Fishing reports
15787 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Building tides and steady warmth signal Hawaii's fall bite window
Honolulu Harbor is running warm at 84°F this morning (NOAA CO-OPS station 1612340), while Kahului Harbor reads a touch cooler at 81°F (station 1615680). Station 1615680 shows a high tide predicted for 12:49 PM HST today, giving the midday hours a clear tidal push worth planning around. Both readings sit well within typical late-September norms for the islands, and the moon is waxing gibbous, building toward next week's full moon.
Warm Water Lingers as Fall Transition Begins Off Cape Lookout
Water temperatures remain firmly in late-summer territory across Pamlico Sound and Cape Lookout, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8652587 reading 79.2°F and station 8654467 reading 80.2°F as of midday. That warmth is keeping nearshore action lively: Ocean Isle Fishing Center reports good action anywhere from the beach out to 40 feet with bait balls worth watching, Chasin' Tails in Morehead/Atlantic Beach notes steady trolling success along the beachfront, and East Coast Sports in Topsail/Sneads Ferry describes solid surf and pier action on casting jigs. Hatteras Jack notes anglers finding sight-casting opportunities from the Rodanthe-area beaches alongside a strong bottom bite, and Island Tackle and Hardware in Carolina Beach reports the typical late-summer surf mix holding up.
Shoreline stripers turn up near Santa Cruz as fall transition begins
Central Coast water is holding in the low-to-mid 60s this week, with our two coastal stations reading 61.5°F and 62.6°F. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports a notable shoreline striped bass catch near Santa Cruz, where a local angler working the surf behind diving birds and bait connected on a solid striper alongside a big seabass. The same report also logs scattered yellowtail activity reaching north toward Point Conception as bonito action spreads through the Bight.
Fall run takes hold as stripers return to Narragansett Bay
Water held in the upper 60s this week — 66.9°F at Newport and 68.4°F at Conimicut Light per NOAA CO-OPS — as the fall run keeps building across Narragansett Bay. Striped bass are stirring back to life along the beaches and breachways, with surfcasters at Quonnie Bait and Tackle finding fish after dark on live eels, swimming plugs and soft plastics, mixed with bluefish and false albacore during daytime surface feeds. Saltwater Edge reports false albacore working the oceanfront in solid numbers, with the strongest action around the islands and Newport Harbor, though the bite has turned finicky at times. Fluke are still producing: Frances Fleet keeps limiting out on full-day trips, and Snug Harbor Marina weighed in a 12.2-pound fish over the weekend even as overall numbers thin, with the biggest fluke typically the last to leave.
Mobile Bay redfish and snook dial into the fall transition
Water across Mobile Bay and the Gulf is still running summer-warm, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 86°F and 87.6°F as of this morning, even as the fall transition gets underway across the region. Sport Fishing Mag reports that Gulf snook are starting to feel the shorter days and are moving toward their winter holding areas, feeding aggressively along the way on swimbaits like Z-Man's Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ. Salt Strong's rundown of go-to fall inshore lures lists redfish right alongside snook as a top target for this stretch of the calendar, a useful cue for anglers working flats and grass edges this week. Anecdotal reports out of the Pensacola Fishing Forum describe solid action in protected backwaters this week, though as single-source forum chatter it's worth treating as color rather than confirmed intel.
