Fishing Forecast · Michigan · Updated August 2026

Townsend Lake

Townsend Lake earns a null for water quality. This forecast reads its measured clarity, depth, and trophic state — with each species' biology, the sun and moon, and today's conditions — to call when the fish move on Townsend Lake and how to catch them.

55 ft
max depth: 1
fish species: 12 ft
water clarity: Reservoir
water body

Today · Thu Aug 27

★★★★★

The bite on Townsend Lake today. Sunrise 6:53 AM, sunset 8:17 PM.

Moon: Full Moon · 100%
Major windows: 11:51 PM–1:51 AM · 12:14 PM–2:14 PM

Best day · next 2 weeks

Fri Sep 4

★★★★★

Last Quarter moon (48%). Fish the major windows at 6:26 AM and 6:57 PM.

Fishing Forecast for Townsend Lake

A multi-factor outlook built from Townsend Lake's measured water quality — clarity, trophic state, depth, and water-body type — combined with each species' biology, seasonal patterns, and today's live weather. It flags spawn timing, where the fish hold, and the techniques that fit this lake's water, not just the moon.

Cisco (Tullibee)

Trout, Salmon & ColdwaterSummerSummer pattern

Fair

~75°F est.

Townsend Lake runs 12 ft of clarity — so finesse presentations and natural colors on light line tend to out-fish reaction baits.

Because Townsend Lake averages 12 ft of visibility (clear), so finesse presentations and natural colors on light line tend to out-fish reaction baits.
Its mesotrophic nutrient level puts the summer weedline near 15–20 ft — that edge is the high-percentage zone to hold cisco (tullibee) through the warm months.
With a max depth of 55 ft, Townsend Lake is deep enough to stratify in summer, so coldwater fish hold near the thermocline while warmwater fish stay above it.

Techniques for clear water

tiny jigs & spoons for suspended fish

Season-by-season on Townsend Lake

Season	Where	Structure	How
Spring	deep/suspended	suspends in the cold basin	not commonly targeted
Summer	deep near thermocline	cold oxygenated layer	small jigs/flies where legal
Fall	shallow late fall	moves shallow to spawn	small spoons and jigs
Winter / Ice	15–40 ft	suspended over the basin	tiny spoons and jigs — a fun ice target

Cisco presence indicates a healthy, cold, oxygen-rich lake; sensitive to warming.

The outlook is a transparent heuristic weighting of established angling factors, this lake's measured water quality, and live conditions — not a validated catch predictor. Water temperature is estimated from season and latitude unless a recent USGS gauge reading is available. Planning a meal? Check fish-consumption advisories for Townsend Lake. Always follow current state regulations.

14-Day Fishing Calendar

Plan the next two weeks on Townsend Lake. Anglers target Lake herring on Townsend Lake.

Date	Rating	Moon	Sunrise	Sunset	Major Periods	Minor Periods
Thu, Aug 27	★★☆☆☆	Full Moon 100% lit	6:53 AM	8:17 PM	11:51 PM – 1:51 AM 12:14 PM – 2:14 PM	5:39 AM – 6:39 AM
Fri, Aug 28	★★☆☆☆	Full Moon 100% lit	6:54 AM	8:15 PM	12:36 AM – 2:36 AM 12:58 PM – 2:58 PM	7:35 PM – 8:35 PM 6:47 AM – 7:47 AM
Sat, Aug 29	★½☆☆☆	Waning Gibbous 97% lit	6:55 AM	8:13 PM	1:20 AM – 3:20 AM 1:42 PM – 3:42 PM	7:56 PM – 8:56 PM 7:56 AM – 8:56 AM
Sun, Aug 30	★☆☆☆☆	Waning Gibbous 93% lit	6:56 AM	8:12 PM	2:04 AM – 4:04 AM 2:27 PM – 4:27 PM	8:16 PM – 9:16 PM 9:06 AM – 10:06 AM
Mon, Aug 31	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Gibbous 86% lit	6:57 AM	8:10 PM	2:50 AM – 4:50 AM 3:14 PM – 5:14 PM	8:37 PM – 9:37 PM 10:18 AM – 11:18 AM
Tue, Sep 1	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Gibbous 78% lit	6:58 AM	8:08 PM	3:38 AM – 5:38 AM 4:04 PM – 6:04 PM	9:00 PM – 10:00 PM 11:32 AM – 12:32 PM
Wed, Sep 2	★☆☆☆☆	Waning Gibbous 69% lit	6:59 AM	8:06 PM	4:30 AM – 6:30 AM 4:58 PM – 6:58 PM	9:27 PM – 10:27 PM 12:48 PM – 1:48 PM
Thu, Sep 3	★★☆☆☆	Last Quarter 59% lit	7:00 AM	8:05 PM	5:26 AM – 7:26 AM 5:56 PM – 7:56 PM	10:01 PM – 11:01 PM 2:03 PM – 3:03 PM
Fri, Sep 4	★★½☆☆	Last Quarter 48% lit	7:01 AM	8:03 PM	6:26 AM – 8:26 AM 6:57 PM – 8:57 PM	10:44 PM – 11:44 PM 3:14 PM – 4:14 PM
Sat, Sep 5	★☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 37% lit	7:02 AM	8:01 PM	7:28 AM – 9:28 AM	11:39 PM – 12:39 AM 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM
Sun, Sep 6	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 28% lit	7:03 AM	8:00 PM	7:59 PM – 9:59 PM 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM	12:47 AM – 1:47 AM 5:05 PM – 6:05 PM
Mon, Sep 7	☆☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 19% lit	7:04 AM	7:58 PM	9:01 PM – 11:01 PM 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM	2:02 AM – 3:02 AM 5:44 PM – 6:44 PM
Tue, Sep 8	½☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 11% lit	7:06 AM	7:56 PM	9:59 PM – 11:59 PM 10:26 AM – 12:26 PM	3:22 AM – 4:22 AM 6:16 PM – 7:16 PM
Wed, Sep 9	★☆☆☆☆	Waning Crescent 5% lit	7:07 AM	7:54 PM	10:53 PM – 12:53 AM 11:18 AM – 1:18 PM	4:40 AM – 5:40 AM 6:42 PM – 7:42 PM

