Lightning Lake

Fishing and stocking

Rainbow trout water, stocked through the 2026 season program; 900 fish in the published allocation. One of 19 stocked waters on the McLean County record.

McLean County · North Dakota · see it on the national map

program 2026 season

best window 10:46 pm-12:46 am solunar major today

1 species

900 fish allocated

What swims here

Rainbow trout 2 allocations

Season program record

North Dakota Game and Fish Department publishes this water by season or program window, not by dated schedule, so there are no truck dates to list; the rows below are the published program allocations. The North Dakota season shape statewide: reported by year.

Agency feed checked yesterday.

Season	Species	Size	Fish
2026 season	Rainbow trout		700
2026 season	Rainbow trout	adult	200

When to fish Lightning Lake

	Major periods (~2 h)	Minor periods (~1 h)
Today	10:23 am-12:23 pm and 10:46 pm-12:46 am	4:41-5:41 am and 4:52-5:52 pm
Tomorrow	11:09 am-1:09 pm	5:57-6:57 am and 5:09-6:09 pm

Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Central Time (CDT).

What the record actually says

Stocked through the 2026 season program

Computed this evening, Oct 23

Gear for this water

For the trout (rainbow trout on the season program here)

Casting spoons	1/8 to 1/4 oz in fluorescent or metallic; count down until you find the depth
Small crankbaits	trout-pattern cranks trolled or slow-retrieved off points
Slip bobber and jig	1/32 oz marabou jig or waxworm suspended at cruising depth

Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.

Nearby stocked waters

The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.

Water	Distance	Most recent
Lake Holmes	0.5 mi	2026 season
Lake Brekken	1.8 mi	2026 season
Brush Lake	6.7 mi	2026 season
Crooked Lake	9.6 mi	2026 season
West Park Lake	12 mi	2026 season

Records from North Dakota Game and Fish Department (official page). Placement from North Dakota Game and Fish Department coordinates. Schedules change without notice. Seasons, limits, and licenses: North Dakota fishing regulations.