Artificial Lure here with your Sunday, November 9th, 2025 Lake Winnebago fishing report—bundle up, folks, it's a classic late fall bite!
Weather’s definitely turned a corner for Winnebago country. After last night’s cold, Stockbridge started the morning at just 31°F with light northerly winds, and word from the National Weather Service says we’re in for partly sunny skies, northeast winds 15–20 knots today, and afternoon waves calming down to 3–4 feet. Expect wind chills to dip into the teens by sundown, following what weather.gov out of Green Bay calls the coldest air of the season. Sunrise was 6:38 a.m. and sunset 4:36 p.m., so daylight’s getting short—don’t snooze on that morning bite!
Fishing action on Big Winnebago is steady, but expect to work for your fish. The water’s getting colder by the day, making the fish more predictable but also tighter-lipped until those bite windows open. As reported in the November 8th, 2025 Lake Winnebago angler roundup, smallmouth bass, walleye, and jumbo perch are where the focus is right now. Perch have shown up in better numbers compared to last week, and the walleye are starting to pile up tight to structure as they fatten up for winter.
The best bite windows today, based on Lake Winnebago’s major activity forecast from FishingReminder, are late morning (around 9–11 a.m.) and right before sunset, so plan to hit those key times, especially as the moon phase transitions.
For perch, target the reefs and mud flats—Wendt’s Point remains a hot spot and reports mention some 11–13" jumbo perch coming off minnows and crappie rigs. Use live fathead minnows or small shiners under slip bobbers, and if you’re jigging, stick to pink or chartreuse ice jigs tipped with waxies.
Walleye anglers are finding action trolling the deeper edges off Garlic Island and the west shore points with slow-death rigs and small crankbaits in fire tiger or purple. Slow it down—1.0 to 1.3 mph is the ticket with these cold-water fish. If you’re vertical jigging, a ⅛-oz jighead tipped with a minnow is classic and still catches fish this time of year.
Smallmouth are a bit more finicky, but you’ll find them hugging rocky points and the bridge pilings up by Doty Island. Ned rigs with TRD baits in green pumpkin have been hot, along with slower presentations like tubes or hair jigs bounced along the bottom. Early bird anglers landed a few 17–19" smallies on finesse baits just before sunup.
No worries about tides on Winnebago—it’s a freshwater lake—but wind has a real effect here. With a northeast wind, fish will often push closer to windblown shorelines, so check out the points off Black Wolf and Fond du Lac if the water isn’t too rough.
Wondering where to go? Two proven hot spots right now:
- Wendt’s Point Reef—Solid perch bite early and late, especially near gravel transitions.
- The mouth of the Fox River—Late fall walleyes staging, and a chance for bonus white bass.
Hunting is taking over much of the outdoors scene these days, but those who’ve braved the brisk mornings report mixed bags of walleye (some 18–21" keepers), perch limits, and bonus crappies. The bite isn’t fast and furious, but patience and dialing in those slow cold-water presentations pays off.
Bundle up, keep the coffee hot, and good luck to all hitting the water—watch those winds and keep safety first! Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure. Be sure to subscribe for your next local Lake Winnebago report.
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