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Fishing report

Byre Lake Bluegill Fishing Report

Kennebec, SD

Illustration of a bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 24, 2026 at 11:10 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 Bluegill in Byre Lake.

Overall rating

Bluegill at Byre Lake — 2026-08-24

Excellent · 83/100

Best window: 11 AM (Excellent · 89/100)

Season
Summer
Moon
88% illuminated, waxingWaxing Gibbous
Est. surface temp
84.6°F
Pressure
29.98 inHgRising

Est. water temp

84.6°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

In Bluegill's 67-85°F range

Air vs. last week

4°F cooler

71°F now vs 75°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:53 AM
Sunset
8:28 PM
Moonrise
7:00 PM
Moonset
2:54 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 11 AM
Cloud cover
7%
Precip chance
1%
Wind
8 mph SE
Pressure
29.98 inHg Rising

Species context

Why this score

Excellent (83/100) for Bluegill: water is estimated at 84.6°F, inside Bluegill's 67-85°F optimal range. Best window: Daytime — suppresses feeding activity by about 20%. That hour also overlaps a major solunar period. 29.98 inHg and rising pressure modeled about 5% below this fish's baseline. Light (5-10 mph) wind modeled about 15% above this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 11 AM score

Water temperature (84.6°F estimated) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on light window — daytime, about 9.6 points below its best.

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

  1. Water temperature: 84.6°F estimated

    40 of 40 pts

    Optimal range 67-85°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: Daytime

    15.4 of 25 pts

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 20%

    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: Rising

    9 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 5% below 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: Light (5-10 mph)

    10 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 15% above 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 Bluegill 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 89.4 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 89. 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 24, 2026 at 11:10 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently summer. Bluegill typically hold 10-20 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 84.6°F, this looks like a strong time of year to target them.

Current depth

10-20 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: 2:24 AM–3:24 AM
  • Major: 10:02 AM–12:02 PM
  • Minor: 6:30 PM–7:30 PM
  • Major: 10:26 PM–12:26 AM

Best times

When do bluegill feed during the day?

Bluegill feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 33% above the daily average across all four light windows.

  • Dawn1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Daytime0.80x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 20%.

  • Dusk1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Night0.50x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 50%.

Hour by hour

Hourly bite forecast

HourBite scoreRatingLightWind
11 AM
89
ExcellentDay8 mph SE
12 PM
89
ExcellentDay7 mph E
1 PM
79
GoodDay8 mph ESE
2 PM
79
GoodDay8 mph ESE
3 PM
79
GoodDay8 mph SE
4 PM
79
GoodDay7 mph SE
5 PM
79
GoodDay7 mph S
6 PM
83
ExcellentDay8 mph SE
7 PM
83
ExcellentDay8 mph SSE
8 PM
89
ExcellentDusk8 mph S
9 PM
89
ExcellentDusk7 mph SSW
10 PM
84
ExcellentNight7 mph W
11 PM
84
ExcellentNight6 mph WSW

Where to find Bluegill right now

Typical Summer depth: 10-20 ft

Bluegill feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 33% above the daily average across all four light windows.

No depth survey or measurement is on record for Byre Lake, so these bands are the species' published seasonal ranges rather than a reading of this water.

Plan a Bluegill trip to Byre Lake

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

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Other species on record at Byre Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Bluegill in Byre Lake?

A state fisheries survey records Bluegill in Byre Lake.

When do Bluegill bite at Byre Lake?

Bluegill feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 33% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Byre Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Bluegill at Byre Lake?

Typical Bluegill depth by season: Pre-Spawn 5-12 ft, Spawn 1-8 ft, Post-Spawn 6-15 ft, Summer 10-20 ft, Fall 6-18 ft, Winter 5-20 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Byre Lake itself.