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Today's fishing reports
Warm Gulf water keeps the fall bite in transition
Water temperatures along the Galveston-Corpus stretch are still running summer-warm. NOAA CO-OPS station 8771450 read 83.7°F, station 8772471 read 82.2°F and station 8771341 read 81.1°F at about 12:18 PM local time. Warm water like this holds fish comfortable and spread out, and it means the true fall cool-down has not yet reached the bays. Texas Fish & Game Magazine notes that fall can be an overlooked time to work the coast's jetty systems. It says the fishing may not be as consistently productive as late spring and early summer, so anglers should expect to hunt for pockets of activity rather than count on steady action. Saltwater Sportsman describes the fall baitfish run as under way along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from September into November. Moving bait is the thing to look for right now.
Fall Smith Mountain smallmouth and crappie bite sets up on cooling water
Water temperatures on the USGS gauges near Smith Mountain Lake & Buggs Island read 68 to 69°F this afternoon (gauges 02074557, 02074556 and 02076296), which is squarely in the range where fall feeding patterns start to build. Tactical Bassin's October coverage points to bass moving with baitfish and chasing them, with a bladed underspin or swimbait working well when fish are on the move, and a shallow jig, soft jerkbait or topwater approach on the flats and cover that anglers tend to overlook. Fishing the Midwest adds that October is a quiet, productive month on the water once summer boat traffic thins out.
Mississippi Sound shrimping opens wider as redfish stay in play
Mississippi Sound anglers get a notable change this week as MS DMR announced a conditional opening of additional Biloxi Bay waters to shrimping on October 15. The order covers waters south and west of a line running from Beacon 18 to Beacon 26 in the Biloxi Bay Channel, then on to Beacon 34 and Beacon 30, exclusive of the Biloxi Channel itself. It adds to the waters opened May 26, 2026, so check the full order and chart before running any gear. Water is warm for mid-October. NOAA CO-OPS station 8747437 read 80.4°F and station 8741533 read 79.7°F at 17:06 UTC today. That is summer-like temperature for the Sound, and it keeps bait and gamefish active in the shallows. On the fish side, the clearest redfish signal in this week's feeds comes from Coastal Angler Magazine, which carried a reader photo of a 28.5 inch bull redfish caught in the shallows on October 5. That catch was on the Gulf coast of Florida, not Mississippi, but it shows the fall shallow-water redfish pattern is underway across the Gulf. We would treat it as a pattern indicator for the Sound rather than a local report.
Cooling rivers set up a fall smallmouth window in NH
Streams feeding the Merrimack and Lake Winnipesaukee watersheds are running cool and low, with three of four USGS gauges (01072870, 01073319, 01091000) reading 53°F. Flow is modest: 80 cfs at gauge 01072870, 18 cfs at gauge 01073319, 35 cfs at gauge 01091000 and 117 cfs at gauge 01073500. Water in the low 50s is the range where smallmouth shift from active feeding toward slower, deeper holding spots, so fish tend to be less spread out than in summer. A pattern reported by Tactical Bassin (blog) this month points to bass chasing baitfish in the fall, with a bladed or flashy swimbait a useful search tool when fish are on the move.
Sacramento-Delta fall bite shifts as water holds mild
Gauge readings put Sacramento-area water at 62 to 63°F this morning, with the USGS gauge 11447650 showing 7,670 cfs and a water temperature of 63°F. That is comfortable fall territory for bass and panfish. Tactical Bassin (blog) notes that fall bass are chasing baitfish, and that adding a blade to a swimbait is one of the best ways to catch them. The Tactical Bassin (blog) piece on October fishing also points to shallow water, jigs, soft jerkbaits and topwater as overlooked options. Those are general fall patterns, not Delta-specific reports, so treat them as starting points.
Green River tailwater settles into a cool, steady fall pattern
The Green River tailwater is running cold and fairly high this week. USGS gauge 09261000 shows 6,090 cfs at 48°F, and a second USGS gauge, 404417108524900, also reads 48°F. A third USGS gauge, 09234500, reads 50°F with 1,880 cfs. Those numbers put the system squarely in fall mode, with water temperatures in the upper 40s to 50. None of the current intel covers Flaming Gorge or the Green River directly. The closest fit is a Reno Fly Shop (NV) report from the Truckee River in late September. It describes trout keying on small bugs, Blue Winged Olives, midges and a few remaining caddis, as the river moved into fall conditions. That is a reasonable template for a tailwater at similar temperatures. Mainely Fly Fishing (ME) also noted fall spawning colors on trout, a reminder to handle fish gently and avoid wading through gravel redds.
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