Bitespan

Fishing report

South Two Lakes Pumpkinseed Fishing Report

Lake Tomahawk, WI

Illustration of a pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Sep 22, 2026 at 11:06 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 South Two Lakes name the category Pumpkinseed belongs to rather than the individual species, so its presence is derived from that category, not from a species-level survey.

Max depth

69 ft

Deepest measurement on record

Mean depth: 26 ft

Max depth: Stachelek et al. (2021), LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, Environmental Data Initiative (CC BY 4.0)

Overall rating

Pumpkinseed at South Two Lakes — 2026-09-22

Fair · 53/100

Best window: 10 AM (Good · 65/100)

Season
Fall
Moon
83% illuminated, waxingWaxing Gibbous
Est. surface temp
62°F
Pressure
30.45 inHgStable

Est. water temp

62°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

Below Pumpkinseed's 75-89°F range

Air vs. last week

10°F cooler

54°F now vs 64°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:45 AM
Sunset
6:55 PM
Moonrise
5:19 PM
Moonset
2:02 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 10 AM
Cloud cover
29%
Precip chance
0%
Wind
7 mph E
Pressure
30.45 inHg Stable

Species context

Why this score

Fair (53/100) for Pumpkinseed: water is estimated at 62°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. 30.45 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 10 AM score

Light window (daytime) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on water temperature — 62°F estimated, about 34.7 points below its best.

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

  1. Water temperature: 62°F estimated

    5.3 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

    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 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: 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 64.9 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 65. 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 11:06 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 62°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

  • Minor: 1:32 AM–2:32 AM
  • Major: 8:48 AM–10:48 AM
  • Minor: 4:49 PM–5:49 PM
  • Major: 9:10 PM–11:10 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
10 AM
65
GoodDay7 mph E
11 AM
54
FairDay8 mph E
12 PM
54
FairDay7 mph E
1 PM
54
FairDay7 mph E
2 PM
54
FairDay7 mph E
3 PM
54
FairDay7 mph E
4 PM
59
FairDay7 mph E
5 PM
59
FairDay7 mph E
6 PM
54
FairDay6 mph E
7 PM
49
FairDusk5 mph E
8 PM
39
PoorNight3 mph E
9 PM
49
FairNight3 mph ESE
10 PM
49
FairNight3 mph ESE
11 PM
49
FairNight3 mph E

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.

South Two Lakes's deepest measurement on record is 69 ft — read the depth bands above against that. It is the deepest point someone actually measured on this water, not a contour survey, so deeper water may exist and there is no depth map to check it against.

Plan a Pumpkinseed trip to South Two Lakes

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

Open the live forecast →

Other species on record at South Two Lakes

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Pumpkinseed in South Two Lakes?

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

When do Pumpkinseed bite at South Two Lakes?

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 South Two Lakes, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Pumpkinseed at South Two Lakes?

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 South Two Lakes itself.