Fishing report
Vermilion Lake Muskellunge Fishing Report
Tower, MN
Modeled from live National Weather Service data as of Jul 29, 2026 at 3:53 PM 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 Muskellunge in Vermilion Lake.
Max depth
70 ft
Deepest surveyed contour on record
Overall rating
Muskellunge at Vermilion Lake — 2026-07-29
Good · 76/100Best window: 9 PM (Excellent · 87/100)
- Season
- Summer
- Moon
- 100% illuminated, waningFull Moon
- Est. surface temp
- 82.1°F
- Pressure
- 29.93 inHgFalling
Est. water temp
82.1°F
v1 estimate from air temperature — not a sensor reading
Above Muskellunge's 75-80°F range
Sun & moon
- Sunrise
- 5:42 AM
- Sunset
- 8:48 PM
- Moonrise
- 9:07 PM
- Moonset
- 5:27 AM
Sky, wind & pressureat best window · 9 PM
- Cloud cover
- 33%
- Precip chance
- 18%
- Wind
- 5 mph S
- Pressure
- 29.93 inHg Falling
Species context
Why this score
Good (76/100) for Muskellunge: water is estimated at 82.1°F, above Muskellunge's 75-80°F optimal range. Best window: Dusk -- boosts feeding activity by about 31%, one of their peak feeding windows. That hour also overlaps a minor solunar period. 29.93 inHg and falling pressure modeled flat — no change from this fish's baseline. Light (5-10 mph) wind modeled about 10% below this fish's baseline.
What's driving the 9 PM score
Water temperature (82.1°F estimated) is doing the most for this score. The score gives up the most on solunar period — minor period, about 6 points below its best.
- Water temperature · helping
- Light window · helping
- Solunar period · neutral
- Barometric pressure · helping
- Wind · helping
Show the numbers behind this
Water temperature: 82.1°F estimated
34.4 of 40 pts
Optimal range 75-80°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.
Light window: Dusk
25 of 25 pts
Boosts feeding activity by about 31%
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.
Solunar period: Minor period
9 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.
Barometric pressure: Falling
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.
Wind: Light (5-10 mph)
9 of 10 pts
Modeled about 10% below 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 Muskellunge 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 87.4 of 100 points, and the two multipliers above take that to 87. 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 Jul 29, 2026 at 3:53 PM CDT. Solunar periods and sun/moon times are computed, not fetched.
When best caught
It's currently summer. Muskellunge typically hold 6-20 ft deep this time of year -- at an estimated 82.1°F, this looks like a slower time of year to target them, since water temp is outside their optimal range.
Current depth
6-20 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: 12:02 AM–2:02 AM
- Minor: 4:57 AM–5:57 AM
- Major: 12:25 PM–2:25 PM
- Minor: 8:37 PM–9:37 PM
Best times
Feeding windows by time of day
Muskellunge feed most actively at Dusk, when activity runs about 50% above the daily average across all four light windows.
- Dawn0.75x
Suppresses feeding activity by about 25%.
- Daytime0.94x
Suppresses feeding activity by about 6%.
- Dusk1.31x
Boosts feeding activity by about 31%.
- Night0.50x
Suppresses feeding activity by about 50%.
Hour by hour
Hourly bite forecast
| Hour | Bite score | Rating | Light | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 PM | 76 | Good | Day | 5 mph SW |
| 4 PM | 76 | Good | Day | 5 mph SW |
| 5 PM | 76 | Good | Day | 5 mph SW |
| 6 PM | 76 | Good | Day | 5 mph S |
| 7 PM | 76 | Good | Day | 5 mph S |
| 8 PM | 80 | Excellent | Day | 5 mph S |
| 9 PM | 87 | Excellent | Dusk | 5 mph S |
| 10 PM | 67 | Good | Night | 5 mph S |
| 11 PM | 67 | Good | Night | 5 mph S |
Where to find Muskellunge right now
Typical Summer depth: 6-20 ft
Muskellunge feed most actively at Dusk, when activity runs about 50% above the daily average across all four light windows.
Vermilion Lake's deepest surveyed contour is 70 ft — read the depth bands above against that, and see the full contour map on the lake profile.
Plan a Muskellunge trip to Vermilion Lake
Change the date, compare species, or check the week ahead in the live tool.
Other species on record at Vermilion Lake
FAQ
Common questions
Are there Muskellunge in Vermilion Lake?
A state fisheries survey records Muskellunge in Vermilion Lake.
When do Muskellunge bite at Vermilion Lake?
Muskellunge feed most actively at Dusk, when activity runs about 50% above the daily average across all four light windows. Today's report above scores every hour of the local day against live weather for Vermilion Lake, and shows what each input contributed alongside how well the evidence supports it.
How deep should you fish for Muskellunge at Vermilion Lake?
Typical Muskellunge depth by season: Pre-Spawn 2-6 ft, Spawn 0-3 ft, Post-Spawn 4-10 ft, Summer 6-20 ft, Fall 8-25 ft, Winter 8-20 ft. These bands come from published fisheries data for the species, not from a survey of Vermilion Lake itself.