Fall run builds as stripers hit lighted docks, albies fire off LBI
NOAA CO-OPS puts water at 69.8°F off Atlantic City (station 8534720) and 73.4°F off Cape May (station 8536110) this morning, still summer-warm for the third week of September. That warmth is keeping Fluke around right up against the close: The Fisherman — New Jersey edition notes the state's summer flounder season shuts down September 25, and Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ is still picking keepers on the deeper drifts with roughly nine trips left before the season ends. Fall's arrival is showing up loudest in the surf and back bays. The Fisherman — Southern NJ reports Striped Bass to 31 inches hammering peanut bunker and mullet around lighted docks and sod banks after dark, while The Fisherman — Central NJ logged the LBI Surf Fishing Classic's first striper weigh-in of the fall out of Beach Haven. Bluefish are thick behind them: The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf has chopper-class blues working mullet and bunker chunks in the Brigantine surf and tailor blues pushing into Strathmere and Sea Isle City, and The Fisherman — Northern NJ notes the bite switching from artificials to bait with good numbers of slammers. False Albacore are the standout this week — Fishermans HQ LBI (NJ) is finding good numbers on jigs and live peanut bunker, and OTW Northern New Jersey confirms albies have joined the reef bite up north.
Striped bass linger in Maine waters as fall migration slows
Water temperatures across the Gulf of Maine are sliding from 59.5°F in Portland to 54.7°F up in Eastport, a spread that's keeping striped bass content to hold rather than push south. Per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, surf anglers have been driving north into New Hampshire and Maine to find piles of stripers still around, with fish to 42 inches taken overnight on slowly worked needlefish plugs. The same report notes local beaches farther south quieted down after the moon tides let go, which is part of why the crowd has shifted north. With the moon waxing toward full, tide swings should keep building through the week.
Snook push north as Gulf Coast water holds near 90°F
Galveston and Corpus-area waters are still running summer-warm, with our CO-OPS readings spanning 87.4°F to 90°F this morning across the three coastal stations checked. Texas Fish & Game Magazine's look at upper coast snook makes the point directly: these tropical gamefish aren't confined to the Lower Laguna Madre, and this stretch of coast can hold them too. Sport Fishing Mag backs that up regionally, noting Gulf snook feel the days shortening and start pushing toward winter holding areas as summer's heat breaks, making fall one of the season's best windows, with anglers there working swimbaits like the Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ on the more aggressive fish. Inshore, Salt Strong's fall lure lineup keeps redfish in the mix alongside trout, snook, and flounder, with lure choice shifting through the day rather than sticking to one presentation.
Snook and redfish stay hot as Sarasota-area tarpon begin fall exit
Water temperatures are holding at 87.4°F off St. Petersburg and 85.5°F off Clearwater Beach (NOAA CO-OPS stations 8726520 and 8726724), classic late-September warmth for Tampa Bay and Sarasota. Capt. Kelly Kurtz of CB's Saltwater Outfitters reports an active inshore bite in Sarasota Bay this past week, with snook and redfish both coming to hand, and Capt. Chuck Cress landed multiple redfish along with a few snook on a popping cork tipped with live shrimp during a rising morning tide. Capt. Rick Grassett's September forecast for the same shop adds that snook fishing should stay good through the month, with fish holding in the surf and around passes, while adult tarpon are thinning out of the coastal Gulf and moving toward bridges and deep grass flats to rest before their fall migration.
Panhandle snook push toward winter holds as fall transition begins
Gulf water temperatures are holding in the mid-to-upper 80s across the Panhandle, with NOAA CO-OPS readings of 87.1°F at Pensacola (station 8729840), 86.2°F at Panama City (station 8729108) and 86.7°F near Apalachicola (station 8728690) as of this morning. That warmth still reads more like late summer than fall, but the seasonal shift is underway. Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook are feeding up and starting to move toward their winter holding areas as days shorten, calling the fall transition one of the year's better windows for the species. Salt Strong's weekly Weekend Game Plan lineup lists Florida Panhandle & Big Bend among this week's featured regions, a sign local patterns are worth watching closely right now. Redfish remain a steady target through the transition, with Salt Strong pointing anglers toward a rotating fall lure lineup for bigger inshore fish as water cools.
Striped bass working the Santa Cruz surf as fall shift builds
Water temperatures are running a clean fall split across the region: 58.3°F at the SF Bay tide station (9418767) versus a noticeably cooler 53.4°F up at the Bodega-area station (9416841), the kind of gradient that pushes bait, and stripers, tight to the beach. Per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, a shoreline striped bass highlighted a strong week of fishing near Santa Cruz, with anglers working the surf by following birds and bait.
