Fishing reports
15709 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Fluke doormats and thick tog mark Delaware Bay's fall pivot
NOAA's CO-OPS station 8537121 has Delaware Bay water at 71.6°F, still warm for late September. Fluke are the story this week: The Fisherman (Northeast) reports a 13-pound Delaware doormat took top-fish honors, with reefs, wrecks and ocean lumps producing keepers ahead of the state's September 25 flounder-season close. Higbee's Bait and Tackle describes a mixed bag on the bay: spot, croakers, kingfish, bluefish and weakfish coming to smaller baits on the drift, while anglers anchored on structure are finding tautog thick, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers with fish to 4 pounds. Big Dave's Tackle adds weakfish showing for drifters and a building soft-plastic bite near the lighthouses.
Last Call for Fluke as Blues and Stripers Take Over the Surf
New Jersey's summer flounder season closes September 25, and shops up and down the Shore say anglers are making the most of the final days. Boulevard Bait and Tackle in Sea Isle City reports fluke stacked in the backwaters, with 3- to 4-pound fish holding near Townsend's and Hereford inlets, while Fin-Atics in Ocean City is still pulling 3- to 5-pound flatties out of Corson's Inlet. Bluefish have taken over as the marquee surf action: Riptide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine has tailor-to-chopper blues hitting mullet and bunker chunks, Surf City Bait and Tackle says anglers throwing metal are connecting with multiples, a sign the fall bite is heating up, and Jingles Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven logged the LBI Surf Fishing Classic's first striper of the season, an 8.15-pounder. At night, Pier 47 Marina in the Wildwoods has stripers to 31 inches feeding heavily on staging peanut bunker and mullet around lighted docks and sod banks. Tautog are stirring too, with One Stop Bait and Tackle and Surf City both reporting blackfish starting to chew around the jetty rockpiles. Atlantic City's NOAA tide station reads 64°F this morning.
Fluke closes out strong as blues and albies run Sandy Hook beaches
Water at Sandy Hook is holding at 67.5°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8531680, still warm enough to keep the late-summer bite going as flounder season winds down. Fluke are having one last strong week: Capt Ron out of Atlantic Highlands scored fast, steady action on a recent trip with several anglers boxing their three-fish limit, though the bite has been inconsistent day to day depending on the drift and tide stage. The Fisherman — New Jersey edition notes the state's summer flounder season closes September 25, so this is the final stretch for keepers. Blues have taken over as the story on the beaches. OTW Northern New Jersey reports bluefish continuing to run the sand alongside a strengthening false albacore push, and The Fisherman — Northern NJ says the Golden Eagle's bluefish bite 'switched around big time,' with good numbers of slammers and albies working through the chum slick. Fishermans HQ LBI found similar action working live peanut bunker, converting a slow start into a loaded box of false albacore once anglers switched off jigs.
Crappie bite builds as fall settles into Delaware River waters
Crappie are turning on as the fall shift takes hold across the region's tributary waters. Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic reports anglers pulling stringers of good-size crappie from the Nanticoke River on twisters fished under floats, with the bite building noticeably as September closes out, a classic sign of the seasonal transition taking hold in the watershed.
Tide swings frame the day as fall settles into Puget Sound
Puget Sound registered 55.6°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 9443090, marking the seasonal slide into fall temperatures across Washington's inside waters. The station's tide table puts today's low near 6:10am PDT with the next high building through midday around 12:29pm PDT, a swing worth planning a trip around. Washington Sea Grant's latest dispatches this week cover water-quality monitoring, with SoundToxins marking 20 years tracking harmful algal blooms across Puget Sound and the outer coast, alongside new Clean Marina certifications at Kettle Falls, Tacoma Yacht Club and Des Moines Marina.
Albie Fever Takes Hold Across the Eastern Sound
Long Island Sound water temperatures are holding in the upper 60s this week, 65.8°F off New London, 68.4°F off New Haven and 69.1°F off Bridgeport, comfortable enough to keep the fall run rolling. Per The Fisherman — Connecticut, false albacore have taken over the eastern Sound, with one Connecticut shop describing albies as 'everywhere from Black Point to Fishers Island' and naming Avery Point, Sarah's Ledge, Ocean Beach, Harkness, Seaside, Niantic Bay and Black Point as producing spots, while another notes anglers are stocking up on epoxy jigs and tins as albie fever takes hold. The same report has striped bass feeding heavily on bait but not yet blitzing, bluefish 'very active' from snappers to gators, and black sea bass fishing staying strong on the bottom.
Shoreline striper bite holds up as NorCal water cools into fall
NOAA CO-OPS stations 9418767 and 9416841 are reading 51.1°F and 52.9°F respectively this morning, cool water typical of Northern California's fall transition. Just down the coast at Monterey Bay, Allen "Bushy" Bushnell's report for Western Outdoor News — Saltwater notes solid nearshore fishing around Santa Cruz this week, including striped bass working the shoreline.
