Fishing reports
15828 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Snook Bite Heats Up as Season Reopens on Florida's Treasure Coast
Water temperatures are holding at 87°F at Lake Worth Pier (NOAA CO-OPS station 8722670), still solidly in summer range as Florida's Atlantic Coast eases into the fall transition. Snook season reopened September 1 per Snook Nook's seasonal calendar, and the Stuart shop reports the bite carried its late-summer momentum straight into the new season: anglers working live croakers and threadfins around the St. Lucie Inlet and the detached jetty have been finding steady numbers of Snook, including plenty in the 40-inch-plus range. Snook Nook's latest update also flags the early stages of the mullet run, with schools of larger mullet already showing up inshore and along the beaches ahead of the finger-mullet schools anglers wait on each fall. Offshore, CCA Florida reports a federal court injunction has blocked the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper exempted-fishing-permit pilot programs, adding uncertainty to red snapper season planning for anglers working further out.
Lake Michigan's Chicago Waters Ease Into Fall Transition
Lake Michigan's Chicago-area waters are sliding into the fall transition, the seasonal shift when cooling surface temperatures push baitfish and predators toward harbor structure and river mouths. Wisconsin DNR's Lake Michigan Fishing Report points to this lake's steelhead runs building through late September into October in recent seasons, tied to fish staging ahead of their upstream push. Largemouth bass holding in the calmer marina basins typically tighten up on remaining green weed edges as the water cools, a shift consistent with the broader late-September pattern across the Midwest.
Lake Michigan's Indiana shoreline enters the fall turnover
Along Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline, late September marks the start of the seasonal turnover window, when surface water begins its steady fall cooling and baitfish schools tighten up around structure and drop-offs. That shift typically pulls predator fish shallower and more active as the water column cools from the top down, a pattern that builds through early October on this stretch of shoreline.
New Mexico freshwater eases into its fall transition
New Mexico's Rio Grande and San Juan waters are moving into the fall transition, the seasonal stretch when cooling water reshuffles where freshwater fish hold and feed. National bass coverage from Tactical Bassin and Fishing the Midwest this week describes largemouth bass pulling off summer shallow cover and following baitfish into open water as temperatures ease — a pattern that typically shows up on New Mexico's warmwater reaches, including the lower Rio Grande and its reservoirs, around this point in September.
Fall transition takes hold on Kenai and interior Alaska rivers
Kenai and interior Alaska river systems are moving through their late-September handoff, with salmon runs tailing off and cooling water pushing fish behavior toward the pattern anglers watch for heading into freeze-up season. Trout and char tucked behind spawning salmon typically key on drifting eggs and flesh through this window, a shift from the salmon-dominated bite of mid-summer. Check state regulations before targeting resident fish, since many interior systems carry specific fall closures and gear restrictions this time of year.
Twin Cities bass dial into the fall transition
Minnesota's largemouth bass are on the move as the fall transition sets in. Fishing the Midwest reports that as weeds start dying back in North Woods and Twin Cities lakes, oxygen drops around the fading cover and baitfish shift toward the healthiest remaining green weed lines, pulling bass with them. Tactical Bassin's fall coverage describes the same pattern nationally: bass sliding off deep summer structure to group tighter around baitfish, rewarding anglers who work moving baits through the transition zones instead of camping on one spot.
Taneycomo anglers dial in around the afternoon generation ramp
Lilleys Landing's latest report from the lake describes a fairly consistent generation pattern through late summer: minimal flow in the mornings, then power generation ramping up into the afternoon and evening. The shop notes water conditions are typical for this point in the season, though dissolved oxygen levels have dropped enough that dam operators are now injecting liquid oxygen into the outflow to keep the tailwater healthy.
Wisconsin bass scene grabs headlines as fall transition builds
Wisconsin's bass tournament circuit made bigger news than any leaderboard this week: Wired 2 Fish and Outdoor Hub both report that five-time Angler of the Year Adam Eisele was disqualified from the WISCO BASS Crown Championship and banned from the circuit after officials found 14 live Largemouth Bass in his livewell the night before the season-ending event on the Minocqua Chain, with the Wisconsin DNR now running its own investigation. It's a reminder that the state's bass fishery is still holding tournament-caliber fish deep into September, even as the calendar turns toward fall.
