About our data
Where the facts come from
- Minnesota DNR LakeFinder: fish species, maximum depth, lake area, nearest town, latest survey date (retrieved October 30, 2026).
- Minnesota Geospatial Commons: DNR Hydrography, Fisheries Surveyed Lakes: lake list, DOW number, county, location (retrieved October 30, 2026).
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS): official lake names (retrieved October 30, 2026).
- USDA Forest Service: wilderness boundaries: which lakes lie in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (retrieved October 30, 2026).
- National Weather Service API: current forecast and barometric pressure, refreshed hourly.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources contributed the lake facts and fish lists on this site through its LakeFinder data. Hull & Hook is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Minnesota DNR. Each lake page links to the DNR's own page for that lake; check it, and the fishing regulations, before you go. Map and location data are for reference only, not for navigation.
Access notes (Red Lake Reservation waters, Boundary Waters permits) restate official pages from the Minnesota DNR, the Red Lake DNR and the U.S. Forest Service, and link to them.
How bite times are worked out
Bite windows follow solunar theory: fish are thought to feed more when the moon is overhead or underfoot (major windows, two hours) and around moonrise and moonset (minor windows, one hour). We calculate the sun and moon positions for each lake's own location every five minutes across its local day, including daylight-saving days.
In our tests, sunrise and sunset came within half a minute of NOAA's solar calculator, and moonrise, moonset and moon transit within about a minute of the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Each day gets a rating from Fair to Excellent: two points within about two days of a new or full moon (one point within about four days), and one point when a major window falls within 75 minutes of sunrise or sunset (half a point for a minor window).
Solunar theory is a long-standing angling tradition, not a guarantee. Weather, season and where you fish matter at least as much.