New York fishing reports
623 reports for New York — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Nor'easter looms as fall striper migration builds off Long Island
NY DEC's Saltwater Fishing and Boating program is warning boaters that a nor'easter is moving in, urging anyone still on the water to watch wind and barometric pressure and come in well ahead of the storm. Inshore readings sit in the mid-60s today: 64.8°F at two of our three NY tide stations and 65.5°F at the third, water still warm enough to hold the fall run together. That lines up with what Anglers Journal is seeing regionwide this week, describing the weeks around the equinox as the strongest stretch of the Northeast fishery, when striped bass, bait and diving birds bunch up ahead of their move offshore and south. NY DEC's own newsletter cycle has leaned the same direction this season, with a dedicated striped bass management edition and continuing coverage of the shark and sturgeon salvage program, both signs of a fishery that's actively moving rather than winding down.
Fall turnover lines up walleye, lake trout bite across NY
New York's fall transition is underway. The NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter flags fall-run trout pushing into Lake Ontario tributaries, the seasonal cue anglers statewide watch for as water starts to cool. On the western end of the state, Brookdog Fishing Co. is seeing that cooldown translate directly into bites: walleye remain strong on the Niagara River and Lake Erie, lake trout are feeding hard in deep water out of Barcelona on jigging presentations, and smallmouth bass action has picked up on both the Upper and Lower Niagara. That same cooling trend is the backdrop shaping the fall bite across New York's inland waters, including the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes region, as surface temperatures continue to slide.
Catskills streams show a wide temperature split as fall deepens
USGS gauge 01414750 is reading 63°F this week, while gauge 01434025, just a few miles away, sits at 51°F, highlighting how much elevation and tributary size are shaping Catskills water temperatures right now. Flows are thin at most sites: gauge 01415000 has dropped to 8.6 cfs and 01434025 to 4.9 cfs, while 01413500 is holding a stronger 80.8 cfs and 0136219503 is running 39.4 cfs. That spread, a milder mainstem reach, cold skinny headwaters, and one healthier flow, is the typical early-October Catskills and Adirondacks trout-stream setup.
Fall transition spreads across NY waters as Niagara bass turn on
Hudson Valley gauges are reading 61 to 62°F this morning, with flow holding near 1,400 to 1,560 cfs across USGS gauges 01357500, 01358000, 01359139 and 01354230 — steady, typical early-October water for the region. Statewide, Brookdog Fishing Co., working the Buffalo/Niagara/Lake Erie corridor, reports a transition week as Lake Erie's cooling water reshapes the bite, with the Lower and Upper Niagara producing solid smallmouth bass sessions. It's the same fall shift beginning to move across New York's freshwater fisheries this week.
Cooling Flows Signal Fall Bite Window on Western NY Tributaries
Western New York's tributary streams are settling into a typical fall pattern: USGS gauge 04218700 is reading 62°F on 157 cfs, gauge 04231600 is running higher at 622 cfs and 60°F, and the smaller gauge 04232050 is holding a lean 13.2 cfs at 58°F. That spread, cooler water on lower flow and warmer water on higher flow, reflects the uneven cooldown moving through the watershed as nights lengthen. Fishing the Midwest's fall walleye coverage notes the bottom-bouncer-and-nightcrawler plain rig turning on as water cools, and its bladed swim jig piece points to northern pike joining bass and walleye on the same retrieve this time of year.
Salmon River kings and browns stacking up with lake trout mixed in
Salmon fishing has been very good over the past week on Lake Ontario, per Strike Zone Charters, with browns and lake trout mixed in alongside the salmon run. The charter reports fish holding in 100 to 160 feet of water, with preferred depth shifting day to day as wind pushes the thermal layers around. Mag Dipsey Divers are producing when fish sit deep, with green, white and chartreuse e-chip spoons drawing strikes. The Salmon River tributary gauge is running low and steady this week, consistent with typical early-October flow for the system.
Finger Lakes anglers eye fall turnover as flows run low
USGS gauge 04232050, reading near the Finger Lakes drainage, logged 58°F water and flow holding low at 13.2 cfs as of early Wednesday morning. That combination, cool but not cold, flow thin and settled, points to a region still easing toward fall turnover rather than any recent rain pulse pushing water around. No state agency or shop reports specific to Cayuga, Seneca, or Skaneateles came through this week, so this update is grounded in the instrument reading rather than fresh bite reports.
Catskills trout streams run cold and low into fall
Water temperatures across the gauged Catskills streams range from 49°F at USGS gauge 01434025 up to 54°F at USGS gauge 01414750, with 53°F showing on USGS gauge 0136219503. Flows are low and varied: 5.23 cfs at 01434025, 8.28 cfs at 01415000, and a comparatively higher 82.8 cfs at 01413500. That spread puts most of the region in the high-40s to mid-50s band where brown trout become more active ahead of their fall spawning push, and the thinner flows mean clearer water for sight-fishing pocket water and pools.
Striped bass surge through Long Island surf and bays as fall run peaks
Striped bass have taken over the Long Island conversation this week. Montauk's Double D Charters reports bass moved in with most fish running over the slot and an occasional keeper mixed through, while Tight Lines Tackle on the South Fork logged incredible surf fishing with fish into the upper 40-inch range, including bass to 51 inches around the Ponquogue Bridge. The pattern holds across the Island: White Water Outfitters counted bass over 40 pounds in the Shinnecock Inlet surf, and Miller Place Bait and Tackle on the North Shore had a customer land and release nine fish over 30 pounds during last week's nor'easter at Cedar. Bluefish are mixing in too, per Fishing East Coast Bait and Tackle, as both species work through heavy baitfish schools in Manhasset and Little Neck Bay. Fluke are winding down ahead of the October 15 closure, strongest on the South Shore per Bob's Bait and Tackle and JIB VI, but slowing at Double D's Montauk grounds. Water at the Montauk NOAA CO-OPS station reads 63.7°F, consistent with the cooling push pulling fish south and inshore.
Walleye and lake trout turn on as NY waters slide into fall mode
Hudson Valley gauges are holding steady in the low 60s — 61–62°F at the Schoharie-area stations (USGS 01359139, 01354230) — with the Schoharie/Mohawk corridor at USGS gauge 01357500 running 1,570 cfs and gauge 01358000 at 5,060 cfs, a typical fall flow for the region. NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter is gearing anglers up for the fall-run push into Lake Ontario tributaries statewide. Farther west on Lake Erie and the Niagara, Brookdog Fishing Co. reports the walleye bite has stayed strong into early October, with lake trout action "especially good" out of Barcelona on deep jigging, and smallmouth still producing on the Niagara River.
Fall Turnover Arrives for Lake Erie and Niagara River Anglers
Early October marks the hinge point for Western New York's Lake Erie and Niagara River fisheries. As surface waters cool through the fall turnover, baitfish schools tighten up around structure and current breaks, and the predators that have been scattered through summer start concentrating on those same edges. This is the stretch when smallmouth bass push shallower to feed aggressively before the water gets too cold, walleye shift onto low-light and nighttime patterns near drop-offs, and the first push of steelhead begins staging in Niagara-area tributary mouths ahead of the main Lake Erie run, a pattern that typically strengthens through the rest of October.
Lake trout mix into deep Lake Ontario troll bite
Strike Zone Charters, working the Lake Ontario troll bite, reports lake trout mixing in with the week's catch, with the fleet running 100 to 160 feet of water. Preferred depth has shifted day to day as wind moves the warmer layer around, and Mag Dipsey Divers paired with green, white, and chartreuse e-chip spoons have been producing.