New York fishing reports
577 reports for New York — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Adirondack and Catskill trout water moves into its fall window
Early October marks the turn into fall on Adirondack and Catskill trout water. Per Reno Fly Shop (NV), its late-September Truckee River report found trout keying on small bugs as the water cools: Blue Winged Olives, midges and a few remaining caddis. That is Nevada water, but the cooling-water shift it describes is the same one arriving in New York streams this month.
Stripers wake up on Long Island as the fall run gets started
Our Montauk station reads 66°F (NOAA CO-OPS station 8510560), and the striped bass are where the action is. On The Water's Long Island and NYC report for October 1 says a weeklong nor'easter scattered the early fall action, but the bass have woken up and the fall run is just getting started. That fits the September 24 report, where anglers expected the nor'easter to kickstart the fall run and stripers were becoming more active in Long Island Sound. Anglers Journal's Between Fish column calls the late-season striper blitz packed with action. Striped bass is the species with clear New York support this week. The NY DEC Saltwater Fishing and Boating program is asking boaters to monitor the weather before and during trips and to get off the water before a storm arrives.
Fall Run Wakes Up as Stripers Push Into Long Island's Surf
The fall run is turning on across Long Island. On The Water's October 1 Long Island and NYC report notes that a weeklong nor'easter scattered the false albacore, but striped bass have woken up and the fall run is just getting started. Water temperatures support that: 66°F at Montauk and the upper 60s through Long Island Sound per NOAA CO-OPS, cool enough to push baitfish out of the bays. Ebb Tide on the East End reports stripers already showing along the beaches, and Tight Lines Tackle on the South Fork heard of bass taken off the Point in Montauk on bucktails before the storm. Bluefish are mixing in too, with River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin holding cocktail blues alongside snappers in the back bays. Fluke remain productive: the Shinnecock Star is running trips through October 15, though Capt. Walter on the Fishfinder II feels the storm pushed bay fluke toward the inlets and channels rather than out of the system.
Fall transition lights up walleye and lake trout across NY
New York's fall transition is underway, and the clearest signal is coming from the state's big-lake fisheries. Brookdog Fishing Co., running the Buffalo, Niagara, and Lake Ontario corridor, reports walleye holding strong through late September, lake trout producing consistently on deep-water jigging programs out of Barcelona, and smallmouth bass picking up as water cools. NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter confirms the fall shift is in motion statewide, with Lake Ontario tributary fisheries gearing up for the cold-water season. Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes anglers are seeing the same seasonal cues: cooling water is pushing baitfish and predators into a more active fall pattern.
Fall turnover window opens for Lake Erie smallmouth and early steelhead
The calendar turn into October marks the start of Western New York's fall transition on Lake Erie and the lower Niagara River. Cooling water pushes smallmouth bass off summer flats and onto deeper rock and gravel structure, walleye shift into an aggressive feed-up ahead of winter, and the first steelhead typically begin filtering into Lake Erie tributaries and the Niagara corridor through October. This is the stretch of the season Western New York anglers plan their fall around, with bass and walleye bites often improving through the month as baitfish concentrate and water temperatures keep dropping.
Lake Ontario anglers track depth as fall thermal break shifts
Boats working the Salmon River and Oswego corridor are finding consistent action out of 100 to 160 feet of water, per Strike Zone Charters, with the best depth shifting day to day as wind pushes the thermal break around. Mag Dipsey Divers paired with green, white, and chartreuse e-chip spreads have been the go-to setup this week, a sign that fish are holding tight to that temperature transition rather than scattering shallow.
Fall turnover sets up Finger Lakes smallmouth and walleye
Early October marks the start of fall turnover across the Finger Lakes, as surface and bottom temperatures converge and the thermocline structure that held fish all summer breaks down. Fish scatter toward baitfish rather than a fixed depth band, which is the defining shift anglers plan around this time of year. Mike Frisch of Fishing the Midwest notes that as fall weeds die back, walleye and bass push toward the last remaining green, living growth where baitfish and oxygen still hold. It's the same structural cue that applies to natural lakes like Cayuga, Seneca, and Skaneateles.
Fall run builds on Long Island as nor'easter reshapes the surf
Water temperatures sit at 65 to 66°F across the Montauk, Kings Point and Battery stations, squarely in the fall-transition range On The Water flagged this week, reporting plenty of false albacore off the North and South Forks and stripers building in Long Island Sound. The nor'easter that rolled through last week emptied the docks: Captree Fleet and Bergen Bay Docks on the South Shore, plus Double D Charters out of Montauk, all reported boats tied up through the blow. Shops are treating the storm as an accelerant rather than a setback. Tight Lines Tackle said stripers were already hitting bucktails off the Point in Montauk before the weather moved in, and NY DEC is reminding anglers still on the water this week to track wind and pressure closely as boats get squeezed into the final stretch before winterizing.
Fall Transition Arrives for Adirondack and Catskill Trout Streams
Late September marks the seasonal hinge for Adirondack and Catskill trout water: cooling overnight air temperatures are starting to pull stream temperatures down out of summer highs, the shift that typically draws brown trout and brook trout out of deep, shaded holding lies and into more consistent feeding through the day. Fall is when both species begin staging ahead of their spawn in New York's freestone streams, and the early stretch of that transition tends to reward anglers willing to fish the warmer parts of the day, late morning into afternoon, while flows are still on the low, clear side typical of early fall before seasonal rains build.
Walleye, Lake Trout Bite Holds Strong Ahead of NY's Fall Run
Walleye and lake trout are the story on New York's big water right now. Brookdog Fishing Co., fishing out of Buffalo on Lake Erie and the Lower Niagara, reports the walleye bite has stayed strong for weeks running, with the captain increasingly leaning on a jigging program that's produced some of the season's most consistent fish. Lake trout have been just as good working the deep water out of Barcelona, including several clients' first taste of deep-water jigging for lakers. Smallmouth bass action is also picking up as the water transitions toward fall, though recent reports note rough Lake Erie waves and a few weather-related disruptions, including small craft advisories, that have forced some improvising on where and when to fish. Meanwhile, the NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter is flagging the start of the fall run: anglers heading to Lake Ontario tributaries are gearing up for the fall trout push, and DEC has posted a temporary closure on the Salmon River's Lower Fly Fishing Section worth checking before a trip that direction.
Western NY rivers cool into prime fall bass, walleye window
Water temperatures across the Genesee River watershed sit in the high 50s to mid 60s this week: USGS gauge 04231600 reads 62°F on 618 cfs, gauge 04218700 is at 65°F on 140 cfs, and gauge 04232050 is running low and cool at 6.3 cfs and 59°F. That spread, a near-dry feeder creek alongside two rivers still carrying solid flow, is a classic early-fall signature for this region. Wired 2 Fish and Tactical Bassin both describe bass keying on baitfish and sliding toward deeper structure as mornings cool, while Fishing the Midwest reports walleye responding to bottom-bouncer rigs and bladed swim jigs as the fall transition takes hold.
Browns running deep as Lake Ontario tributary bite holds strong
Strike Zone Charters (Lake Ontario) is reporting a strong week on the Lake Ontario tributaries, with Brown Trout mixed in through 100 to 160 feet of water. Preferred depth has been shifting day to day as wind moves the temperature layer, and Mag Dipsey divers paired with green, white, and chartreuse e-chip flashers have been the go-to setup.