WNW
5 PM
71
GoodDay6 mph WNW
6 PM
71
GoodDay5 mph W
7 PM
64
GoodDay2 mph W
8 PM
86
ExcellentDusk1 mph WSW
9 PM
86
ExcellentDusk1 mph SW
10 PM
80
ExcellentNight2 mph SSW
11 PM
70
GoodNight2 mph SSW

Where to find Smallmouth Bass right now

Typical Summer depth: 20-40 ft

Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows.

Butternut Lake's deepest measurement on record is 42 ft — read the depth bands above against that. It is the deepest point someone actually measured on this water, not a contour survey, so deeper water may exist and there is no depth map to check it against.

Plan a Smallmouth Bass trip to Butternut Lake

Change the date, compare species, or check the week ahead in the live tool.

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Other species on record at Butternut Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Smallmouth Bass in Butternut Lake?

A state fisheries survey records Smallmouth Bass in Butternut Lake.

When do Smallmouth Bass bite at Butternut Lake?

Smallmouth Bass feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 21% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Butternut Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Smallmouth Bass at Butternut Lake?

Typical Smallmouth Bass depth by season: Pre-Spawn 15-25 ft, Spawn 2-5 ft, Post-Spawn 8-20 ft, Summer 20-40 ft, Fall 20-40 ft, Winter 25-45 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Butternut Lake itself.