Fall tide swings set up the bite window on the Oregon Coast
Water conditions are split down the Oregon Coast this week: our open-coast tide station reads 55.6°F while the estuary-influenced station near the river mouth runs noticeably warmer at 65.3°F, a gap driven by tidal mixing and lingering warm freshwater. Low tide bottoms out around 5:26 AM PDT and builds to a midday high near 11:55 AM, a solid incoming window for working structure as the tide fills in. Chatter on IFish.net points to steady trolling effort and boat traffic around the lower river and Buoy 10 this week, with several lost-gear posts (a net near marker #1, a rod and reel found off Nehalem) hinting at a busy fleet working that stretch.
Charleston Harbor holds summer warmth into the fall transition
Charleston Harbor's NOAA gauge read 82.2°F overnight, still firmly in late-summer range as the region eases toward its fall transition. Today's tide brings a high near 6:40 a.m. and a low around 12:48 p.m. local time, per NOAA CO-OPS station 8665530. Coastal Angler Magazine reported an 18-inch flounder taken off SAB Pier this month.
Stripers and albies stack up in Cape Cod Bay ahead of fall push
Water temp sat at 61.9°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 8449130, right in the seasonal cool-down window. Per Goose Hummock Shop (The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands), the Cape Cod Bay side is loaded with pogies and plenty of stripers, with an approaching northeast storm expected to push those bass in tight to the beach. Bonito and albies remain steady across the Cape per Goose Hummock and Sports Port, and Falmouth Bait and Tackle reports blues and a few albies in the 10-pound class along the Falmouth shore, while Sports Port also notes solid bottom fishing for sea bass around Barnstable Harbor and Sandy Neck.
Fall transition turns on bass and walleye across Michigan's Great Lakes waters
Michigan's DNR posted its latest Weekly Fishing Report on September 23, marking the state's shift into the fall bite across the Great Lakes and Grand River system. Tactical Bassin reports largemouth bass keying hard on baitfish as weeds die back, with jerkbaits drawing strikes as fish push shallow to feed ahead of winter. Fishing the Midwest notes walleye anglers are blending traditional jigging and live-bait rigs with forward-facing sonar to track baitfish schools as they shift toward healthier, still-green weed edges. The fall transition is underway statewide, and it is prime time for anglers willing to adjust with the moving baitfish.
Pamlico Sound bite holds steady as summer warmth lingers
NOAA CO-OPS readings this morning put water temperatures at 76-77°F across both tide stations covering the Pamlico Sound and Cape Lookout region, holding firmly in late-summer range. Morehead/Atlantic Beach captain Steve, of Chasin' Tails, reports nearshore boats finding steady trolling action along the beachfront this week, per Fisherman's Post (NC). Up at Hatteras/Ocracoke, Hatteras Jack's Eric reports good bottom-fishing numbers off the Rodanthe-area beaches along with sight-casting opportunities in the shallows amid the same warm water.
Fall Transition Puts Snook, Redfish on the Move in the Panhandle
Water temperatures across the Panhandle's CO-OPS stations held in the mid-to-upper 80s early today, with station 8729108 at 85.6°F and station 8729840 reading 87.3°F. That's typical late-September Gulf water, still warm enough to keep the summer pattern going while shorter days start nudging things toward the fall transition. Per Sport Fishing Mag, Gulf snook are beginning to feel that shift, moving from summer haunts toward the areas they'll hold through winter, a pattern worth watching along Panhandle passes and bay mouths in the coming weeks. Salt Strong's fall lure rundown flags redfish and snook as the inshore targets worth upsizing baits for as the season turns. Bottom-fishing chatter out of the Pensacola Fishing Forum described a trip out of the Fort Morgan launch on Mobile Bay this week, gusty out of the southwest early and calming by mid-morning, though that's a single angler's account not yet corroborated by a shop or charter report.
Warm Keys waters keep late-summer action rolling into fall
Water held at 86°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 8724580, keeping the Florida Keys' late-summer pattern in place as the region eases toward fall. ALL IN Key West called the recent stretch some of the best fishing in 16 years running the boat, with steady multi-species action out of Key West. Bud n' Mary's in Islamorada notes this window typically brings warm water, calm seas and heavy bait presence that keeps the bite consistent from the flats to the reef.
Mississippi Sound Water Holds at Summer Highs as Fall Nears
NOAA CO-OPS gauges in Mississippi Sound are reading water temperatures near 87°F this week, with stations at Bay Waveland (8747437) and Pascagoula (8741533) both sitting in the mid-to-upper 80s as of early-morning readings today. That's still full summer warmth for late September, arriving alongside a waxing gibbous moon building toward stronger tidal exchange. This week's Mississippi Department of Marine Resources notices centered on coastal-zone administration rather than species reports, including review of a Hancock County culvert replacement, a residential-development wetland-fill application near Gulfport, and the state's oyster spat-on-cultch bid solicitation for reef restoration.
Warm Water Lingers on the Outer Banks Ahead of the Fall Turn
NOAA CO-OPS stations near the Outer Banks are reading 79.2°F and 78.1°F this morning, still solidly summer-warm for the last week of September. Water hasn't started its real fall slide yet. Per Fisherman's Post (NC), anglers working the Rodanthe-area beaches out of Hatteras and Ocracoke are finding steady bottom-fishing action, with good sight-casting windows opening up in the clear surf. That's a solid pace for late-season warm water, but it feels like the calm before the shift most Outer Banks anglers are waiting on.
