New York fishing reports
577 reports for New York — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Walleye, Lake Trout Keep Producing as NY's Fall Run Begins
New York's fall transition is underway, and the strongest signal this week comes from Brookdog Fishing Co., fishing out of Buffalo, Niagara, and Lake Ontario, who reports the walleye bite has stayed strong for weeks running, with lake trout action described as "especially good" on deep-water jigging trips out of Barcelona and a smallmouth bass bite that continues to pick up as waters cool. The captain has also been folding more jigging into the walleye and laker program after early success with it. Statewide, the NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter is shifting its focus to the fall run, previewing what anglers should expect as salmon and trout move into Lake Ontario tributaries, and flagging a temporary closure on the Salmon River's lower fly-fishing section that anglers heading that direction should plan around.
Catskills and Adirondack browns wake up as fall settles in
Late September marks the true start of the fall transition through the Adirondacks and Catskills. Cooling nights typically drop stream temperatures ahead of daytime air, and the smaller headwater tributaries and spring-fed runs feel that shift first, well before the bigger rivers follow. That's the setup anglers watch for heading into this stretch: brown trout and brook trout that spent late summer holding tight in shaded, spring-cooled pockets tend to spread back out and resume more consistent feeding as the water cools toward its fall range.
Fall cool-down takes hold on Western NY's Lake Erie and Niagara tributaries
Water temperatures across the Western NY tributary network are sliding into the fall range: USGS gauge 04218700 read 67°F this morning, while gauge 04232050 came in cooler at 58°F, and gauge 04231600 sat in between at 64°F. Flows tell an even bigger story — 04231600 is running a strong 802 cfs against just 6.86 cfs at 04232050 and 95.9 cfs at 04218700, showing how differently these watersheds are responding to recent weather. Under a waxing gibbous moon, that spread in both temperature and flow marks the uneven early stage of the seasonal cool-down that shapes fishing here through autumn.
Lake Ontario troll bite holds as fall push nears Salmon River, Oswego
Strike Zone Charters, running out on Lake Ontario this week, reports a consistent trolling program working depths of 100 to 160 feet, with the preferred depth shifting day to day as fish track temperature breaks. Mag Dipsey Divers paired with green, white and chartreuse e-chip spoons have been producing. The USGS gauge on the Salmon River is being watched as the tributary system moves through its seasonal transition, with anglers positioning near the river mouths ahead of the push inshore.
Fall Turnover Sets the Pattern for Finger Lakes Crappie
Cayuga, Seneca, and Skaneateles are sliding into the fall transition, the stretch when cooling water and dying weed growth reshuffle where fish set up for the rest of the season. Wired 2 Fish's fall-transition breakdown, timed to this same week, lays out the mechanism clearly: as shallow weeds die back, baitfish abandon them and school up over deeper structure and open water, and crappie key in tight behind them. That's the pattern to fish on the Finger Lakes right now, not the shallow weedline program that worked through summer.
Albie push fills Long Island Sound as big fluke exit the inlets
False albacore are pushing west through Long Island Sound and filling in off Montauk, per On The Water — New York / Long Island's reports from September 10 and September 17. Water readings back that pattern up: our Montauk station (NOAA CO-OPS 8510560) sits at 69.3°F this morning, while the western Sound station at Kings Point (8516945) and The Battery (8518750) both read 72°F, the kind of late-summer-into-fall gradient that stacks baitfish and hardtails together along the beaches. Big fluke are also on the move, exiting the South Shore inlets and working out of the Western Sound as they clear the backwaters for the season, according to the same On The Water coverage.
False albacore invade the Sound as Long Island's fall run ramps up
False albacore have taken over as the headline story on Long Island this week. On The Water's September 17 Long Island and NYC report has albies pushing west through Long Island Sound, following a September 10 report that had them just beginning to fill in off Montauk, a sign the run is building rather than peaking. Big fluke are moving with them, working out of South Shore inlets and the western Sound's backwaters as the summer fluke season winds toward its close, per the same reports. Saltwater Edge's Rhode Island forecast describes albies and bonito having "taken over the oceanfront" there too, consistent with the same fall push moving through the region. Our instrument readings back up the late-summer-to-fall transition: water temps run from 69.8°F at Montauk up to 72.9°F in New York Harbor, still warm enough to hold albies and fluke close to shore before the real cooldown arrives. Striped bass activity is building too, with Anglers Journal's account of the fall blitz season and NY DEC's ongoing Fish Smart striped bass guidance both pointing to the weeks around the equinox as when the Northeast's marquee migration gets underway.
