Fishing reports
15828 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Fall Run Signals Building as Record Albie Hits Massachusetts
Cape Cod Bay water temperatures are holding in the mid-to-upper 60s this morning, with NOAA buoy 44013 reading 65°F and buoy 44020 at 70°F, comfortably in range for the fall push to build. That shift is already visible: On The Water reported a 19.9-pound false albacore broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record this month, a sign the run is filling in along the coast. Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) says albies have taken over the oceanfront to the south along with a tautog bite that's picking up, while striped bass have stayed lackluster for most anglers, a pattern the shop expects to flip once colder nights and northerly winds arrive this week.
Tautog bite builds as albies push toward Buzzards Bay
Water temps sit in the upper-60s to low-70s across Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound this morning, with NOAA buoy 44085 reading 67°F and CO-OPS stations at Woods Hole and Fall River holding at 70.3°F and 71.1°F. Southern New England's fall run is underway: Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports albies and bonito have taken over the oceanfront to our south, with the tautog bite picking up as water cools, while striped bass have stayed lackluster through the warm stretch. On The Water confirmed the shift is real, noting a 19.9-pound false albacore recently broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts state record.
Walleye and lake trout keep firing as New York eases into fall
Walleye remain the story across New York's freshwater and Great Lakes fisheries heading into the back half of September. Per Brookdog Fishing Co. (Buffalo/Niagara/Lake Ontario), the walleye bite has stayed strong enough this week that jigging has graduated from experiment to a regular part of the program. Lake trout action was especially good, with anglers logging first-time deep-water jigging trips that produced consistent fish. Smallmouth bass have also picked up as summer eases into fall, cooperating more readily than in recent weeks per the same reports. For Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes anglers, the read is straightforward: walleye and smallmouth are staying active later into the season, and lake trout are rewarding anglers willing to work deeper water with a more deliberate jigging presentation.
Chicago's Lake Michigan eases into the fall transition
Late September marks the start of Lake Michigan's fall turnover along the Chicago shoreline, with cooling surface water gradually breaking down the summer thermocline and pushing baitfish schools tighter to structure. As that shift progresses, predators that spent summer scattered in deeper water typically move back within reach of piers, harbor mouths, and nearshore breaklines. No angler reports specific to this stretch of lake came through this week, so this update leans on the seasonal pattern rather than a fresh bite report.
Fall turnover settles onto Lake Michigan's Indiana shore
Lake Michigan's Indiana shoreline is sliding into its early-fall pattern this week, with surface water cooling off its summer highs and baitfish schools tightening up against structure and current breaks. That shift typically pushes predator fish shallower and starts the tributary staging that defines this stretch of shoreline through October.
Fall tide swings shape the morning bite window in Puget Sound
Puget Sound water sat at 57.4°F overnight into Saturday, per NOAA CO-OPS station 9443090, with the tide swinging through a pre-dawn low near 3:12 a.m. and building toward a late-morning high around 10:39 a.m. Sunday. Washington Sea Grant is marking the 20th anniversary of its SoundToxins program this month, the early-warning network that tracks harmful algae blooms and shellfish safety across the Sound, a good moment for anyone combining a fishing trip with a clam dig to check current advisories. WDFW's Fishing and Stocking Reports remain the standing resource for creel and catch data by water body.
Historic low Columbia steelhead run reshapes fall outlook
This year's Columbia and Snake River steelhead run is tracking as the smallest ever recorded, per Hatch Magazine, with Bonneville Dam counts running well behind historical norms since tallying began July 1. That's the headline anyone eyeing Columbia system water needs going into this week. On the broader stocking and creel side, WA WDFW Fishing Reports continues its statewide creel interviews and lake/stream stocking program, the backbone data anglers should check before committing to a particular Puget Sound river system this week.
Fall Transition Kicks In For Kentucky Lake And Barkley Bass
Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley are entering the fall transition, the seasonal shift that resets how largemouth bass position on these reservoirs. Tactical Bassin's coverage of the fall transition this week describes bass schooling and feeding aggressively on baitfish in open water as summer patterns break down, while Fishing the Midwest notes that as shallow weeds die back and oxygen drops, baitfish and the bass following them relocate toward the healthiest remaining green vegetation and adjacent open water. Both point to the same read for these lakes' ledges, creek channels and grass flats: fish are on the move, and locating baitfish now matters more than working any single piece of cover.
