Massachusetts fishing reports
499 reports for Massachusetts — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Falmouth Blues and Albies Bite Through Building Fall Swell
Buoy 44085 is running a choppy 4.9-foot swell offshore this morning while nearshore water temps hold at 66-68°F across the Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound stations. Falmouth Bait and Tackle reports decent bluefish along the Falmouth shore, a few false albacore in the 10-pound class, and striped bass schoolies working the harbors, rivers, and the waters around the Elizabeth Islands as small bait pushes bigger fish into the shallows. Sports Port, working the Barnstable side, is seeing similar action further up the Cape: stripers, albies, and black sea bass on the bottom.
Fall Transition Turns On Pike and Crappie Across MA Freshwater
Fall transition freshwater fishing is picking up across Massachusetts. On the Merrimack River, Roger Aziz, Jr. reported landing five northern pike and several crappie in one outing this week, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, even with water levels running low across most ponds, lakes and rivers in the region. That combination — low water concentrating baitfish alongside cooling nights triggering the fall bite — is the pattern Central MA anglers should be watching for on their own local ponds and rivers right now.
Fall Transition Puts Pike and Crappie on the Move in MA Freshwater
Massachusetts freshwater is settling into the fall transition, and this week's activity reflects it. Per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, an angler fishing the Merrimack River in Methuen reported landing five Northern Pike and a handful of Crappie in a single outing, a sign that predator and panfish activity is picking up as water cools across the state's rivers, ponds, and reservoirs, Quabbin and Wachusett included.
False albacore record adds heat to Cape Cod Bay's fall shift
Cape Cod Bay water sat at 66.7°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8449130, still mild enough to hold summer species as the fall transition gets underway. On The Water reported a 19.9-pound false albacore broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record this month, confirming albies are pushing through New England waters in real numbers. Just south in Rhode Island, Saltwater Edge describes the fall run as having "kicked off in a big way," with albies and bonito thick along the oceanfront and the tautog bite picking up — though striped bass have stayed lackluster there for most anglers, a pattern likely mirroring what Cape Cod Bay sees until water temperatures drop further.
Record Albie Signals a Fall Run With Real Punch
NOAA CO-OPS station 8449130 logged a water temperature of 68.5°F in Cape Cod Bay this afternoon, still firmly in late-summer range as the region eases toward its fall transition. On The Water reports a 19.9-pound false albacore broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record this month, confirming albies are moving through regional waters in real numbers. To the south in Rhode Island, Saltwater Edge Blog describes the fall run as having "kicked off in a big way," with the tautog bite picking up while striped bass have stayed lackluster for most anglers, a pattern the shop expects to shift once nights turn colder and northerly winds set in.
False Albacore Surge Signals Fall Run's Arrival in Southern New England
Water temps sit at 69.6°F and 70.7°F at the region's two NOAA CO-OPS stations, still warm enough to hold summer patterns but tipping toward the fall transition. False albacore have "taken over the oceanfront," per Saltwater Edge Blog, and that push showed up in the record books: On The Water reports a 19.9-pound false albacore broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record this month. Tautog are also stirring, with Saltwater Edge noting the bite "picking up" as water cools. Striped bass, by contrast, have been lackluster for most anglers through late summer.
Fall Run Signals Building as Record Albie Hits Massachusetts
Cape Cod Bay water temperatures are holding in the mid-to-upper 60s this morning, with NOAA buoy 44013 reading 65°F and buoy 44020 at 70°F, comfortably in range for the fall push to build. That shift is already visible: On The Water reported a 19.9-pound false albacore broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record this month, a sign the run is filling in along the coast. Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) says albies have taken over the oceanfront to the south along with a tautog bite that's picking up, while striped bass have stayed lackluster for most anglers, a pattern the shop expects to flip once colder nights and northerly winds arrive this week.
Tautog bite builds as albies push toward Buzzards Bay
Water temps sit in the upper-60s to low-70s across Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound this morning, with NOAA buoy 44085 reading 67°F and CO-OPS stations at Woods Hole and Fall River holding at 70.3°F and 71.1°F. Southern New England's fall run is underway: Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports albies and bonito have taken over the oceanfront to our south, with the tautog bite picking up as water cools, while striped bass have stayed lackluster through the warm stretch. On The Water confirmed the shift is real, noting a 19.9-pound false albacore recently broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts state record.
Milford ponds keep largemouth biting as September rolls on
Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford reported a busy weekend of shiner-fueled action at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park, with largemouth bass leading the bite for the anglers who came through the shop, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. That's a solid read for Central Massachusetts ponds heading into the back half of September, with warmwater fish still feeding aggressively before the seasonal slowdown sets in. Live bait fished tight to cover is doing the work right now, and the shop noted good numbers came from both named spots.
MA lakes ease into the fall largemouth shift
Massachusetts freshwater lakes and ponds are showing the early stages of the fall bass shift, per shop reports collected by The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay says customers are pulling largemouth bass up to 5 pounds from Cape Cod ponds, and young anglers at Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford filled coolers on shiners at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park. Southwick's Congamond Lakes ran cooler by comparison, per Sauder's Boat Livery, though last week's big-bass contest still produced a double-digit best-three bag on drop-shotted finesse baits and Texas-rigged Senkos.
Central MA largemouth stay shallow as low, warm flows hold
Regional USGS gauges show low, stable flow this week — 0.05 cfs on the Sudbury-area site, 5.44 cfs near the Neponset, and 15.8 cfs on the Blackstone — while water temperature holds at 73°F on the Ashland-area monitoring gauges. That combination, warm water riding a low, steady base flow, is classic late-summer stability, and it's keeping largemouth bass shallow and feeding. Per The Fisherman's Jerry's Bait and Tackle report out of Milford, at least 100 kids fished shiners over the weekend and connected on largemouth bass at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park, a strong showing for a Central MA freshwater week.
Bass Action Holds as Quabbin-Area Rivers Begin Their Fall Cool-Down
The Swift River's Quabbin outflow (USGS gauge 01173000) is running 66°F on 21.2 cfs this morning, with Wachusett's feeder streams close behind: the Quinapoxet (USGS gauge 01095375) at 63°F and the Stillwater (USGS gauge 01095220) at 64°F. A fourth tributary on the Quabbin side, USGS gauge 01174500, is running similarly low at 8.24 cfs. Water across both reservoir systems is holding in the mid-60s, right where early-fall largemouth bass activity typically picks up. Per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, largemouths continue to bite well at ponds on and off Cape Cod, and Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford reports steady action on largemouths, pickerel, and panfish taken on live shiners at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park, a pattern consistent with what these Quabbin-area tributaries are showing this week.