Fall tide swings set the pace on the Oregon Coast
NOAA's Astoria station (9439040) read 63.7°F this morning while the South Beach gauge (9435380) sat a few degrees cooler at 60.8°F, a typical north-to-south spread for the Oregon Coast heading toward the equinox. Both stations are tracking the same tidal rhythm: an early-morning low giving way to a late-morning high, then a slow fall through the afternoon. That swing is worth building a trip around this week — the turn around the tide peak is usually when a bite window opens along beaches, jetties and river mouths up and down this stretch of coast.
Tautog Move Onto Delaware Bay Structure as Fall Bite Builds
Delaware Bay is holding at 70.9°F this morning, per our NOAA CO-OPS reading, as the water shifts into its fall structure pattern. Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports the bay giving up a mixed bag of blues and weakfish to anglers drifting smaller baits, while tautog have moved onto the bay's structure, taking sand fleas, green crabs, and fiddlers at anchor — fish reported to 4 pounds. Big Dave's Tackle adds that weakfish are showing consistently for anglers drifting baits, with a targeted soft-plastic bite developing near the lighthouses.
Fall bluefish and albies keep Sandy Hook busy as fluke season closes
Sandy Hook's NOAA CO-OPS station (8531680) read 70.7°F this morning, still warm for late September and helping stretch the summer species mix through Raritan Bay. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands closed out a strong Friday, with shorts, keepers, and sea bass coming steadily once the boat moved to deeper water, though Wednesday and Thursday fished tougher with a picky bite. New Jersey's summer flounder season closes September 25, per The Fisherman — New Jersey edition, so this is close to the last window for a local fluke limit. Grumpys Tackle reports blues are in, and OTW Northern New Jersey's latest report has bluefish and false albacore still running the beaches while the tuna bite slows offshore. The Fisherman — Northern NJ's Golden Eagle switched from artificials to bait for bluefish and is finding bonito and albies mixed into the chum slick, a pattern local captains expect to hold into October.
Bluefish blitzes and albies keep NJ coast busy as fluke season closes
Delaware Bay held at 74.7°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 8537121, still carrying late-summer warmth into the fall transition. Along the adjacent NJ coast, Grumpys Tackle says blues are in, and Fishermans HQ LBI is calling this the final stretch of fluke season, with bluefish blitzes and albies mixing into the same trips off Long Beach Island. OTW's Northern New Jersey report backs that up, noting bluefish still running the beaches and fluke holding decent on the reefs with albies added to the mix. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands logged a run of fluke trips this week, swinging from a picked-over drift one day to steady keeper action the next, with pool fish running 6 to 7 pounds.
Early fall transition sets up Delaware River and Pine Barrens waters
The Delaware River and Pine Barrens waterways are moving into the early fall transition this week, with cooling water beginning to reshape how fish feed and where they hold. As surface temperatures ease down from summer highs, baitfish start schooling more tightly and predator species key in on those concentrations instead of spreading across open water. This is one of the more reliable seasonal cues freshwater anglers watch for in the Northeast, and it appears to be arriving on a fairly typical calendar this year.
Fall transition settles over Lake Superior's North Shore
NOAA buoy 45004 is logging light wind and cool, crisp air over Lake Superior this morning, the kind of pattern that marks the fall transition settling in along the North Shore. As surface temperatures continue easing through late September, baitfish schools tighten up and gamefish start keying in ahead of the seasonal push, the classic setup anglers watch for heading into fall on this stretch of lake.
