Fishing reports
15787 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Tautog Move Onto Delaware Bay Structure as Fluke Season Nears Its Close
Delaware Bay held at 73°F this morning per our NOAA tide-station reading, still mild for late September, with the bay riding a near-low tide before the flood builds toward an 8:11 AM high. Higbee's Bait and Tackle, reporting through The Fisherman — Southern NJ, says tautog have moved onto the wrecks and reefs in numbers, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers with fish to 4 pounds over the rail. Weakfish are showing too, with Higbee's and Big Dave's Tackle both noting fish on drifted bloodworms and Fishbites, and Big Dave's flagging a building soft-plastic bite near the lighthouses. Fluke remain catchable on the reefs, wrecks and ocean lumps, but New Jersey's summer flounder season closes September 25, per The Fisherman (Northeast), with a 13-pound doormat topping this week's board.
False albacore hold strong as Narragansett stripers wake up
Narragansett Bay water sits at 67°F this morning, per NOAA CO-OPS readings from Newport and Conimicut Light, still carrying late-summer warmth into the equinox week. False albacore are the story right now: The Fisherman — Rhode Island reports anglers finding albies and green bonito around the islands and in Newport Harbor with good results, and Saltwater Edge says albies have taken over the oceanfront. Striped bass are waking back up too. Saltwater Edge and The Fisherman — Rhode Island both note the bite picking up, and Quonnie Bait and Tackle reports nice bass in the surf and breachways after dark on live eels, swimming plugs, and soft plastics. Bottom fishing holds steady, with Frances Fleet limiting out on fluke and black sea bass.
Mobile Bay Water Stays Steamy as Morning Tides Set the Bite Window
Gulf water is still running warm heading into the equinox week, with our CO-OPS gauges reading 86.5°F and 87.3°F this morning (NOAA CO-OPS stations 8735180 and 8736897) — more late-August than late-September. A Pensacola Fishing Forum report from Fort Morgan on September 22 described a blustery 15 mph southwest wind at the 7:15 AM launch that eased by 9:30, opening up calmer water for bottom fishing the rest of the morning. That timing lines up with today's tide: the lower-bay station peaks near 8:15 AM, the upper-bay station follows near 10:30 AM, and the ebb runs through the afternoon into a low near 7 PM.
Bluefish, albies heat up as Jersey Shore fluke season winds down
Sandy Hook's NOAA tide station read 67.6°F this morning, with Cape May running warmer at 70.9°F, water still holding onto summer heat this late in September. Grumpys Tackle says the blues are in, and Golden Eagle's Capt. Rick Falcone told The Fisherman the bluefish bite 'switched around big time' toward bait, with slammers, bonito and albies mixing into the chum slick. Surf City Bait and Tackle reports anglers connecting with multiple bluefish on metal, calling it a sign the fall bite is heating up. False albacore are running too: Fishermans HQ LBI worked live peanut bunker into a mixed bag of bonita and albacore, and OTW Northern New Jersey confirms albies have joined bonito and Spanish mackerel on the reefs. South of the inlet, Pier 47 Marina reports striped bass feeding heavily around lighted back-bay docks, with anglers scoring fish to 31 inches on paddletails, rubber shads and Mag Darters, almost exclusively at night and better on higher tides. Fluke closes its season September 25, and Capt Ron's boat is sailing one more open trip before that window shuts. Tautog are waking up on bay structure per Higbee's Bait and Tackle, with tog to 4 pounds on sand fleas and green crabs, while weakfish stay a slower story per Big Dave's Tackle and Fin-Atics, both describing only an early uptick on soft plastics after dark.
Striped bass linger in Maine as the fall push stalls short of the border
Portland's water column reads 59.5°F this morning, with Bar Harbor holding at 57.6°F and Eastport already down to 54.1°F, the steep north-south gradient that marks the start of the Gulf of Maine's fall cool-down. Per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, striped bass have been slow to leave the region this year: surf regulars have been driving north into New Hampshire and Maine chasing fish that "seem perfectly content to take their time heading south," even as the bite eased farther south once the moon tides let go.
Upper Coast snook feed up as summer warmth lingers
Gulf water is holding warm across the upper coast this morning: NOAA CO-OPS stations report 90.7°F at station 8771450, 88.7°F at 8771341, and 88.9°F at 8772471, still deep in late-summer range for Galveston-Corpus. Texas Fish & Game Magazine points out that Upper Coast snook fishing isn't just a Lower Laguna Madre story, and Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook are feeding heavily now as they stage for their move toward winter holding water. With the equinox just behind us and days shortening, that fall trigger is starting to show.
