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Fishing report

Culbertson Lake Bluegill Fishing Report

Danbury, WI

Illustration of a bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Sep 22, 2026 at 3:08 AM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.

The state's records for Culbertson Lake name the category Bluegill belongs to rather than the individual species, so its presence is derived from that category, not from a species-level survey.

Overall rating

Bluegill at Culbertson Lake — 2026-09-22

Fair · 53/100

Best window: 8 AM (Good · 62/100)

Season
Fall
Moon
81% illuminated, waxingWaxing Gibbous
Est. surface temp
56.6°F
Pressure
30.36 inHgStable

Est. water temp

56.6°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Below Bluegill's 67-85°F range

Air vs. last week

14°F cooler

45°F now vs 59°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:55 AM
Sunset
7:06 PM
Moonrise
5:30 PM
Moonset
2:12 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 8 AM
Cloud cover
33%
Precip chance
0%
Wind
5 mph E
Pressure
30.36 inHg Stable

Species context

Why this score

Fair (53/100) for Bluegill: water is estimated at 56.6°F, below Bluegill's 67-85°F optimal range. Best window: Daytime — suppresses feeding activity by about 20%. That hour also overlaps a major solunar period. 30.36 inHg and stable pressure modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline. Light (5-10 mph) wind modeled about 15% above this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 8 AM score

Light window (daytime) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 56.6°F estimated, about 27.7 points below its best.

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

  1. Water temperature: 56.6°F estimated

    12.3 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: 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: 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: Fall — ×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 62.2 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 62. 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 Sep 22, 2026 at 3:08 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently fall. Bluegill typically hold 6-18 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 56.6°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.

Current depth

6-18 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: 1:42 AM–2:42 AM
  • Major: 8:58 AM–10:58 AM
  • Minor: 5:00 PM–6:00 PM
  • Major: 9:21 PM–11:21 PM

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
3 AM
44
FairNight0 mph
4 AM
44
FairNight0 mph
5 AM
44
FairNight0 mph
6 AM
44
FairNight0 mph
7 AM
59
FairDawn0 mph
8 AM
62
GoodDay5 mph E
9 AM
62
GoodDay5 mph E
10 AM
62
GoodDay5 mph E
11 AM
52
FairDay5 mph E
12 PM
52
FairDay5 mph E
1 PM
52
FairDay5 mph E
2 PM
52
FairDay5 mph E
3 PM
52
FairDay5 mph E
4 PM
52
FairDay5 mph E
5 PM
56
FairDay5 mph E
6 PM
56
FairDay5 mph E
7 PM
61
GoodDusk5 mph E
8 PM
44
FairNight0 mph
9 PM
54
FairNight0 mph
10 PM
54
FairNight0 mph
11 PM
54
FairNight0 mph

Where to find Bluegill right now

Typical Fall depth: 6-18 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 Culbertson Lake, so these bands are the species' published seasonal ranges rather than a reading of this water.

Plan a Bluegill trip to Culbertson Lake

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

Open the live forecast →

Other species on record at Culbertson Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Bluegill in Culbertson Lake?

The state's records for Culbertson Lake name the category Bluegill belongs to rather than the individual species, so its presence is derived from that category, not from a species-level survey.

When do Bluegill bite at Culbertson 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 Culbertson Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Bluegill at Culbertson 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 Culbertson Lake itself.