Grand River run building as Lake Michigan anglers await fall shift
Anglers on the Michigan Sportsman Forum report the Grand River starting to stir this week, with rapids filling and fish beginning to move upstream, though most agree cooler water is still needed before the run turns on in full. Around the Lake Michigan mouth, boaters comparing the Grand Haven and Muskegon channels are asking about wind and wave differences between the two approaches as they plan small-boat trips into early fall. The MI DNR Weekly Fishing Report continues to track conditions across the Lake Michigan basin and Grand River watershed, and the overall picture this week reads as transitional rather than settled.
Moosehead system enters early fall transition window
Moosehead Lake and the upper Penobscot are turning the corner into early fall, with the equinox landing this week and daylight now roughly even with darkness. That shift cools surface water steadily day over day, and it's the single biggest driver of behavior on this system right now: baitfish schools tighten up and drop toward deeper structure, and resident gamefish key on that movement rather than the wide-ranging summer feeding pattern. Anglers working points, drop-offs, and the mouths of feeder streams typically see the first payoff of that transition before the broader lake catches up.
First fall signs reach Eagle Mountain Lake as bass shift with the season
North Texas Catfish Guide, working Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth, describes the past few weeks as a classic late-summer grind: hot water, little wind, heavy boat traffic, and a stubborn 'ghost bite' that has anglers relearning how to read the softest of taps before setting the hook. The guide also reports sorting through a lot of small fish to find better keepers. That grind is starting to break, with the same report noting the first signs of fall settling in. Separately, Tactical Bassin's fall coverage has Largemouth Bass shifting with the season, moving up to chase baitfish around cover and in open water as the transition takes hold — a pattern that tracks with what North Texas Catfish Guide is seeing on the ground in North Texas. Together the reports point to the same story: summer's grip is loosening across Texas lakes and rivers this week.
Kennebec and Penobscot ease into fall bass and trout patterns
Late September marks the seasonal pivot for Maine's Kennebec and Penobscot watersheds, as shortening days and cooling surface water begin pushing largemouth bass and brown trout out of their tight summer holding patterns. This waxing gibbous moon phase typically extends low-light feeding activity, giving dawn and dusk sessions on these river systems an added edge through the week.
Smokies trout streams ease into the early-fall shift
Western North Carolina's Smokies trout streams are entering the early-fall transition, the point in the season anglers count on each year: cooler overnight temperatures start pulling stream conditions down from late-summer highs, easing fish out of the deepest, shaded holding water and back into feeding lies through the cooler morning and evening hours.
Fall transition pushes Susquehanna and Allegheny bass toward baitfish
Cooling water across the Susquehanna and Allegheny systems is pushing the fall transition into gear this week, the seasonal window when largemouth bass shift off summer structure and start keying on baitfish schools moving into skinnier water. With the waxing gibbous moon building toward full over the next several nights, low-light windows around dawn and dusk should sharpen as the best bite opportunities.
Northwoods Musky Shift Into Fall Mode as Water Cools
Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop (WI) reports the Northwoods around Oneida and Vilas Counties are sliding out of the sticky, high-70s/low-80s stretch that defined early September, with overnight lows now dipping into the 60s and daytime highs easing into the mid-70s. That cooldown is the trigger anglers wait for: the shop's late-September playbook describes recreational boat traffic thinning out and a growing topwater window opening as musky key on baitfish pushed out of dying weed growth. A companion report from the same shop frames September as a month-long baitfish-movement puzzle, with water starting the month in the upper 60s to low 70s and falling steadily through the 60s as the season progresses. Muskellunge activity is trending up as a result, with the shop noting boats swapping summer patterns for a mix of topwater and the deep edges, drop-offs, and rocky points that typically define the true fall shift. We're calling musky Active heading into the last full week of September, with the bite building rather than peaked.
Fall Chill Settles Over Yellowstone and Missouri Waters
Montana's Yellowstone and Missouri River systems are moving into their fall transition this week, with shortening days and cooling nights pushing baitfish and gamefish alike out of summer holding patterns. No fresh buoy or gauge data came back for this region in today's pull, and no shop or charter filed a bite report specific to these waters, so this update leans on the seasonal shift itself rather than a snapshot reading.
