Lake Traverse

Air

39°F

Wind

5 mph ESE

Sky

Partly Sunny

Pressure

30.31 inHgSteady (0 hPa in 3 h)

National Weather Service hourly forecast; pressure from station KETH at 6:53 AM CT.

Lake Traverse covers 10,849 acres and is 12 ft at its deepest, so it has no deep, cool water to hold fish in summer. These are the sport fish DNR surveys found here, and what each typically does in October in Minnesota lakes.

• WalleyeFall walleye feed heavily on rocky points and breaklines; dusk and after dark are often best.
• Northern pikeFall pike feed heavily along the last green weeds and drop-offs.
• Largemouth bassBass gather near the remaining green weeds and drop-offs and feed before winter.
• Smallmouth bassFall smallmouth school on deep rocky structure and feed before moving to wintering areas.
• CrappieFall crappies school tightly in deeper basins and feed actively.
• BluegillFall bluegill move toward deeper weed edges and feed actively.
• Yellow perchFall perch school on deep flats and feed heavily.
• Channel catfishChannel catfish start moving downstream toward deep wintering areas.

Lake Traverse is a border water shared with South Dakota, so its seasons and limits follow the DNR's border-water regulations rather than the statewide inland seasons. Check current regulations.

Species found in Minnesota DNR fish surveys of Lake Traverse in the last 10 years or its latest survey (September 8, 2025).

• WalleyeSpawns over gravel and rock in the shallows soon after ice-out, peaking in 42–50°F water; in summer it holds deeper and feeds in the shallows at dawn and dusk.
• Northern pikeSpawns in flooded, weedy shallows right after ice-out and keeps feeding in cold water, so it bites from spring through ice season.
• Largemouth bassNests in shallow, firm-bottomed bays in late spring and spends summer in and along the weedbeds.
• Smallmouth bassNests on gravel and rock in late spring and stays around rocky points, reefs and current through summer.
• Black crappieSpawns in May and June in shallow water in the mid-60s °F; schools roam open water and feed most at night, dawn and dusk.
• White crappieSpawns like the black crappie, in May and June in mid-60s °F shallows, but prefers warmer, murkier water.
• BluegillNests in colonies in firm-bottomed shallows from late May through much of summer, in 67–80°F water; bigger fish feed in open water.
• Yellow perchSpawns in early spring, draping egg ribbons over weeds and brush, and bites eagerly on worms all year, including through the ice.
• Rock bassNests over gravel near rocks and logs in late spring and stays close to rocky cover all summer.
• Channel catfishSpawns in early summer in 75–80°F water in hollow logs and undercut banks, and winters in deep water out of the current.

Also found

• Bigmouth buffalo
• Black bullhead
• Brown bullhead
• Common carp
• Crappie
• Freshwater drum
• Golden redhorse
• Greater redhorse
• Green sunfish
• Hybrid sunfish
• Orangespotted sunfish
• Quillback
• Redhorse
• Shorthead redhorse
• Suckers
• Sunfish
• White bass
• White sucker
• Yellow bullhead