Bowstring Lake — Two and a Half Inches of Rain, a Thirsty Lake, and No Ice Yet

All summer I kept a rain gauge on the deck rail. Mostly it collected a spider and one very confident leaf. So when word came out of Grand Rapids that the sky finally opened up, I’ll admit I walked out and checked my own gauge like it owed me money.

Up in Itasca County, the gauge actually paid up.

What Sundin posted (Nov. 3)

Guide Jeff Sundin put up a weather-heavy update on Fishrapper. Our version, in plain words:

• The rain finally came. It fell slow and steady for about a day. He looked at NOAA’s daily totals and around Grand Rapids it had piled up to a hair under 2½ inches when Nov. 2 ended, with lighter drizzle still going Tuesday.
• Low lakes get a break. He named Bowstring, Round and Little Winnie among the Itasca waters that were close to impossible to get a boat into for much of the back half of open water this year.
• Don’t expect a fix. He doesn’t think these shallow lakes will bounce back much from one storm. He called it progress, not a cure, and pointed out that a bone-dry pond near his place only managed some damp grass. The marshes and low ground have to soak up their share before the big lakes start rising.

That’s why this card is filed under Bowstring. He didn’t report any fishing there. It’s about the water, not the fish.

Ice talk: not yet

• He puts water temps somewhere from the upper 40s into the low 50s. He says it’s way too soon to be watching for ice.
• Later this week, overnight lows are supposed to dip into the mid-20s. He suspects the wet weather may already have ended the season for the few anglers still fishing, and if not, those cold nights might.
• A cold snap that sticks around could change things quickly, and he says he’ll pass along ice news once there’s actually some to pass along.

Our read, not his: if the rain gave your landing a few more inches, great, but nobody should treat that as a reason to take a heavy boat into a landing that was hard to reach this season. Check it on foot first, wearing boots you don’t love.

One more thing worth watching

On Thursday Sundin plans to sit in at the DNR Fisheries office in Grand Rapids. It’s a progress report on the Lake Winnie 10-year management plan, plus results from this summer’s population surveys. He said he’d post a recap Friday for anyone who isn’t deer hunting next weekend.

Why it matters

A wet November won’t feed anybody walleyes this week. But a lake that spent the summer shrinking got a drink, and the folks who fish those little Itasca lakes have been waiting a while for that. Some years the good news is just water.

Fine print

This is a general conditions update from one guide, not a trip report. There were no fish, depths, baits, or counts for Bowstring or any other lake, and we didn’t add any. The rain total is his reading of NOAA’s numbers around Grand Rapids, not a lake gauge. Water levels and ramp access change slowly, so call a local bait shop or resort before you haul a boat up there.

Sources

• Fishrapper, November 2026 reports, Jeff Sundin, Nov. 3, 2026
• MN DNR current conditions