Bitespan

Fishing report

Graf Lake Northern Pike Fishing Report

Kiel, WI

Illustration of a northern pike (Esox lucius)

Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 8, 2026 at 2:43 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 Northern Pike in Graf Lake.

Overall rating

Northern Pike at Graf Lake — 2026-08-08

Good · 67/100

Best window: 8 PM (Excellent · 80/100)

Some conditions data (cloud cover or barometric pressure) was unavailable from the weather service for this day — the rating above reflects only what was available.

Season
Summer
Moon
26% illuminated, waningWaning Crescent
Est. surface temp
74.3°F
Pressure
29.92 inHgUnknown

Est. water temp

74.3°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Above Northern Pike's 60-68°F range

Sun & moon

Sunrise
5:48 AM
Sunset
8:06 PM
Moonrise
12:33 AM
Moonset
5:18 PM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 8 PM
Cloud cover
13%
Precip chance
0%
Wind
3 mph WSW
Pressure
29.92 inHg Unknown

Species context

Why this score

Good (67/100) for Northern Pike: water is estimated at 74.3°F, above Northern Pike's 60-68°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. 29.92 inHg and stable pressure modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline. Calm (0-5 mph) wind modeled about 15% below this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 8 PM score

Light window (dusk) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 74.3°F estimated, about 16.8 points below its best.

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

  1. Water temperature: 74.3°F estimated

    23.2 of 40 pts

    Optimal range 60-68°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

    10 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)

    7.1 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 15% 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 Northern Pike 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 80.3 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 80. 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 2:43 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently summer. Northern Pike typically hold 6-20 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 74.3°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.

Current depth

6-20 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: 12:03 AM–1:03 AM
  • Major: 7:54 AM–9:54 AM
  • Minor: 4:48 PM–5:48 PM
  • Major: 8:26 PM–10:26 PM

Best times

When do northern pike feed during the day?

Northern Pike feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 27% above the daily average across all four light windows.

  • Dawn1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Daytime1.00x

    Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.

  • Dusk1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Night0.50x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 50%.

Hour by hour

Hourly bite forecast

HourBite scoreRatingLightWind
2 AM
57
FairNight9 mph W
3 AM
57
FairNight9 mph W
4 AM
57
FairNight10 mph W
5 AM
57
FairNight10 mph WNW
6 AM
72
GoodDawn9 mph WNW
7 AM
77
GoodDay9 mph NW
8 AM
77
GoodDay9 mph NW
9 AM
77
GoodDay9 mph NW
10 AM
67
GoodDay10 mph NW
11 AM
67
GoodDay10 mph NW
12 PM
67
GoodDay10 mph NW
1 PM
67
GoodDay10 mph NW
2 PM
67
GoodDay10 mph WNW
3 PM
67
GoodDay10 mph WNW
4 PM
71
GoodDay10 mph WNW
5 PM
71
GoodDay9 mph W
6 PM
67
GoodDay7 mph W
7 PM
67
GoodDay6 mph W
8 PM
80
ExcellentDusk3 mph WSW
9 PM
67
GoodNight5 mph WSW
10 PM
67
GoodNight5 mph WSW
11 PM
57
FairNight5 mph SW

Where to find Northern Pike right now

Typical Summer depth: 6-20 ft

Northern Pike feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 27% above the daily average across all four light windows.

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

Plan a Northern Pike trip to Graf Lake

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

Open the live forecast →

Other species on record at Graf Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Northern Pike in Graf Lake?

A state fisheries survey records Northern Pike in Graf Lake.

When do Northern Pike bite at Graf Lake?

Northern Pike feed most actively at Dawn and Dusk, when activity runs about 27% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Graf Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Northern Pike at Graf Lake?

Typical Northern Pike depth by season: Pre-Spawn 2-6 ft, Spawn 0-1 ft, Post-Spawn 3-10 ft, Summer 6-20 ft, Fall 8-18 ft, Winter 4-15 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Graf Lake itself.