Historic-low steelhead run clouds early Peninsula outlook
This year's Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is on pace to be the smallest ever recorded, per Hatch Magazine, with returns tallied at Bonneville Dam running well behind any prior season since counting began. That regional signal sets the tone heading into fall for Washington's steelhead-bearing rivers, including the Olympic Peninsula systems anglers are starting to watch as summer patterns give way to autumn flows.
Steelhead numbers lag as Eastern WA eases into fall pattern
This year's Columbia Basin steelhead run is tracking as the smallest on record, per Hatch Magazine — fewer than 52,000 fish counted above Bonneville Dam since counting began July 1. For Eastern Washington anglers who chase steelhead up into the Columbia and Snake systems, that's a signal to shift attention this week toward warmwater fisheries as lakes and reservoirs settle into their early-fall pattern.
Chesapeake anglers wait on the fall push as bay stays warm
Water at the Chesapeake mouth is holding at 81°F this morning, per NOAA CO-OPS station 8638610, still solidly in late-summer range even as the calendar turns to fall. Tide is set to peak near 5:41 AM local and ebb to low around 11:40 AM. Farther up the coast, the fall run is already stirring: The Fisherman's New England forecast reports false albacore blitzes running from central Rhode Island through Connecticut, and On The Water notes a 19.9-pound false albacore just broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record. Saltwater Edge in Rhode Island adds that striped bass have stayed lackluster there so far, waiting on the first real cold nights to trigger the push south.
Striper action builds along the MA-to-Maine corridor bordering NH
New Hampshire's Gulf of Maine coast sits inside the same corridor The Fisherman's South Shore Massachusetts to Maine reports are tracking this week, and the signal is bait finally pushing inshore. Belsan's Bait and Tackle noted baitfish moving back into shallower harbors and bays, which is waking up striped bass in the area, with several fish north of the 40-inch mark landed on live bait, plugs, and plastics. Dave Anderson's report from the same corridor echoed it: baitfish flooding inshore has beefed up striper catches this week. Surfland separately flagged a resurgence of activity out of river mouths along the same stretch.
Weakfish and tautog keep Delaware Bay anglers busy this week
Delaware Bay water held at 73.9°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8557380 overnight, still on the warm side for late September. Fluke remain the mainstay: Big Dave's Tackle reports keeper flounder to 20 inches from EP Tower on live minnows, while Smith's Bait Shop notes flounder, croaker and bluefish working the reef sites out of Port Mahon on cut bait and Gulp-tipped bucktails. The bigger story for bay anglers is weakfish — The Fisherman's NJ/DE Surf report has larger fish up to 24 to 25 inches striking along the Delaware Bayshore beaches, worth targeting on peeler crab or a yellow bucktail. Tautog are staging around structure too, with green crabs producing at bridges and jetty rock piles per Big Dave's Tackle and the Southern NJ surf reports.
Fluke and sea bass keep the bite going on Maryland's coastal structure
Water temps are holding at 76.3°F at NOAA's Ocean City inlet station, still summer-warm heading into the equinox. Fluke are cooperating across the DE/MD/Chesapeake corridor: Smith's Bait Shop has boats connecting out of Port Mahon and off the jetties at Bowers Beach on live minnows and bucktails tipped with Gulp crawfish, and Hook 'em and Cook 'em put Captain Bob and the Judy V onto fluke and black sea bass working the Old Grounds. Bluefish are mixed in at Port Mahon on cut bait and metal lures, per Smith's. Eric Burnley notes rain and wind cut into some days this week, though boats working inshore structure kept connecting.
Fall tide swing sets the pace across Gulf of Alaska waters
Water off the Gulf of Alaska has settled into the high-40s this week, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 48°F at the Seldovia gauge and 48.6°F near Juneau overnight. Both stations are tracking a strong overnight tide swing, with high water arriving late Saturday night and draining out to a low before dawn Sunday. The fall equinox lands this week, and with it a fast turnover in day length and water temperature, so the overnight tide windows are where the current runs hardest right now.
Door County, Sheboygan waters shift into Lake Michigan's fall pattern
Door County and Sheboygan's stretch of Lake Michigan is moving through late September's seasonal handoff, with surface waters beginning their typical fall slide and baitfish starting to push out of summer holding patterns. The Waxing Gibbous moon is building toward full over the coming nights, a window worth working into a trip plan for low-light activity.