Largemouth Bass Settle Into Fall Feeding Patterns Statewide
Fall transition is underway for inland Connecticut waters, and this week's regional shop reports point to largemouth bass as the most active player. The Fisherman — New England Freshwater notes bass still working drop-shotted finesse baits and Texas-rigged Senkos at cooling ponds and lakes, with shops in the same report fielding catches of largemouth up to five pounds on light tackle and live shiners. A First Quarter moon this week should support a modest uptick in low-light feeding activity on CT's lakes and ponds as the water continues its seasonal cooldown.
Illinois River and Lake Michigan Head Into the Fall Transition
Illinois waters are settling into the early fall transition this week, with the first quarter moon overhead as of September 20. On the Illinois River and southern Lake Michigan, this is the stretch where late-summer patterns start to break down: baitfish push out of the shallows as surface layers cool, and predator fish respond by shifting more of their feeding window toward low light.
Fall bass transition takes hold at Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island
Early fall is reshuffling largemouth bass behavior on reservoir fisheries like Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island. Tactical Bassin's fall-transition breakdown this week describes bass leaving summer cover to school over open water and chase baitfish, and Fishing the Midwest flags a bladed swim jig as a go-to multi-species search bait for exactly this kind of shift. Both lakes fit that seasonal profile, with warm-season patterns giving way to fish keying on bait migrations rather than fixed cover.
Fall transition puts Potomac & Shenandoah bass on the move
The Potomac and Shenandoah systems are settling into the fall turnover this week, the seasonal cue that typically pulls largemouth bass back on the feed after the late-summer lull. Tactical Bassin's current fall coverage describes bass sliding off summer haunts to chase baitfish schools as water cools, holding tight to structure in the early hours before pushing into open water once the sun climbs — the same shift anglers should expect to see play out across regional lakes and rivers through the rest of September.
Fall transition turns on bass and walleye across Michigan waters
Michigan's DNR published its latest Weekly Fishing Report on September 16, breaking conditions down by all five state regions alongside a Great Lakes temperature map and daily streamflow data, the same format anglers have leaned on all season. On the water, the fall transition is the story regional outlets are watching. Fishing the Midwest reports a bladed swim jig paired with a plastic trailer working well for largemouth bass and walleye as fish push onto shoreline flats and emerging weed edges, and the same outlet notes gamefish are relocating to the healthiest remaining weed growth as summer vegetation starts to die back. Tactical Bassin corroborates the shift, describing bass schooling up on baitfish and pulling away from the deeper summer haunts that held them through August.
Fall cooldown sets up prime brown trout window on the North Platte
Wyoming's Wind River and North Platte river systems are settling into the heart of the fall transition, with cooling water shifting brown trout out of their late-summer lies and into the more aggressive, pre-spawn feeding pattern that typically carries through September and October. Brook trout in the higher headwater stretches tend to follow the same seasonal cue, tracking shrinking daylight and softer afternoon heat rather than any single trigger. With the moon at First Quarter this week, the early-morning and dusk windows should stay the most productive stretches of the day, with fish sliding deeper once midday light brightens the water.
Low Water Reshapes Access on Lake Mead and the Lower Colorado
The story on Lake Mead and the lower Colorado this week is the reservoir itself. Per Hatch Magazine's basin coverage, the Colorado River system that supplies Lake Mead continues to run short on water, and the lake, which holds the largest storage capacity of any reservoir in the country, keeps receding from its historic pool. For anglers that means the shoreline keeps changing: ramps, points and old channel edges worth fishing a month ago may already look different, so it pays to scout before committing to a spot.
