Fishing reports
15828 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Fall cooldown splits Boundary Waters, Iron Range waters
USGS gauges show a wide split across the region this week: water near Ash River and Kabetogama, deep in Boundary Waters country, sits at 44°F, while Iron Range water near Eveleth-Virginia reads 57°F, a 13-degree gap between two stretches barely 60 miles apart. Flow on the border river near International Falls holds steady at 74.2 cfs. That gap says the far north is already well into its fall cooldown while Iron Range lakes are still working through the transition.
Truckee Basin Waters Ease Into Classic Fall Pattern
USGS gauges across the Truckee River watershed are reading 47 to 49°F this week, with flows holding at typical low fall levels: 0.05 cfs at station 10336730, 17.7 cfs at 10336780, 6.31 cfs at 10336610, and 7.98 cfs at 10311000. The coldest reading, at station 10336730, shows the highest-elevation water already easing into a full fall thermal cycle. Cooling water on a shrinking flow base marks the turn into the pattern anglers watch for all summer in this basin.
Texoma and Eufaula ease into the fall bass transition
Flow at USGS gauge 07331600 near Lake Texoma held steady overnight, a quiet, unremarkable read as Oklahoma settles into late September. No water-temperature or tide data is available for Texoma or Eufaula this week, so the story right now is seasonal timing: bass across the region are starting to push off deep summer structure and follow baitfish into open water as the fall transition takes hold, a pattern Tactical Bassin has been tracking closely in its recent coverage.
Missouri River holds steady as Black Hills wait on fall's cool-down
USGS gauge 06440200 in the Black Hills is holding at essentially stagnant flow this week, the calm, stable water typical of a South Dakota September before fall rains and cooling nights start pushing fish around. The first-quarter moon and steady conditions favor consistent daily feeding windows over one big bite window, and low, clear flow generally means fish sit tighter to structure and drop-offs than during high-water stretches.
Colorado River Holds Steady as Fall Cool-Down Begins
The Colorado River is running a steady 7,020 cfs at Lees Ferry this morning with water at 68°F (USGS gauge 09380000). Farther downstream through the canyon corridor, gauges near Marble Canyon and points south are reading warmer, 71°F and 72°F respectively (USGS gauges 09383050 and 09383100) — the usual warming gradient as flow moves through the system this time of year.
Coosa and Tennessee River bass shift into fall feeding mode
USGS gauges on the Tennessee and Coosa system are reading in the mid-to-upper 70s this week: 74°F and 78°F on two tributary reaches, 77°F on a third, with flows holding steady from under 4 cfs on the smaller feeders up to 798 cfs on the larger stretch. That's textbook early fall-transition water for southeastern bass fisheries. Tactical Bassin's latest fall coverage describes bass sliding off summer shallow cover and pushing out toward baitfish in open water as afternoons warm — a pattern well worth checking on Tennessee and Coosa reservoirs and river stretches right now.
Champlain smallmouth window holds as water sits near 65°F
USGS gauge 04294500 near Lake Champlain read 65°F this morning, right in the zone smallmouth and landlocked salmon feed actively through as summer eases into fall. No flow reading came through on this check, but the temp alone points to fish still shallow and willing rather than pushed deep.
New River bass dial into fall transition as flows hold steady
USGS gauge 03054500 read 527 cfs and 72°F this morning, with gauge 03069500 close behind at 496 cfs and 71°F, solid late-summer conditions holding into the third week of September. A cooler tributary at gauge 03068000 sat at 66°F, and gauge 03051000 ran lower at 205 cfs. Largemouth bass are shifting into their fall pattern: per Tactical Bassin, September bass are schooling and pushing onto baitfish, with the Free Rig producing well as fish key on slower falls around cover.
