Fishing reports
15709 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Gulf of Alaska tides widen as the fall cool-down sets in
Gulf of Alaska water temperatures read 49.8°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 9455500 and 48°F at station 9452210 this week, both holding in the high-40s as the region settles into its post-equinox cool-down. Tides are running a clean overnight swing at both stations, dropping from a high near midnight local time down to low water by roughly 6:30 to 8 a.m., giving a defined morning current window to build a trip around.
Columbia River steelhead run tracks a historic low this fall
The biggest story on Washington's rivers this week isn't a bite report, it's a shortfall. Hatch Magazine reports that this year's Columbia and Snake River steelhead run is shaping up to be historically bad, with counts at Bonneville Dam (tracked since July 1) tallying just over 52,000 fish, making 2026 the smallest steelhead migration on record. For anglers planning trips to Columbia system tributaries, that scarcity is the defining condition of the season, more than any single day's weather or flow.
Fall Transition Wakes Pike and Crappie on Inland Waters
Fall's cool-down is starting to reshuffle inland fisheries across the Northeast. Per The Fisherman's New England Freshwater column, an angler working the Merrimack River this week landed five northern pike and a handful of crappie, despite low water still holding across ponds, lakes and rivers throughout the region.
Fall Transition Takes Hold on the Illinois River and Lake Michigan
The fall transition is setting the tone across the Illinois River and Lake Michigan this week. As Fishing the Midwest describes it, cooling water is thinning out weed beds, and the remaining green cover is where baitfish are stacking up, pulling predators into tight zones behind them. Wired 2 Fish's seasonal rundown backs the same read: weeds die off, baitfish school heavily for winter, and September into October is exactly when that shift plays out across the Midwest. Tactical Bassin's early-fall notes point anglers toward the same baitfish-and-remaining-cover pattern this week, favoring current breaks and green weed edges over open water.
Fall transition takes hold at Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island
Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island are sliding into the early fall transition this week, with cooling surface temperatures beginning to break up the season's remaining weed growth. Regional outlets Wired2Fish and Tactical Bassin note the same pattern taking hold across Southeastern reservoirs right now: dying vegetation pushes baitfish into open water and typically sharpens feeding activity through the transition weeks. On lakes built around a thermocline like Smith Mountain, that shift usually shows up first as suspended baitfish schools relocating toward the main lake and larger tributary arms, a pattern anglers here have come to expect this time of year.
Early fall transition takes hold on the Potomac and Shenandoah
Cooler overnight temperatures are pushing the Potomac and Shenandoah systems into the early fall transition, the seasonal window freshwater anglers count on for some of the year's most reliable feeding activity. As weeds begin dying back in the shallows this time of year, baitfish concentrate and predators push shallow to feed before the real cool-down sets in. That shift is underway across Virginia's rivers and impoundments now, setting up the kind of pattern change worth planning trips around over the next few weeks.
Pike and Crappie Signal Fall Transition Across Central MA Ponds
Central Massachusetts ponds are sliding into the fall transition, and shops are seeing it in foot traffic before the water shows it. Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford reports steady after-school and weekend interest from local anglers working area ponds, including Hopedale Pond, by kayak and shoreline as the school-year crowd settles back in. To the north on the Merrimack River, Roger Aziz Jr. (per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater) turned five Northern Pike and a handful of Crappie in a single day, even with water running low across the Northeast Wildlife District's ponds, lakes and rivers.
Fall Transition Sets Up Bite Shift at Quabbin and Wachusett
Quabbin and Wachusett are entering the leading edge of the fall transition this week, the stretch when cooling water starts breaking down summer weed growth and pushes baitfish into tighter schools. The Fisherman's New England Freshwater column already has that shift showing up elsewhere in the state: an angler working the Merrimack River in Methuen landed five Northern Pike and a handful of Crappie in a single outing this past week, a sign that predators are keying on schooling baitfish as the season turns.
Rangeley-area trout turning color as fall transition begins
A trout already showing spawning colors was on the line last week, per Mainely Fly Fishing (ME) — an early sign the fall transition is underway across the Rangeley Lakes and Androscoggin headwaters. The same source logged steady dusk rises during a hatch on Kennebago Lake back in early August, and the cooling trend since then has pushed fish toward the shallower, more aggressive pre-spawn pattern typical of this time of year.
