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Fishing report

Larson Lake Bluegill Fishing Report

Merrill, WI

Illustration of a bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 29, 2026 at 12:15 AM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.

Larson Lake has no state survey naming Bluegill. Its presence is an estimate inferred from 8 confirmed lakes within 40 miles — not a record of a catch.

Overall rating

Bluegill at Larson Lake — 2026-08-29

Good · 69/100

Best window: 1 PM (Excellent · 83/100)

Season
Summer
Moon
99% illuminated, waningFull Moon
Est. surface temp
60.7°F
Pressure
30.07 inHgStable

Est. water temp

60.7°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Below Bluegill's 67-85°F range

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:16 AM
Sunset
7:41 PM
Moonrise
8:10 PM
Moonset
7:51 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 1 PM
Cloud cover
100%
Precip chance
85%
Wind
9 mph SSW
Pressure
30.07 inHg Stable

Species context

Why this score

Good (69/100) for Bluegill: water is estimated at 60.7°F, below Bluegill's 67-85°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. 30.07 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 1 PM score

Light window (dusk) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 60.7°F estimated, about 16.8 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: 60.7°F estimated

    23.2 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: 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: 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 82.7 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 83. 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 29, 2026 at 12:15 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 60.7°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.

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

  • Major: 12:45 AM–2:45 AM
  • Minor: 7:21 AM–8:21 AM
  • Major: 1:07 PM–3:07 PM
  • Minor: 7:40 PM–8:40 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
12 AM
65
GoodNight2 mph SE
1 AM
65
GoodNight2 mph SE
2 AM
65
GoodNight2 mph SSE
3 AM
55
FairNight2 mph S
4 AM
55
FairNight2 mph S
5 AM
55
FairNight2 mph S
6 AM
70
GoodDawn3 mph S
7 AM
75
GoodDawn3 mph S
8 AM
77
GoodDusk5 mph SSW
9 AM
72
GoodDusk6 mph SSW
10 AM
72
GoodDusk7 mph SSW
11 AM
72
GoodDusk8 mph SSW
12 PM
72
GoodDusk8 mph SSW
1 PM
83
ExcellentDusk9 mph SSW
2 PM
83
ExcellentDusk9 mph SSW
3 PM
83
ExcellentDusk9 mph SSW
4 PM
72
GoodDusk8 mph SSW
5 PM
72
GoodDusk8 mph S
6 PM
72
GoodDusk8 mph S
7 PM
77
GoodDusk8 mph S
8 PM
77
GoodDusk7 mph SSE
9 PM
57
FairNight7 mph SSE
10 PM
57
FairNight7 mph SSE
11 PM
57
FairNight6 mph SSE

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 Larson Lake, so these bands are the species' published seasonal ranges rather than a reading of this water.

Plan a Bluegill trip to Larson Lake

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

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Other species on record at Larson Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Bluegill in Larson Lake?

Larson Lake has no state survey naming Bluegill. Its presence is an estimate inferred from 8 confirmed lakes within 40 miles — not a record of a catch.

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

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