New York fishing reports
459 reports for New York — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Catskills sulphurs still popping, but browns stay picky
Sulphur hatches are still coming off in the Catskills, but the bugs aren't translating into easy hookups. One angler on The Fly Fishing Forum reported wading the West Branch Delaware late morning into an afternoon thick with small sulphur duns, yet saw very few risers and struggled to match the hatch even down to size 16 and 18 patterns. Elsewhere in the region, Trout Unlimited and the NY DEC are three to five years into reconnecting 44 miles of Adirondack brook trout water on the South Branch Moose River, replacing 63 culverts to open cold, connected tributaries. With late-July heat pressing on the fishery, Trout Unlimited's reminder that trout are cold-blooded and temperature-sensitive is worth keeping in mind on any stream without much shade or flow. Expect a technical, low-and-clear bite until conditions shift.</br>
Finger Lakes walleye, bass shift to summer structure patterns
No fresh gauge or buoy readings came in for the Finger Lakes this cycle, so this update leans on national technique intel layered onto typical late-July patterns for Cayuga, Seneca, and Skaneateles. Forward-facing sonar remains the biggest storyline in freshwater fishing right now — Wired 2 Fish's new study on whether FFS anglers actually out-fish traditional tackle lands the same week Fishing the Midwest notes walleye showing up off traditional bottom structure now that anglers can see them suspended over open water. For Finger Lakes walleye chasers, that means working points, turns, and weedlines with electronics rather than assuming bottom-hugging fish. Tactical Bassin's summer coverage backs up a parallel smallmouth pattern: getting off the bank and onto submerged vegetation and deeper offshore structure as surface temps climb. Tonight's full moon typically pushes low-light and night bites for both species. Check state regs before harvesting.
Kings and browns mixing 100-160 feet down on Lake Ontario
Salmon fishing on Lake Ontario has been very good over the past week, with browns and lake trout mixed in among the kings, according to Strike Zone Charters. Their boats are finding fish in the 100 to 160 foot range right now, though the preferred depth shifts day to day as wind pushes warmer surface water around and moves the thermocline with it. Mag Dipsey Divers have been the producer when fish are holding deep, and green, white, and chartreuse e-chip flashers run with Atomic attractors have been getting bit. For anglers working the Salmon River and Oswego corridor, this open-water staging bite is typically the lead-up to the fall run that eventually pushes kings into the tributaries. No fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for this update, so lean on reported bite depths rather than a hard temperature number for now. With a full moon overhead, expect feeding windows to lean toward early morning and after dark this week.
NY black bass bite heats up as DEC watches trout streams for heat stress
Black bass season is in full summer swing across the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes, with the NY DEC's Fishing Line noting in its June 12 issue that the bite was picking up as warmer weather arrived. That same warmth cuts both ways: the DEC's July 17 issue is now urging anglers to help trout and salmon beat the summer heat, a signal that stream trout water is running warm and stressed heading into late July. Expect largemouth and smallmouth bass to hold tight to weeds, points, and deeper cover through the heat of the day, while stream trout fishing is best treated as an early-morning, cold-water-refuge game until temperatures ease. Elsewhere in the state, Lake Erie walleye action stayed strong per Brookdog Fishing Co.'s late-July reports out of Buffalo, a reminder that New York's walleye fisheries, including the Finger Lakes, tend to hold up better through midsummer heat than trout streams do.
Long Island fluke bite fires as bluefin bonanza builds off Montauk
Fluke action is firing on all cylinders from the South Shore bays and ocean reefs to Long Island Sound, with bluefin tuna fishing excellent off the east end, per On The Water's July 23 Long Island and NYC report. East End sources echo the trend: Shinnecock Star found keeper fluke inside the bridge and outside on the reefs with sea bass mixed in, while Ebb Tide logged a standout 10.06-pound fluke south of the Point. Bluefish are chewing too — Tight Lines Tackle reports blues to 7 pounds around Shinnecock hitting poppers and epoxy jigs on sand eels. Striped bass have settled into their typical summer slowdown, per White Water Outfitters, though live eels at the inlet on the right tide, and night eeling in Manhasset Bay per Fishing East Coast Bait and Tackle, are still producing slot fish. Offshore, LI Outdoorsman and OTW Saltwater both flag a strong bluefin push, with school fish running closer to shore than the canyon yellowfin bite.
Summer walleye and smallmouth patterns settle onto Lake Erie
Forward-facing sonar continues to dominate walleye talk this week — Fishing the Midwest's Mike Frisch notes the technology has upended the old assumption that walleye sit tight to bottom structure, with anglers now marking suspended fish well off bottom in open water, a shift worth testing on Lake Erie's basin. No hyperlocal Lake Erie or Niagara reports came through our feeds this cycle, so we're leaning on typical seasonal patterns: late July usually has walleye holding on deeper structure and drop-offs by day, smallmouth bass working rocky points and emerging weed growth, and muskie anglers grinding long hours for a single follow. Bob Jensen, also writing for Fishing the Midwest, flagged that versatile anglers mixing techniques and target species are outperforming those locked into one pattern right now — worth remembering as the Full Moon pushes activity toward low-light windows.
