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Fishing report

Otis Lake Channel Catfish Fishing Report

Glen Haven, WI

Illustration of a channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Sep 4, 2026 at 2:32 AM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.

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

Overall rating

Channel Catfish at Otis Lake — 2026-09-04

Excellent · 86/100

Best window: 5 AM (Excellent · 100/100)

Season
Summer
Moon
50% illuminated, waningLast Quarter
Est. surface temp
85.2°F
Pressure
29.85 inHgFalling

Est. water temp

85.2°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

In Channel Catfish's 81-86°F range

Air vs. last week

18°F warmer

77°F now vs 59°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:32 AM
Sunset
7:33 PM
Moonrise
11:43 PM
Moonset
3:16 PM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 5 AM
Cloud cover
32%
Precip chance
23%
Wind
5 mph S
Pressure
29.85 inHg Falling

Species context

Why this score

Excellent (86/100) for Channel Catfish: water is estimated at 85.2°F, inside Channel Catfish's 81-86°F optimal range. Best window: Night — boosts feeding activity by about 50%, one of their peak feeding windows. That hour also overlaps a major solunar period. 29.85 inHg and falling 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 5 AM score

Water temperature (85.2°F estimated) is doing the most for this score. Nothing is holding it back much. The whole day is then scaled to 104% for pre-frontal warm sector.

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

  1. Water temperature: 85.2°F estimated

    40 of 40 pts

    Optimal range 81-86°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: Night

    25 of 25 pts

    Boosts feeding activity by about 50%

    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)

    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: Light (5-10 mph)

    9.6 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 Channel Catfish 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: Pre-frontal warm sector — ×1.04 (104% 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 99.6 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 100. 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 4, 2026 at 2:32 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently summer. Channel Catfish typically hold 1-9 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 85.2°F, this looks like a strong time of year to target them.

Current depth

1-9 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: 5:58 AM–7:58 AM
  • Minor: 2:46 PM–3:46 PM
  • Major: 6:30 PM–8:30 PM
  • Minor: 11:13 PM–12:13 AM

Best times

When do channel catfish feed during the day?

Channel Catfish feed most actively at Night, when activity runs about 36% above the daily average across all four light windows.

  • Dawn1.00x

    Has no measurable effect on feeding activity.

  • Daytime0.50x

    Suppresses feeding activity by about 50%.

  • Dusk1.40x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 40%.

  • Night1.50x

    Boosts feeding activity by about 50%.

Hour by hour

Hourly bite forecast

HourBite scoreRatingLightWind
1 AM
90
ExcellentNight2 mph S
2 AM
93
ExcellentNight5 mph S
3 AM
93
ExcellentNight6 mph S
4 AM
93
ExcellentNight6 mph S
5 AM
100
ExcellentNight5 mph S
6 AM
95
ExcellentDawn5 mph S
7 AM
95
ExcellentDawn5 mph SE
8 AM
75
GoodDay5 mph SE
9 AM
75
GoodDay6 mph S
10 AM
75
GoodDay6 mph SW
11 AM
75
GoodDay7 mph SW
12 PM
75
GoodDay7 mph SW
1 PM
75
GoodDay8 mph SW
2 PM
80
ExcellentDay8 mph SW
3 PM
80
ExcellentDay8 mph SW
4 PM
75
GoodDay7 mph SW
5 PM
75
GoodDay6 mph SW
6 PM
86
ExcellentDay5 mph W
7 PM
99
ExcellentDusk3 mph S
8 PM
99
ExcellentDusk2 mph SW
9 PM
90
ExcellentNight2 mph SW
10 PM
90
ExcellentNight2 mph SW
11 PM
95
ExcellentNight2 mph SW

Where to find Channel Catfish right now

Typical Summer depth: 1-9 ft

Channel Catfish feed most actively at Night, when activity runs about 36% above the daily average across all four light windows.

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

Plan a Channel Catfish trip to Otis Lake

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

Open the live forecast →

Other species on record at Otis Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Channel Catfish in Otis Lake?

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

When do Channel Catfish bite at Otis Lake?

Channel Catfish feed most actively at Night, when activity runs about 36% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Otis Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Channel Catfish at Otis Lake?

Typical Channel Catfish depth by season: Pre-Spawn 1-5 ft, Spawn 1-5 ft, Post-Spawn 2-7 ft, Summer 1-9 ft, Fall 3-10 ft, Winter 5-12 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Otis Lake itself.