Bitespan

Fishing report

Lake Minnetonka Pumpkinseed Fishing Report

Deephaven, MN

Illustration of a pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Sep 12, 2026 at 6:41 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 Pumpkinseed in Lake Minnetonka.

Max depth

100 ft

Deepest surveyed contour on record

Depth contours: Minnesota DNR survey

Overall rating

Pumpkinseed at Lake Minnetonka — 2026-09-12

Fair · 59/100

Best window: 1 PM (Good · 68/100)

Season
Fall
Moon
2% illuminated, waxingNew Moon
Est. surface temp
71.8°F
Pressure
29.80 inHgRising

Est. water temp

71.8°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Below Pumpkinseed's 75-89°F range

Air vs. last week

2°F cooler

64°F now vs 66°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:49 AM
Sunset
7:30 PM
Moonrise
8:35 AM
Moonset
7:55 PM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 1 PM
Cloud cover
23%
Precip chance
0%
Wind
15 mph NW
Pressure
29.80 inHg Rising

Species context

Why this score

Fair (59/100) for Pumpkinseed: water is estimated at 71.8°F, below Pumpkinseed's 75-89°F optimal range. Best window: Daytime — boosts feeding activity by about 30%, one of their peak feeding windows. That hour also overlaps a major solunar period. 29.80 inHg and rising pressure modeled about 5% below this fish's baseline. Moderate (10-20 mph) wind modeled about 10% above this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 1 PM score

Water temperature (71.8°F estimated) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 71.8°F estimated, about 8.5 points below its best. The whole day is then scaled to 75% for post-cold-front high.

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

  1. Water temperature: 71.8°F estimated

    31.5 of 40 pts

    Optimal range 75-89°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

    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 (held neutral by the front)

    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: Moderate (10-20 mph)

    9.6 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 10% 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 Pumpkinseed 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: Post-cold-front high — ×0.75 (75% of the ungated score)

A multi-hour frontal pattern read from the day's forecast trajectory. Because a front IS a barometric event, it replaces the single-reading pressure factor above, which is held neutral — the barometer is never counted twice.

Those five factors add up to 90.6 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 68. 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 12, 2026 at 6:41 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently fall. Pumpkinseed typically hold 3-10 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 71.8°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.

Current depth

3-10 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

  • Major: 12:58 AM–2:58 AM
  • Minor: 8:05 AM–9:05 AM
  • Major: 1:21 PM–3:21 PM
  • Minor: 7:25 PM–8:25 PM

Best times

When do pumpkinseed feed during the day?

Pumpkinseed feed most actively at Daytime, when activity runs about 33% above the daily average across all four light windows.

  • Dawn1.00x

    Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.

  • Daytime1.30x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 30%.

  • Dusk1.00x

    Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.

  • Night0.60x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 40%.

Hour by hour

Hourly bite forecast

HourBite scoreRatingLightWind
5 AM
50
FairNight10 mph WNW
6 AM
50
FairNight10 mph WNW
7 AM
56
FairDawn15 mph NW
8 AM
63
GoodDay15 mph NW
9 AM
63
GoodDay15 mph NW
10 AM
60
GoodDay15 mph NW
11 AM
60
GoodDay15 mph NW
12 PM
60
GoodDay15 mph NW
1 PM
68
GoodDay15 mph NW
2 PM
68
GoodDay15 mph NW
3 PM
68
GoodDay15 mph NW
4 PM
60
GoodDay15 mph WNW
5 PM
60
GoodDay15 mph NW
6 PM
60
GoodDay10 mph NW
7 PM
59
FairDusk10 mph NW
8 PM
59
FairDusk10 mph NW
9 PM
50
FairNight5 mph NW
10 PM
50
FairNight5 mph NW
11 PM
50
FairNight5 mph NW

Where to find Pumpkinseed right now

Typical Fall depth: 3-10 ft

Pumpkinseed feed most actively at Daytime, when activity runs about 33% above the daily average across all four light windows.

Lake Minnetonka's deepest surveyed contour is 100 ft — read the depth bands above against that, and see the full contour map on the lake profile.

Plan a Pumpkinseed trip to Lake Minnetonka

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

Open the live forecast →

Other species on record at Lake Minnetonka

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Pumpkinseed in Lake Minnetonka?

A state fisheries survey records Pumpkinseed in Lake Minnetonka.

When do Pumpkinseed bite at Lake Minnetonka?

Pumpkinseed feed most actively at Daytime, 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 Lake Minnetonka, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Pumpkinseed at Lake Minnetonka?

Typical Pumpkinseed depth by season: Pre-Spawn 2-6 ft, Spawn 0.5-3 ft, Post-Spawn 2-6 ft, Summer 3-10 ft, Fall 3-10 ft, Winter 3-15 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Lake Minnetonka itself.