Catskills and Adirondacks trout retreat to dawn and dusk as summer heat sets in
A Trout Unlimited dispatch on drought-stressed coldwater fisheries, cross-posted this month on Caddis Fly (OR), is the clearest read we have on where Catskills and Adirondacks trout stand heading into late July: cold-blooded fish are running warm and thin, and the safe window to fish them hard is shrinking to the edges of the day. No fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for this region today, so treat flow and temperature as unconfirmed until you check a local gauge before heading out. Hatch Magazine's notes on properly leading a rising trout and MidCurrent's read on summer hatches pushing fish into shallow feeding lanes both point anglers toward first light and last light for the most confident feeding. Expect brown and rainbow trout working riffles and pocket water in low light, while brook trout retreat toward cooler headwater seeps as the heat builds under this week's full moon.
Summer weedlines and forward-facing sonar dial in Finger Lakes bites
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Cayuga, Seneca, or Skaneateles this cycle, so today's outlook leans on seasonal pattern rather than a live snapshot. Late July typically pushes smallmouth bass and panfish tight to weed cover while walleye and lake trout slide toward deeper, cooler water, exactly the shift Fishing the Midwest describes in its recent weedline piece, where bass hold on emerging weed edges rather than open bottom. Wired 2 Fish's look at forward-facing sonar ("Livescope") reinforces that more anglers are locating suspended baitfish and panfish with electronics instead of guessing at bottom structure, a technique that transfers directly to Finger Lakes walleye and lake trout fishing as thermal layering firms up. Expect the most consistent bite around dawn and dusk, with the Full Moon likely pulling some feeding activity into the overnight hours and softening midday action.
Lake Ontario salmon bite heats up ahead of the river push
Kings are showing up strong on the open lake, with Strike Zone Charters (Lake Ontario) calling it a very good week for salmon, with browns and lake trout mixed in. Boats are working 100 to 160 feet of water, though the preferred depth has been sliding around day to day as wind moves the thermocline. Mag Dipsey Divers are producing when fish sit deep, and green, white, and chartreuse E-Chip spoons run behind Atomic-style attractors are getting bit, per the charter's report. Important distinction for Salmon River and Oswego regulars: this is lake trolling, not the tributary run itself, which typically doesn't fire up until late summer into fall as fish stage near the river mouths. For now, we're treating this as the early build toward that push rather than river action. Full-moon nights this week may nudge feeding windows toward dawn and dusk on the lake bite.
Summer heat puts Finger Lakes trout on notice, walleye holds strong
The NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter (July 17th issue) is flagging summer heat stress on trout and salmon statewide, a signal Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes stream anglers should take seriously heading into late July, since thermal refuges are getting tighter and careful catch-and-release matters more than ever. No live buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat water temps as elevated typical-for-late-July until fresh data lands. Walleye anglers have reason for optimism: DEC held public meetings this month on walleye research at Irondequoit Bay and Sodus Bay, part of ongoing tracking tied to waters feeding the Finger Lakes corridor, and Finger Lakes walleye fisheries remain a reliable summer staple. Smallmouth and largemouth bass, now well into DEC's tracked tournament season, are typically active on moving baits through late July. Fish early mornings around tonight's full moon to beat the heat and work the bite before the sun climbs.
Lake Ontario salmon stage offshore ahead of the tributary push
Salmon fishing has been very good over the past week out on the open lake, per Strike Zone Charters (Lake Ontario), with browns and lake trout mixed in alongside kings — fish are holding in the 100 to 160-foot range, though the exact depth shifts day to day as wind pushes the thermocline around. The charter reports Mag Dipsey Divers producing when fish sit deeper, with green, white and chartreuse e-chip attractors paired with Atomic-series spoons/flies drawing strikes. That's open-lake trolling water, not river water, but it's the clearest read we have today: no NOAA buoy or USGS gauge data came back for the Salmon River or Oswego corridor this cycle, so treat this as a staging-fish signal rather than a tributary-specific report. For Salmon River and Oswego regulars, the takeaway is that fish are present and biting offshore now, with the river push still to come as the season progresses. Check local forecast before heading out, and confirm exact tributary flow conditions locally before making the drive.
Finger Lakes bass bite holds as DEC flags summer trout stress
A 17-year-old shoreline angler landed an 8.5-pound largemouth out of a Livingston County pond near Avon this summer, working a deep pocket along the shore at first light, per Wired 2 Fish — a reminder that Finger Lakes-region waters are still producing quality bass even as peak summer heat sets in. The NY DEC's July 17th Fishing Line newsletter is urging anglers targeting trout and salmon to help those coldwater species beat the heat, a signal that Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes stream and reservoir trout fishing should shift toward early-morning and low-light windows while water temperatures climb. Smallmouth and largemouth bass remain the more dependable summer options region-wide, with black bass season in full swing per DEC's June coverage. Walleye anglers in Finger Lakes waters should expect typical summer patterns, working deeper structure as the shallows warm. No fresh buoy or gauge readings were available for this update.