Fall Turnover Approaches for Wabash River, Lake Michigan Anglers
Late September marks the start of the fall transition across Indiana's freshwater fisheries. Cooling air is beginning to pull water temperatures down faster than the water itself can follow, pushing baitfish into tighter schools — a shift that typically re-triggers active feeding windows on the Wabash River and along the Lake Michigan shoreline. This week's outlook leans on that seasonal calendar and the current moon phase heading into the weekend.
Allegheny tailwaters ease into the early fall transition
Late September marks the start of the seasonal cool-down on the Allegheny and its Pittsburgh-area tailwaters, the point in the calendar when tailwater fisheries typically begin shifting away from summer's low-light-only pattern. No validated buoy or gauge readings came back for this stretch this cycle, so we're describing the shift qualitatively rather than off a specific number this week.
Limestone streams ease into their early-fall trout rhythm
Spring Creek and Penns Creek are moving into the early-autumn stretch of the limestone calendar this week. Cooler overnight air is starting to work against the constant, cold groundwater these spring-fed streams are known for, which typically means the tight, low-light-only feeding window of late summer starts opening back up toward more of the day.
North Shore fishery eases into the early-fall transition
Minnesota's Lake Superior North Shore has entered its early fall transition, with late September typically bringing steadily cooling surface water along this stretch of the big lake. The waxing gibbous moon overhead this week tends to concentrate feeding activity around dawn and dusk, when reduced light gives fish the edge to move shallower and feed more actively.
Presque Isle and Lake Erie ease into the fall turnover
Lake Erie and Presque Isle are entering the early fall turnover window this week, with the Waxing Gibbous moon building toward full ahead of the weekend. As surface temperatures cool through late September, baitfish typically pull tighter to structure and drop-offs, concentrating predator activity along breaklines. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission publishes water-specific Biologist Reports tracking exactly this kind of seasonal movement across the Commonwealth, worth a look before picking a stretch of shoreline to fish this week.
UP trout streams and Lake Superior ease into fall transition
Late September marks the start of the fall transition across Upper Peninsula trout streams and along the Lake Superior shoreline, the seasonal window when cooling water triggers Brown Trout to stage near tributary mouths and the first Steelhead begin pushing into feeder streams ahead of the fall run. Cooler overnight temperatures and shortening days are the trigger anglers watch for this time of year in the UP.
Waxing Gibbous Tides Bring Strong Overnight Movement to Hawaii's Nearshore Waters
Honolulu's NOAA CO-OPS gauge (station 1612340) is reading 85.3°F this evening, with the Kahului gauge (station 1615680) close behind at 81.9°F — both squarely in the warm range typical for nearshore Hawaiian waters heading into late September. The moon is Waxing Gibbous, building toward full, which is pulling a wider tidal swing through the islands overnight.
Tautog and weakfish build as Delaware Bay turns toward fall
Delaware Bay held at 66.9°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8557380, plenty warm enough to keep the bay's fall mixed bag going. Higbee's Bait and Tackle, via The Fisherman — Southern NJ, has tautog moving onto bay structure in numbers, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers with fish to 4 pounds, while Big Dave's Tackle reports weakfish starting to show for anglers throwing soft plastics near the lighthouses. Down at Lewes, The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake credits Frank Falcone's 13-pound flounder aboard the Grizzly with Capt. Cary Evans as the week's headline fish, and Hook 'em and Cook 'em notes bluefish mixing in at Indian River Inlet.
Fall transition arrives across Georgia's Chattahoochee and Savannah waters
Georgia Wildlife Blog — Fishing's latest dispatch, published September 18, marks fall as arriving next week, and that shift is already reshaping how the agency is framing its weekly notes: cooler days, shorter afternoons, and anglers trading peak-summer heat-avoidance trips for full-day outings. The blog's September 11 post flagged the same cooldown, calling it prime time to grab gear and get to a favorite spot, and the August 28 edition pointed toward family-friendly water — public fishing areas, kids' ponds, local lakes — as the season's crowds start easing. For the Chattahoochee and Savannah systems, that's the backdrop heading into this weekend: a river system easing out of its hottest stretch and into the stretch anglers wait for all year.
