Walleye bite holds strong as fall bass pattern builds across NY

What's biting

What's next

If the elevated 6,470 cfs reading at our second gauge reflects a recent rain event, expect that flow to begin dropping over the next 2-3 days as the watershed drains — early-week conditions there should run high and stained, with better clarity and easier wading or boat control returning by the weekend. The steadier 71°F reading at the other gauge suggests that system wasn't hit as hard, and it should hold in a comfortable early-fall range through the period unless another front moves through.

With water temperatures still sitting in the low-to-mid 70s, the walleye bite that Brookdog Fishing Co. has been running hot on out on Lake Erie and Ontario should keep pushing east as those waters cool — Finger Lakes anglers can expect that pattern to arrive in earnest over the next couple of weeks. Smallmouth bass, already picking up per that same reporting, typically follow the same cooling-water cue and should keep strengthening through late September. NY DEC's ongoing walleye research around Irondequoit Bay and Sodus Bay is a good sign those fisheries remain a priority area worth watching for updates.

Trout that struggled with summer heat stress, as DEC flagged earlier this season, should start feeding more consistently as morning water temps ease — dawn and dusk windows, when the sun is off the water and temps are coolest, are the better bet right now rather than midday. Largemouth bass are in their typical fall transition, and with baitfish beginning to school up, expect them to push onto shallow flats and grass edges chasing that forage, particularly on stable-weather days.

Plan around the First Quarter moon for moderate early-week feeding activity, and if the high-flow gauge is still elevated by the weekend, favor calmer tributary or lake water over the stained mainstem until it settles. Check current USGS readings before heading out, since a fast-dropping or rising gauge changes conditions quickly this time of year.

Context

Mid-September in the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes region typically marks the start of the fall transition: water temperatures easing out of summer's high-70s/low-80s stretch into the upper 60s and low 70s, baitfish schooling up, and bass, walleye, and trout all becoming more active as the thermocline breaks down on the region's deeper lakes. A 71°F reading on September 17 is right in line with that seasonal expectation — not unusually warm or cool for the date, though the sparse gauge coverage in this dataset (no readings from any Finger Lakes proper, and only two river gauges) means this snapshot leans more on angler reporting than direct in-lake measurement.

NY DEC's Fishing Line coverage through the summer tracked a fairly typical arc: panfish and bass action holding up through the July-August heat, walleye research continuing on Irondequoit and Sodus Bay as it has in recent seasons, and an early-season nod to helping trout and salmon cope with warm water — standard summer management themes rather than anything unusual. Those DEC issues run through mid-August, so they predate the current fall push and should be read as background rather than this week's conditions.

The clearest live signal is western NY: Brookdog Fishing Co.'s weekly Buffalo-area reports show walleye holding strong for well over a month and smallmouth bass now building — a pattern that, if it tracks normally, should be arriving in Finger Lakes water on a similar or slightly delayed timeline. There's no direct reporting from Finger Lakes waters themselves in this feed set, so treat that projection as a seasonal inference rather than a confirmed local bite.