Albies push through the Sound and Montauk as fall run builds
False albacore are showing up on both ends of the run this week: On The Water's Long Island report has them pushing west through Long Island Sound and filling in off Montauk as the fall migration gathers pace. Big fluke are moving too, working their way out of the South Shore inlets and out of Western Sound backwaters on the same tide cycle, an exit that has kept the bite lively even as numbers thin toward the season's close. Water is holding near 70°F off Montauk (NOAA station 8510560) and closer to 73°F in western Long Island Sound at Kings Point (station 8516945), still warm enough to keep both species active through the week. Striped bass are the outlier: Saltwater Edge's latest forecast, filed from Rhode Island, describes the striper bite as lackluster for most anglers right now, with improvement expected once chilly nights and a northerly wind set up, the same cooling pattern due to work its way down toward Long Island.
Fall Walleye and Lake Trout Bite Heats Up on NY's Great Lakes
Walleye and lake trout continue to deliver across New York's Great Lakes waters as the fall transition sets in. Brookdog Fishing Co., running out of Buffalo and Niagara, reports the walleye bite has stayed strong for five consecutive weeks and lake trout action out of Barcelona has been especially good, with deep-water jigging producing several client firsts this month. Smallmouth bass are also picking up as September wears on, per the same reports. Statewide, the NY DEC's September 18 Fishing Line issue flags the fall-run push into Lake Ontario tributaries and confirms a temporary closure on the Salmon River's Lower Fly Fishing Section, worth noting for anyone routing that direction. The same cooling-water cues moving Great Lakes gamefish onto structure and bait are on the same calendar for Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes waters this time of year.
Albies Push Into Long Island Sound As Fall Run Builds
Water temperatures across the region are holding in the low-to-mid 70s this week, with Montauk's NOAA CO-OPS station reading 70°F, Kings Point at 72°F, and The Battery at 73°F. Per On The Water's September 17 Long Island and NYC report, false albacore are pushing west through Long Island Sound while big fluke continue working out of the South Shore inlets on their way toward open water. That builds on the September 10 report, which had albies just beginning to fill in off Montauk. Saltwater Edge Blog, tracking the broader fall run to our east, notes albies have taken over the oceanfront there and the tautog bite is picking up as water cools. Striped bass, by contrast, remain lackluster for most anglers per that same report, though the shop expects the bite to turn with cooler nights ahead.
Walleye and lake trout keep firing on NY's big lakes into fall
Brookdog Fishing Co., running charters out of Buffalo, Niagara and Lake Ontario, called the week of September 14-20 excellent for walleye and lake trout, with smallmouth bass mixed in on top. The captain's deep-water jigging program out of Barcelona has been the standout, producing consistent lake trout along with walleye on the same trips. That builds directly on the prior week's report (September 7-13), which described the walleye bite as strong and noted a first-time deep-water jigging success on lake trout out of that same Barcelona program, with fish holding consistently once located. Smallmouth action has been building in parallel, described as picking up over the past two weeks as the lake cools into its fall pattern. Earlier in the month wind and Lake Erie chop dictated more of the program than the fish did, but the last two weekly reports show conditions settling into a reliable deep-structure bite for walleye and lake trout alongside an improving smallmouth window.
Catskills trout streams split warm and cool heading into fall
Five USGS gauges across the Catskills and southern Adirondacks corridor show a real split this week. Gauge 01414750 is running 71°F with no flow reported, while three gauges to the north and west sit in classic trout range: 0136219503 at 58°F on 35.5 cfs, and 01434025 at 55°F on a thin 5.57 cfs. Two more stations, 01413500 and 01415000, are carrying heavier flow at 80.8 and 23.8 cfs without a temperature reading attached. That much spread between gauges this close together points to real differences in shade, elevation, and spring influence rather than one blanket condition across the region.