Fall transition pushes Lake Erie, Ohio River bass shallow
Lake Erie and the Ohio River are settling into the classic fall transition this week, the stretch when largemouth bass abandon summer schooling patterns and start working baitfish toward the bank. Tactical Bassin's latest fall coverage describes anglers finding bass suspended over open-water baitfish schools before the fish tuck tighter to cover as the pattern matures, and Fishing the Midwest notes that thinning, dying weed growth this time of year pushes both baitfish and the gamefish following them out of summer cover and into fresher green weeds and creek-arm structure. That combination, baitfish on the move and cover breaking down, is the signal worth reading on the water right now.
Eastern Sierra fishing shifts into September cool-down
Reno Fly Shop's late-summer Truckee River reports pointed anglers to the California side of the river, where cooler flows kept fish more active through the day's heat, with fish keying on crayfish patterns and mayfly imitations in the early hours per the shop's write-up. Mid-September marks the Eastern Sierra's turn toward its fall cool-down, the seasonal shift anglers watch for across the basin.
Arkansas White River trout fishery eases into fall transition
Arkansas's White River system is easing into its early-fall shift this week, with cooling nights nudging the trophy trout tailwaters below Bull Shoals and Norfork toward the range that typically triggers brown trout to begin staging ahead of their autumn spawn. On the warmwater side of the system, largemouth bass are sliding off summer haunts and tightening up around shallow cover as baitfish move toward the banks, a pattern typical for the Ozarks in late September. Bluegill activity is following its usual late-summer taper as surface temperatures ease.
Smokies tailwaters ease toward a cooler fall trout pattern
Late September is the turning point on the Hiwassee and Caney Fork, where fishability tracks TVA generation schedules more than any single weather swing. As days shorten past the equinox, the summer stretch of heavy peaking power releases typically starts to relax, opening more predictable minimum-flow windows for wading and short drifts below the dams. No fresh gauge or buoy telemetry came through for this stretch today, so treat generation timing as the variable to check directly with TVA before planning a trip.
Milford ponds keep largemouth biting as September rolls on
Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford reported a busy weekend of shiner-fueled action at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park, with largemouth bass leading the bite for the anglers who came through the shop, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. That's a solid read for Central Massachusetts ponds heading into the back half of September, with warmwater fish still feeding aggressively before the seasonal slowdown sets in. Live bait fished tight to cover is doing the work right now, and the shop noted good numbers came from both named spots.
MA lakes ease into the fall largemouth shift
Massachusetts freshwater lakes and ponds are showing the early stages of the fall bass shift, per shop reports collected by The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay says customers are pulling largemouth bass up to 5 pounds from Cape Cod ponds, and young anglers at Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford filled coolers on shiners at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park. Southwick's Congamond Lakes ran cooler by comparison, per Sauder's Boat Livery, though last week's big-bass contest still produced a double-digit best-three bag on drop-shotted finesse baits and Texas-rigged Senkos.
Rangeley trout turn colors as fall settles over Kennebago waters
Rangeley-area trout are already carrying early spawning colors, per Mainely Fly Fishing's latest fall preview, a sign the fall transition is underway across the Rangeley Lakes and Androscoggin headwaters. The same report pointed to a strong evening hatch with rises at dusk on Kennebago Lake in early August, and that surface activity has been the region's most reliable window heading toward cooler weather.
Fall Transition Settles Over Indiana's Wabash and Lake Michigan Waters
Mid-September marks the turn toward fall across Indiana's freshwater fisheries, with the Wabash River and Lake Michigan shoreline entering the window when cooling water starts reshuffling where fish hold. Fishing the Midwest's Mike Frisch notes that as weeds die back this time of year, largemouth bass and baitfish push toward the remaining green, living vegetation — a pattern that plays out on lakes and river backwaters across the broader Midwest. With a first quarter moon overhead, expect feeding to concentrate around structure rather than spread across open water as the transition gets underway.
Fall transition sets up bass action across Pittsburgh tailwaters
Mid-September marks the start of the fall transition across Allegheny and Pittsburgh-area tailwaters. As summer weed growth fades and baitfish push toward open water, largemouth bass typically tighten onto structure edges and baitfish schools, a seasonal cue Tactical Bassin flags as reliable this time of year for working moving baits along drop-offs and current seams.