Albies and Fluke Fire Up Long Island's Fall Run
False albacore are the headline story across Long Island this week. On The Water's September 17 report has albies pushing west through Long Island Sound, and out on the East End, White Water Outfitters says good numbers are stacked around Shinnecock Inlet on small metals and epoxy jigs while Tight Lines Tackle in Southampton calls them 'plentiful' around Montauk and Shinnecock. Fluke remain the most consistent producer coast to coast: Double D Charters out of Montauk landed a double-digit fluke on a productive late-season bottom bite, Bob's Bait and Tackle in Amity Harbor is finding keepers on peanut bunker and Gulp in the bay, and Captain Dave III out of Sheepshead Bay describes a consistent keeper fluke bite alongside near-limit bluefish. Water temps back up the fall-transition read — 67.6°F at Montauk and 69.4°F at Kings Point in the Sound (NOAA CO-OPS), both comfortably in the range that keeps hardtails and bait moving through the inlets this time of year.
Early fall transition settles over Okeechobee and the St. Johns
Late September marks Florida's early fall transition on Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns River, as shortening days and easing summer heat begin pulling fish away from deep summer refuges and back toward shoreline grass and vegetation edges. This shift plays out gradually through the peninsula's interior lakes and river systems, setting up the pattern anglers watch for heading into October.
Fall Transition Takes Hold at Lanier and Allatoona
Georgia Wildlife Blog's September 18 fishing report opens with a seasonal marker: fall arrives next week, and the agency is already pointing anglers toward planning trips around the shift. That turn is exactly what matters at Lanier and Allatoona this week, as shorter days and cooler mornings begin reshaping how fish position through the water column. The agency's reports through August and September have carried the same thread: cooling weather, shrinking daylight, and a steady push to get out and enjoy the season while it turns. Since mid-August, Georgia Wildlife Blog has also shifted format, spotlighting one region of the state each week rather than a single statewide roundup, aimed at giving anglers more localized detail through the late-summer to fall stretch. The agency's late-August note also highlighted Georgia's public fishing areas and local lakes as easy, family-friendly options as summer wound down, a framing that fits Lanier and Allatoona well heading into a cooler, shorter-day stretch.
Fall transition arrives on Hartwell and Russell
Georgia's fall transition is underway on the Hartwell and Russell chain, and the state's own fishing coverage is calling the shift by name. The Georgia Wildlife Blog's September 18 report flags autumn's arrival next week and treats this stretch as the moment to lock in fall trip plans, echoing its September 11 note that cooling days and shorter daylight make September a strong time to get out on the water. That builds on the blog's September 4 post welcoming the new month as a fresh start for time on the water. None of those reports single out the Savannah River chain specifically, but the seasonal read matches what typically happens here this time of year: baitfish begin schooling tighter as surface conditions ease off summer highs, and gamefish start keying on those concentrations instead of scattering across open water.
Warm water holds on Georgia's coast as fall transition nears
Water temperatures at NOAA's Fort Pulaski-area gauge (CO-OPS station 8670870) read 82.6°F early Wednesday morning, still solidly in late-summer territory even as the calendar turns toward fall. The Georgia Wildlife Blog's September 18 fishing report notes that fall officially starts next week, with National Hunting and Fishing Day events planned for September 26 giving families and anglers a reason to get out on the water this weekend. The same blog's September 11 update points out the days are getting shorter and the weather is cooling "a little," a nudge for anglers who've been sitting out the late-summer heat to start planning trips again.
Northwoods musky bite ignites as fall transition begins
Muskellunge are the story in Wisconsin's Northwoods this week. Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop reports that early September brought stretches of heat and humidity to Oneida and Vilas Counties, with water holding in the low 70s before a cooldown began working through the system. The same shop's late-September playbook says boat traffic has thinned, mornings carry a real chill now, and a topwater bite is building as muskies key on baitfish pushed shallow by falling water temperatures. A companion report from the shop ties that shift directly to baitfish movement, noting water temperatures starting the month in the upper 60s to low 70s and sliding through the 60s as the fall pattern takes hold.