Waters · Lakes · MN · Sun, Sep 27

Leech Lake water level today 94.37 ft, rising

Bite index 6/10 — Biting — get there by six.

Worth a cast.

Built from solunar, pressure, level, wind. This water has no live gauge for every reading — see the sources below.

6/10
Biting

Today's bite windows

12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM
Major
12:29 AM–2:29 AM
Moon overhead
Minor
7:53 AM–8:53 AM
Moonset
Major
12:53 PM–2:53 PM
Moon underfoot
Minor
6:40 PM–7:40 PM
Moonrise

Sunrise 7:10 AM · sunset 7:04 PM · tomorrow's first major 1:17 AM–3:17 AM · windows on every water

Solunar · computed updated 8:29 AM

Conditions right now

Water temp estimated
≈55.5°F
7-day mean of air temperature, ±4.5°F typical
computed from NOAA KXVG updated 7:55 AM
Water level
94.37ft
+0.11 ft in 24h
USGS 05205900 updated 7:30 AM
Pressure
30.07inHg
rising · +2.4 hPa/12h
NOAA KXVG updated 7:55 AM
Wind
3mph S
NOAA KXVG updated 7:55 AM
Moon
99% waning
Solunar · computed updated 8:29 AM

What this means

Walleye, Largemouth bass
This gauge reports level but no water temperature, so depth calls stay open. Read the windows and the pressure trend instead.

Leech Lake level over the last 8 days

94.37 ft up 0.11 ft in 24 hours

That sits 100% of the way up the band it has held over the last 8 days, between 94.12 and 94.37 ft. Over the week it is up0.19ft.

09-19 94.12–94.37 ft 09-27
USGS 05205900 updated 7:30 AM

The week ahead

Mon 7 Biting
Tue 7 Biting
Wed 6 Biting
Thu 6 Biting
Fri 6 Biting
Sat 7 Biting
Sun 7 Biting

Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.

Leech Lake boat ramps and public fishing access

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources lists 12 public access points on Leech Lake. These are the 8 closest to our gauge — the farthest one the agency lists sits 16 mi away.

Access data from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Distances are straight-line from our gauge, not driving distance.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources · public access inventory

Before you go

A Minnesota fishing license covers this water — $25 a year for residents. DNR sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What it costs, and who is exempt →

Nearby waters today

Questions people ask about Leech Lake

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Leech Lake.

Is it worth fishing Leech Lake today?
6 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 12:29 AM–2:29 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.
What time should you fish Leech Lake?
Today's major windows run 12:29 AM–2:29 AM and 12:53 PM–2:53 PM, with minor windows at 7:53 AM–8:53 AM and 6:40 PM–7:40 PM. Sunrise is 7:10 AM and sunset 7:04 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
What is the water temperature at Leech Lake?
No gauge on Leech Lake measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 55.5°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KXVG (Longville, Longville Municipal Airport). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.
What is the water level at Leech Lake right now?
94.37 ft, read at 7:30 AM from USGS station 05205900. Over 24 hours it is up 0.11 ft.
Are water levels rising or falling at Leech Lake?
Rising. The lake is up 0.11 ft in 24 hours and up 0.19 ft over the week. Over the last 8 days it has held between 94.12 and 94.37 ft. Every figure here is a difference between two gauge readings, not a forecast — what the level does next depends on rain and on what the dam releases.
Can you eat the fish you catch in Leech Lake?
That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. Minnesota Department of Health publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where updated in March 2026 with new length-based limits for walleye and northern pike. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.
Do you need a licence to fish Leech Lake?
Yes. A Minnesota fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. DNR sets the rules and is the one that counts.
What size fish can you keep in Minnesota?
It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: walleye and sauger, northern pike, muskellunge (muskie), white and black crappie. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Where these numbers come from

The gauge sits at Sugar Point near Federal Dam, on the lake itself.

No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.