Fall transition sets up largemouth bite on Guntersville and Wheeler
USGS gauge 03582000 read 77°F this morning with flow holding at 247 cfs, while gauge 03575100 downstream on the same watershed sits lower at 119 cfs. Water in the high 70s marks the seasonal push toward fall on Lake Guntersville and Wheeler, the point in the year largemouth bass start sliding off summer structure toward baitfish. Per Tactical Bassin's fall-transition breakdown, bass are following shad onto secondary points and grass edges as offshore schools break up, a pattern that lines up with the flow and temperature readings here.
Fall bass patterns set in as Flathead system holds steady flow
USGS gauge 12372000, which tracks the Flathead system, logged 7,100 cfs and a 62°F water temperature at 10:50 a.m. this morning — solidly in the late-summer-to-fall transition range for freshwater largemouth bass. Fall bass fishing has arrived across the Midwest and West, per Tactical Bassin's fall-transition coverage this week, with fish schooling up and feeding harder on baitfish as weeds and shallow cover start to die back. Fishing the Midwest's Bob Jensen and Mike Frisch make the same call: cooling water pushes baitfish and gamefish out of thinning weed beds toward the last remaining green cover. On the Flathead and Bitterroot, that shift is just getting underway.
Snake River steelhead run tracks toward record lows
USGS gauges across the Snake River system read 58°F at solid late-summer flows of 4,470 cfs (site 13341050) and 4,400 cfs (site 13342500) this morning, while a smaller feeder gauge (13340000) is running warmer at 67°F on 2,310 cfs. Those readings frame a bigger story: Hatch Magazine reports the 2026 Columbia and Snake steelhead run is shaping up as the smallest ever recorded, with just over 52,000 fish tallied above Bonneville Dam since counting began July 1.
Fall transition pushes Iowa river bass to remaining green weeds
Iowa's river fisheries are settling into the fall transition, with largemouth bass sliding toward remaining green weed edges as the summer growth dies back. Fishing the Midwest notes that locating living, oxygenated weeds is the starting point for finding concentrated fish right now, and a bladed swim jig paired with a plastic trailer remains a dependable searching bait for covering water along the Iowa and Des Moines Rivers this week.
Vermont Waters Shift Into Early Fall Pattern
Vermont's Connecticut River and Lake Champlain are moving into the classic early-autumn turnover window, when shortening days and cooling surface water push baitfish out of shallow weed beds and largemouth bass start relating to schools of shad and shiners in open water. Tactical Bassin's fall-transition coverage this week describes exactly that shift — fish sliding off dying grass edges toward baitfish concentrations as the seasonal feed builds. It's the same mechanism driving bass behavior on lakes across the Northeast right now, Champlain included.
Fall transition turns Lake Cumberland bass toward baitfish
Lake Cumberland and the Cumberland River tailwater are moving into the early fall transition, the window when largemouth bass drift off summer haunts and start following baitfish. Tactical Bassin's fall coverage this week describes bass schooling up over open-water baitfish as shallow, cover-based patterns start to fade, with moving baits worked over suspended fish outproducing static presentations. Fishing the Midwest adds that stretches of green, living vegetation are holding fish and oxygen longer than areas where weeds have already started dying back, a distinction worth checking bank to bank rather than assuming uniform cover quality.
Fall transition settles over the Chickamauga-Watts Bar chain
Late September marks the start of the fall transition on the Chickamauga-Watts Bar stretch of the Tennessee River chain, the seasonal window when summer haunts break down and fish begin sliding toward baitfish concentrations in the backs of creeks and along channel breaks. The first-quarter moon phase this week keeps current and generation timing on the moderate side, with low-light periods around sunrise and sunset typically the most productive as surface temperatures continue easing through the system.
Bass Push Toward Fading Weed Edges as Fall Sets In on Mille Lacs
As Minnesota lakes settle into the fall transition, weed lines are the structure to watch this week. Per Fishing the Midwest, weeds begin dying back as water cools through late summer into fall, and baitfish along with gamefish relocate to whatever green weeds are still holding oxygen rather than spreading across a bed that's starting to fade. The same outlet notes a bladed swim jig worked along those active weed edges has been drawing largemouth bass, a pattern that typically carries through the cooling weeks ahead.