Marlin and striper action stretches through the SoCal Bight
Water in the LA Bight is running warm for late September, with NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 reading 76.8°F and station 9410230 at 73.9°F early this morning. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports marlin sightings scattered throughout the Bight over the past several weeks, extending as far as the Northern Channel Islands, with striped bass and bluefish also showing up on the same grounds. That's an unusual mix for this stretch of coast this late in the season, and it points to warm water still holding offshore structure together.
Redfish and snook feed up as fall transition reaches the Delta
Gulf water along the Louisiana coast is running warm this morning, 86°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8761724 and 86.7°F at station 8760922, so the seasonal cool-down anglers elsewhere on the Gulf are watching for hasn't shown up here yet. Sport Fishing Mag's fall-transition report on snook notes fish feeding up and starting to push toward winter holding water as days shorten, even with local water still reading summer-warm. Salt Strong's inshore lure roundup this week lists redfish and snook among the fish worth targeting as the bite shifts toward bigger fall-sized baits.
Western NC trout streams enter prime fall transition
Late September marks the start of the fall transition across Western North Carolina's trout water, typically the best structural shift of the year for anglers. As nights cool faster than daytime highs, stream temperatures usually ease off their summer peak, stretching the comfortable feeding window from a narrow dawn-and-dusk push toward more consistent all-day activity. Terrestrial patterns (ants, hoppers, beetles) still produce through early fall before cooler water reopens mayfly and caddis activity heading into October.
Redfish come into focus as Mobile Bay holds late-summer warmth
Mobile Bay water is still running warm for late September, reading 87.3°F and 86.7°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS stations 8735180 and 8736897. That's closer to a summer pattern than a fall one. Redfish are the name of the game right now: Salt Strong's fall lure lineup this week lists reds alongside trout, snook, and flounder as the inshore targets worth carrying bigger paddletails for as the season turns. A Pensacola Fishing Forum report from Tuesday described a stiff southwest breeze slowing things down at the Fort Morgan launch before conditions eased around mid-morning, a sign the bay's fall pattern is arriving in bursts rather than settling in all at once.
Redfish tourney action heats up as fall snook push begins
Water temperatures are still running warm across the upper Texas coast, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 90.9°F, 88.9°F and 88.5°F, holding onto the last stretch of Gulf summer. Galveston Daily News' Reel Report tied its latest dispatch to the autumnal equinox and a wave of redfish tournament results out of the Galveston area, with Capt. Billy Howell of Galveston Bait and Tackle among the reporting captains. Fall's arrival is starting to reshape the pattern farther down the coast too: Sport Fishing Mag and Texas Fish & Game Magazine both flag the Gulf's seasonal snook push this week, with fish beginning to feed up and stage toward winter holding water as the days shorten.
Big Hole River reopens as Montana rivers cool and restrictions lift
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks lifted the angling closure on Section 5 of the Big Hole River this week, from the Tony Schoonen Fishing Access Site down to the Beaverhead River confluence, after weekend rain improved flows enough to meet the agency's threshold, per MT FWP Fishing News. Section 1 of the Big Hole, upstream near Saginaw Bridge, stays closed. The same rain and cooling trend eased hoot-owl restrictions elsewhere in the state: FWP lifted the afternoon closures on the Smith and Sun Rivers on Aug. 28 as water temperatures moderated, and this week cleared restrictions on stretches of the upper Clark Fork (from the Warm Springs/Silver Bow Creek confluence to the Blackfoot River) and the lower Bitterroot (Veteran's Bridge in Hamilton to the Clark Fork confluence). FWP also flagged an unusual sighting on the Missouri system this week: an angler found freshwater jellyfish near Canyon Ferry Reservoir, a rare but harmless species that occasionally turns up in warm, still water late in the season.
Late-season shift arrives for Kenai and interior AK anglers
Late September puts the Kenai Peninsula and interior Alaska river systems squarely in the fall transition, with water cooling and daylight shortening as the region moves toward freeze-up season. This is the window when many interior systems see their character shift week to week, and anglers typically adjust gear and timing accordingly rather than fishing the same patterns as mid-summer.
Bluefish and fluke keep bay approaches busy this week
The Ocean City Inlet tide station read 69.1°F this morning, with a high tide near 6:39 a.m. and a low around 12:41 p.m. local time. Bluefish are the most consistent report out of the DE/MD/Chesapeake corridor right now. Smith's Bait Shop says boats working structure out of Port Mahon are finding blues on cut bait and metal lures, alongside croaker on bloodworms and Fishbites. Fluke are still worth a look, too. Eric Burnley logged a 13-pound doormat for angler Frank Falcone earlier this month, and Smith's Bait Shop reports fluke coming on live minnows and bucktails tipped with Gulp crawfish. Wind has been the bigger limiting factor lately, with Burnley noting several trips scrubbed by blow.