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Fishing report

Tamarack Lake Pumpkinseed Fishing Report

Bancroft, WI

Illustration of a pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)

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Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Aug 30, 2026 at 5:14 AM CDT, plus solunar and sun/moon times computed in-house. This is a computed report, not an eyewitness catch report.

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

Overall rating

Pumpkinseed at Tamarack Lake — 2026-08-30

Excellent · 88/100

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

Season
Summer
Moon
94% illuminated, waningWaning Gibbous
Est. surface temp
79.9°F
Pressure
29.89 inHgFalling

Est. water temp

79.9°F

v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading

In Pumpkinseed's 75-89°F range

Air vs. last week

12°F warmer

68°F now vs 56°F this time last week

Measured air temperature at the nearest weather station — not water

Sun & moon

Sunrise
6:18 AM
Sunset
7:37 PM
Moonrise
8:29 PM
Moonset
9:01 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 1 PM
Cloud cover
77%
Precip chance
20%
Wind
6 mph S
Pressure
29.89 inHg Falling

Species context

Why this score

Excellent (88/100) for Pumpkinseed: water is estimated at 79.9°F, inside 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. 29.89 inHg and falling pressure modeled about 5% above this fish's baseline. Light (5-10 mph) wind modeled about 15% above this fish's baseline.

What's driving the 1 PM score

Water temperature (79.9°F estimated) is doing the most for this score. Nothing is holding it back much.

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

  1. Water temperature: 79.9°F estimated

    40 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: Falling

    10 of 10 pts

    Modeled about 5% above 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 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 100 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 Aug 30, 2026 at 5:14 AM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.

When best caught

It's currently summer. Pumpkinseed typically hold 3-10 ft deep this time of year — at an estimated 79.9°F, this looks like a strong time of year to target them.

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: 1:28 AM–3:28 AM
  • Minor: 8:31 AM–9:31 AM
  • Major: 1:51 PM–3:51 PM
  • Minor: 7:59 PM–8:59 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
76
GoodNight6 mph SSE
6 AM
84
ExcellentDawn6 mph S
7 AM
84
ExcellentDawn6 mph S
8 AM
94
ExcellentDay6 mph S
9 AM
94
ExcellentDay7 mph S
10 AM
90
ExcellentDay6 mph S
11 AM
90
ExcellentDay6 mph SSW
12 PM
90
ExcellentDay6 mph S
1 PM
100
ExcellentDay6 mph S
2 PM
100
ExcellentDay7 mph S
3 PM
100
ExcellentDay9 mph SSW
4 PM
89
ExcellentDay10 mph SSW
5 PM
90
ExcellentDay9 mph SSW
6 PM
90
ExcellentDay8 mph S
7 PM
88
ExcellentDusk7 mph SSE
8 PM
88
ExcellentDusk6 mph SSE
9 PM
76
GoodNight6 mph ESE
10 PM
76
GoodNight5 mph ESE
11 PM
76
GoodNight5 mph E

Where to find Pumpkinseed right now

Typical Summer depth: 3-10 ft

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

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

Plan a Pumpkinseed trip to Tamarack Lake

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

Open the live forecast →

Other species on record at Tamarack Lake

FAQ

Common questions

Are there Pumpkinseed in Tamarack Lake?

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

When do Pumpkinseed bite at Tamarack Lake?

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 Tamarack Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.

How deep should you fish for Pumpkinseed at Tamarack Lake?

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 Tamarack Lake itself.