Server-rendered 14-day calendar starting 2026-08-27. Live in your browser shortly.

Methodology

How this forecast works

A plain solunar table only knows the moon. The LakeQuality Fishing Forecast starts there and adds what actually decides where and how fish bite on Townsend Lake — factors we measure rather than guess:

Water clarity — Townsend Lake's Secchi reading flips the playbook between clear-water finesse and stained-water reaction baits, and sets the low-light bite window.
Trophic state & depth — nutrient level and max depth set the summer weedline and whether the lake stratifies, which tells you how deep to fish.
Water-body type — natural lake vs. reservoir changes the structure that holds fish.
Species & season — each species' spawn-temperature window and seasonal movements, matched to the lake's estimated water temperature.
Sun & moon — the solunar major/minor periods and dawn/dusk twilight in the calendar below.

The species outlook is a transparent heuristic weighting of these established factors, and it now also factors in today's live conditions — wind, cloud cover, and the barometric (pressure) trend, recomputed for the current day. It's not a validated catch predictor, and water temperature is still an estimate from season and latitude unless a recent USGS gauge reading exists. It's the analysis a solunar table can't do, grounded in Townsend Lake's real, measured water quality.

How to read the calendar

Major periods (≈2 hours) are centered on lunar transit (when the moon is highest in the sky) and lunar opposition (when the moon is directly underfoot). These are typically the strongest feeding windows.

Minor periods (≈1 hour) are centered on moonrise and moonset. They're secondary windows that often produce well — especially when they coincide with sunrise or sunset.

Day rating combines moon phase (peak near new and full moons, when lunar gravity is strongest) with the overlap of major periods and the dawn/dusk twilight. A 4–5 star day stacks all three.

At Townsend Lake (lat 42.71°N), the longest day of the year is around June 21 with 15h 20m of daylight. The shortest is around December 21 with 9h 2m. Plan summer trips around the early-morning bite (around 5:30 AM) and the long evening window before sunset.

Frequently asked questions

What makes this better than a solunar fishing table for Townsend Lake?

A solunar table only uses the moon. The LakeQuality Fishing Forecast adds Townsend Lake's measured water quality — its clear water, trophic state, depth, and water-body type — matched to each species' spawn window and seasonal movements. That measured data drives where the fish hold and which techniques fit this lake's water, then the solunar calendar below adds the sun/moon timing. It's a transparent, multi-factor outlook, not a validated catch guarantee.

What is the best time to fish Townsend Lake today?

Today's solunar calendar for Townsend Lake (lat 42.71, lon -83.40) shows sunrise at 6:53 AM and sunset at 8:17 PM. The strongest fishing windows are around major solunar periods at 11:51 PM–1:51 AM and 12:14 PM–2:14 PM, plus the 30-90 minutes around dawn and dusk.

What does the moon phase mean for fishing Townsend Lake?

Solunar theory holds that fish activity peaks during major periods (when the moon is overhead or directly underfoot) and minor periods (moonrise and moonset). Fish feeding tends to intensify during the days surrounding the new moon and full moon, when lunar gravity is strongest. Today's moon at Townsend Lake is Full Moon (100% illuminated).

When are the longest and shortest days at Townsend Lake?

At Townsend Lake's latitude (42.71°N), the longest day of the year is around June 21 with about 15h 20m of daylight. The shortest day is around December 21 with about 9h 2m of daylight. Sunrise and sunset shift by roughly 6 hours between solstices.

Are major or minor solunar periods more important?

Major periods (about 2 hours, centered on lunar transit and lunar opposition) are generally considered the strongest feeding windows. Minor periods (about 1 hour, centered on moonrise and moonset) are secondary but still productive — especially when they overlap with sunrise or sunset.

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The species outlook is a transparent, multi-factor heuristic built from Townsend Lake's measured water quality (clarity, trophic state, depth, water-body type) and established species biology, and it now also factors in today's live conditions — wind, cloud cover, and the barometric (pressure) trend, recomputed for the current day. It's not a validated catch predictor, and water temperature is still an estimate from season and latitude unless a recent USGS gauge reading is available. Solunar times use lat/lon and Meeus astronomical formulas, shown in Eastern Time. Always check local regulations and current conditions before fishing.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

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