Winnipesaukee bass shift into fall transition patterns
Lake Winnipesaukee is settling into its early-fall largemouth bass transition, the stretch when fish drift off summer weed edges toward baitfish schools and deeper structure. Tactical Bassin's fall coverage this week points anglers toward free-rigged soft plastics and bladed swim jigs worked along the remaining green weed edges, a pattern typical of Northeast lake country as water begins to cool under a First Quarter moon.
Largemouth bass shift into fall feeding mode across East Texas reservoirs
Largemouth bass across East Texas reservoirs are entering their fall transition, with nearby Lake Fork Trophy Bass reporting this week that a summer-long heat wave is finally breaking and fish are showing signs of shifting into autumn feeding patterns. That shift typically means fish moving off deep summer haunts and starting to key on baitfish as water cools, the same pattern Tactical Bassin describes for reservoirs entering the fall transition right now — bass schooling and feeding aggressively on shad as their preferred deep-water patterns start to fail.
Fall transition kicks in for Upper Mississippi largemouth
With the moon at first quarter and days cooling through the Clinton-Dubuque pools, largemouth bass are moving into their fall pattern. Fishing the Midwest's recent coverage of the fall shift describes bass grouping around dying weed edges and pushing onto adjacent flats as baitfish concentrate there, and that's the pattern worth keying on this week.
Ohio and Cumberland River bass ease into the fall transition
Kentucky's Ohio and Cumberland River systems are settling into the fall transition, the seasonal stretch when largemouth bass leave deep summer holds and relocate toward baitfish. Tactical Bassin's current fall-pattern coverage points to fish staging back toward grass edges and mid-depth cover as the shift builds — a pattern worth testing on regional reservoirs and river backwaters right now.
White River tailwaters ease into fall trout pattern
Bull Shoals and Norfork's White River tailwaters are moving into their early-fall stretch, the season trout anglers watch closest as summer heat finally breaks. On these dam-controlled rivers, generation schedule matters more than the calendar — water released from deep in both reservoirs stays cold and stable year-round, so the real daily variable is how much the Corps is running. Anglers timing trips around generation windows, rather than air temperature, tend to find the most consistent action right now.
Fall bass transition sets up at Lake of the Ozarks
No fresh buoy or gauge readings are in for the Lake of the Ozarks/Osage River system this week, but the calendar is doing the talking: we're at the point in September when Ozarks largemouth begin sliding off summer offshore structure and pushing toward baitfish. Tactical Bassin's current fall coverage describes exactly this shift — bass abandoning deep humps and ledges for shallow flats and breaking-down grass as they chase shad, with a free rig or a bladed swim jig doing the work once fish commit to the shallower water. Fishing the Midwest's latest notes echo the same seasonal cue further north, pointing anglers toward flats holding the last green, living weeds as cooling water pushes baitfish — and the bass behind them — out of dying cover.
Fall transition pushes Upper Mississippi bass onto shrinking green weeds
Largemouth bass on the Upper Mississippi pools are moving with the calendar this week, not a single water reading. Fishing the Midwest reports that as weed growth dies back going into fall, oxygen drops in the older growth and both baitfish and bass shift toward whatever green, living weeds remain, calling it the most reliable starting point for locating fish right now. Tactical Bassin is seeing the same shift play out on the water, with bass schooling on baitfish in open water even while some fish still sit tight to cover, and its crew has been slow-falling free-rigged plastics through rocky bottom to work both zones without hanging up.
Fall Feed Kicks In for Potomac and Patapsco Largemouth
Water temperatures are beginning their seasonal slide across the Potomac and Patapsco freshwater systems, and largemouth bass are responding. Tactical Bassin and Fishing the Midwest both describe bass moving off summer structure this week to chase baitfish schools along grass flats and open water, a fall transition pattern that typically arrives in Mid-Atlantic reservoirs and tidal-freshwater stretches right around now. Anglers on the water should watch for surface activity and diving birds over baitfish pods as the best real-time read on where fish are feeding.