Fluke bite stays hot before season close as blues and albies run NJ surf
Water off Sandy Hook is holding at 69.3°F this morning, still summer-warm for late September, with the next high near 6:04 AM and the next low around noon. Fluke are still producing hard in the run-up to New Jersey's summer flounder season close on September 25, per The Fisherman's NJ/DE Bay Region forecast. Capt. Ron out of Atlantic Highlands called Friday's trip "game on right from the start to finish," with shorts and keepers coming steadily on a short run to deeper water. Bluefish have turned on too: Grumpys Tackle says "Blues Are In," and OTW's Northern New Jersey report has bluefish continuing to run the beaches alongside False Albacore working the surf.
Delaware River rebounds as fall Crappie bite ignites
Delaware River conditions near the Riegelsville stretch turned a corner late in September, according to The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, a welcome shift after a rough summer stretch on the mainstem. Elsewhere in the region, Crappie fishing has fully flipped into fall mode: the same report notes anglers stringing quality Crappie out of the Nanticoke River on twister jigs fished under floats, with the pattern building through the back half of September.
Montana Rivers Reopen As Late-Summer Restrictions Ease
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks lifted the angling closure on Big Hole River Section 5 this week, from the Tony Schoonen fishing access site down to the confluence with the Beaverhead, after weekend rain boosted flows enough to meet the agency's reopening threshold. The Section 1 closure upstream stays in place for now. It's part of a broader pattern MT FWP has been reporting through late August and into September: as water temperatures came down, the agency also lifted hoot-owl restrictions on the Smith and Sun Rivers, plus stretches of the upper Clark Fork, the lower Bitterroot, and Silver Bow Creek in Region 2. For anglers who sat out the hottest weeks of summer waiting on afternoon fishing closures, that's the headline this week. Cooler nights and the fall transition are doing exactly what they're supposed to do, opening water back up rather than closing it down.
Snook shift into fall pattern as Gulf Coast tarpon season winds down
Gulf Coast water is still summer-warm, reading 84.2°F at one NOAA CO-OPS station and 87.6°F at another early this morning, and that heat is exactly what's driving the season's hand-off. Sport Fishing Mag's read on the fall transition holds here: as days shorten, Gulf snook begin pushing toward their winter holding areas, and swimbaits like a Z-Man Mulletron or Diezel MinnowZ worked over deeper water are the go-to as fish key on the shift. That tracks with what Naples Offshore Fishing Charters has logged out of Naples waters, where tarpon action carried strong through the warm months before fish start thinning out this time of year. One water-quality note worth flagging: Florida Sea Grant scientists recently detected a rare 'rust tide' alga bloom in Charlotte Harbor, a different organism than red tide but one worth checking local advisories for before working that stretch of coast.
Kenai and Interior Rivers Ease Into the Fall Transition
Late September marks the seasonal pivot for the Kenai region and interior Alaska river systems, as shortening daylight and cooling water push these drainages out of the high-flow, glacially turbid stretch of mid-summer and into a clearer, more settled fall pattern. Under this week's waxing gibbous moon, feeding windows tend to concentrate around dawn and dusk rather than spreading evenly through the day, a rhythm worth building trips around this time of year.
Fluke and Bluefish Hold Steady as Chesapeake Slides Into Fall
Water sat at 71.8°F off the Delmarva coast this morning, still warm enough to keep the late-summer bite running. Fluke fishing has stayed productive through the DE/MD/Chesapeake corridor — Eric Burnley reported a 13-pound flounder caught out of Lewes the week of September 14, and Smith's Bait Shop in Port Mahon is still boxing bluefish, croaker and flounder off structure. Wind has been the bigger story lately, per Burnley, canceling more open-water trips than the fish did.
Gulf of Alaska Cools Toward Fall Fishing Window
Water in the Gulf of Alaska continues its steady fall cooldown, with NOAA's Seward tide station (9455500) reading 49.3°F and the Juneau gauge (9452210) close behind at 48.2°F as of early Tuesday morning. The two readings sit close together, meaning conditions are running consistent across the region rather than diverging by pocket. A waxing gibbous moon this week means stronger-than-average tidal exchange, worth factoring into any trip timed around current.
Albie Fever Grips the Connecticut Shore as Fall Bite Turns
Long Island Sound's water is splitting east-to-west for the moment: NOAA CO-OPS station 8461490 off New London reads 66.6°F this morning while station 8467150 near Bridgeport holds at 71.1°F, a signal of the Sound's slow slide into fall. That cooling is drawing exactly the bite anglers are working. J&B Tackle in Connecticut reports false albacore "everywhere from Black Point to Fishers Island," with epoxy jigs and tins producing at Avery Point, Sarah's Ledge, Ocean Beach, Harkness, Seaside, Niantic Bay and Black Point. Striped bass are stacked on bait but haven't started blitzing, per the same shop, and bluefish are active from snappers to gators. Aboard the Tartan II, bottom fishing for black sea bass has stayed strong while fluke wind down with the season's close.