Rough Wind Keeps Presque Isle Anglers Close to Shore as Fall Sets In
NOAA buoy 45132 posted 68°F water and a steep 6.2-foot wave height this morning, with sustained wind near 13 m/s — conditions rough enough to push most Presque Isle boat traffic toward sheltered water. Buoy 45005, a bit farther out, held wind near 11 m/s with air near 65°F. Cooling water is driving the fall transition already: per Wired 2 Fish's seasonal primer, dying weed growth and schooling baitfish are starting to reshape how fish feed and position this time of year, a pattern that plays out on Erie the same as it does across the region.
Fall transition settles into UP trout streams and Lake Superior
NOAA buoy 45004 on Lake Superior logged a light breeze and cool morning air today, consistent with the fall cool-down now settling over the Upper Peninsula. The Lake Superior basin remains under active fisheries attention this month — WI DNR Lake Superior Fishing continues to flag its whitefish research and angler questionnaire for the broader lake system, a sign the fishery is easing into its cold-season rhythm. Conditions on the UP's trout streams are following the same seasonal arc: cooling water, shortening days, and fish repositioning as summer patterns break down.
Charleston Harbor holds late-summer warmth into the fall push
Charleston Harbor's own NOAA tide station (8665530) logged 84°F this morning, matched by offshore buoy 41004 reading the same temperature under a light 6 m/s breeze. That's still full late-summer warmth for September 22, well above where the water typically sits once the fall cooldown gets underway. Low tide falls near 11:07 AM with the next high around 5:44 PM, giving anglers a full swing of moving water across the midday-to-evening window. Sport Fishing Mag's fall-migration coverage frames the broader picture for the coast right now: as water temperatures start to drop, False Albacore push onto the surface to feed and inshore species begin shifting toward their cold-weather holding water.
Trade-wind chop builds around the islands as fall transition sets in
Buoy 51004, south of the islands, is reading 83°F water with wind pushing near 19 knots this morning, while buoy 51001 off the northwest coast holds a steeper 6.2-foot sea at a cooler 79°F. That split is the useful read for planning this week: calmer, warmer water on the leeward corners, more texture where faces are exposed to the trades. NOAA's Honolulu station (1612340) has its next low at 6:43 a.m. HST with the following high near 1:32 a.m., while the Kahului-area station (1615680) shows a low at 5:35 a.m. and high around 12:49 p.m. Hawaii Fishing News keeps the state's moon and tide calendar running month to month, a useful cross-check against this waxing gibbous moon.
Warm water holds steady as Pamlico Sound eases into fall
Water temperatures are holding in the upper 70s to low 80s across Pamlico Sound and Cape Lookout. NOAA CO-OPS stations at Ocracoke (8652587) and Beaufort Inlet (8654467) read 79.7°F and 80.4°F respectively this morning, and buoy 41037 shows calm offshore conditions with wind barely stirring at 1 m/s under warm 84°F air. Coastal shops from Ocean Isle to Hatteras, including Hatteras Jack, Chasin' Tails, and Island Tackle and Hardware per Fisherman's Post (NC), report steady surf and nearshore activity up and down the stretch this week, a typical late-summer pattern heading into the equinox.
Santa Cruz shoreline striper bite carries into fall shift
NOAA buoy 46042 off Monterey Bay reads 62°F this morning, with CO-OPS stations at Monterey (9413450) and Port San Luis (9412110) both logging 61.9°F and calm 2-4 m/s winds across all three regional buoys. Per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, shoreline anglers working the Santa Cruz beaches are still connecting on striped bass, with angler Malakai Armenta tracking birds and bait along the surf line for steady action this week.
Albies Take Over as Fall Run Hits Narragansett Bay
Bay water temps are holding near 67°F at Rhode Island's CO-OPS tide stations, and per Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) the fall run has kicked off in a big way over the past couple of weeks. False albacore and bonito have taken over the oceanfront, and the tautog bite is picking up. Striped bass have been comparatively lackluster, though the shop expects that to change with cooling nights and forecast northerly winds. Offshore, NOAA buoy 44097 logged 5.2-foot seas this morning against a calmer 2.6 feet at buoy 44085 closer to the Bay mouth.