Columbia steelhead run hits historic low as fall shift begins
This year's Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is shaping up to be historically bad, per Hatch Magazine: fisheries managers have tallied just over 52,000 fish above Bonneville Dam since counts began July 1, making 2026 the smallest recorded migration on the system. That sets the backdrop for Columbia and Puget Sound river anglers this week. With no fresh buoy, gauge, or tide readings in this cycle, conditions read from the broader picture instead — a waxing gibbous moon overhead and freshwater systems moving into their fall transition.
Fall transition takes hold on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley
The fall transition is settling in across Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley this week: weed lines are thinning, baitfish are schooling tighter, and gamefish are shifting to follow them. Wired2Fish's fall-transition coverage this week tracks crappie pulling off summer cover and following bait toward feeding areas as water cools — the same shift these reservoirs go through this time of year. Moon is in a waxing gibbous phase heading toward full, which typically nudges low-light feeding windows toward evening and early morning.
Pike and crappie signal fall's arrival on Connecticut's inland waters
Connecticut's inland season has entered its early fall transition, with dying weed growth and schooling baitfish reshaping how fish feed. At Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford, shop staff report steady traffic for live shiners as after-school and weekend anglers keep working ponds and lakes for warmwater gamefish. The Fisherman — New England Freshwater notes quality regional action on the Merrimack River, where one angler's single day on lower, late-summer flows produced five Northern Pike and a handful of Crappie, a pattern typical of this stretch heading into fall.
Fall transition begins for Illinois River and Lake Michigan
Illinois anglers are heading into the fall transition, the seasonal shift when cooling water breaks up summer weed growth and pushes baitfish into tighter schools. Wired 2 Fish's current fall-pattern coverage notes crappie sliding off summer weed edges toward deeper creek and channel structure as the transition sets in, a shift that typically plays out on the Illinois River and its connected backwaters around this point in the calendar too.
Fall Transition Arrives at Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island
Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island are moving into the fall transition, the seasonal shift when cooling surface water kills off weed growth and pushes baitfish into tight, moving schools. Wired 2 Fish's rundown of the transition this week describes crappie keying on those baitfish balls once the shift takes hold, rather than holding on isolated summer cover, a pattern that plays out on Piedmont Virginia reservoirs much as it does across the rest of the freshwater South.
Fall transition settles over the Potomac and Shenandoah
Late September marks the start of the fall transition across Virginia's Potomac and Shenandoah freshwater systems, the seasonal shift when cooling nights begin breaking down summer thermal layers and reshuffling where fish hold. A waxing gibbous moon this week means stronger nighttime light and typically more consistent low-light feeding activity into early mornings and evenings.
Walleye stay the September story on Michigan's Great Lakes waters
Walleye remain the headline species across Michigan water this week, with the MI DNR Weekly Fishing Report noting the species now leads harvest totals in Great Lakes waters as the fall bite builds. No buoy or gauge readings are available for the Great Lakes and Grand River corridor this cycle, so conditions here lean on angler intel rather than instrument data. Yellow perch continue to draw attention as a companion Great Lakes target through late summer into fall, per the same DNR report, while inland reports point to the early stages of the fall transition taking hold as baitfish school up and predator fish respond. Crappie are shifting with that transition too, moving as water cools and forage relocates, a pattern consistent with what Midwest-region sources are describing heading into autumn. Steelhead interest is building as anglers look ahead to fall river runs, though the DNR's most recent weekly reports for the region have centered on walleye and perch activity rather than steelhead specifics this week.
Fall transition arrives for Wind River and North Platte waters
Freshwater fisheries across Wyoming's Wind River and North Platte drainages are settling into the fall transition this week, as cooling mornings begin the seasonal shift that reshapes how fish feed heading into winter. Weed beds that held summer cover are starting to thin, pushing baitfish toward the remaining green growth and deeper structure, a pattern that typically concentrates predatory fish rather than spreading them thin across a lake or reach.
Fall turnover window opens on Lake Mead and the lower Colorado
Late September marks the start of the fall turnover window on Lake Mead and the lower Colorado River, the stretch when cooling surface water begins mixing through the water column and baitfish schools shift off summer thermoclines toward main-lake points, humps, and channel edges. That seasonal move is what typically kicks off the strongest feeding windows of the year on this reservoir system, and the timing lines up right on schedule for late September.
Fall Transition Arrives for Lake Erie and Ohio River Anglers
Lake Erie and the Ohio River are entering the fall transition, the seasonal shift Fishing the Midwest describes as dying weed beds pushing baitfish toward cleaner, deeper water as temperatures cool. Wired 2 Fish's fall-fishing rundown frames the same shift: baitfish schooling tightly ahead of winter reorganizes where predators concentrate to feed. The waxing gibbous moon overhead this week adds a bit more light across the night, which tends to stretch low-light feeding activity out rather than compress it into a short dusk-to-dawn window.