Fishing reports
15828 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Limestone streams turn toward fall rhythm on Penns and Spring Creek
Pennsylvania's limestone spring creeks are entering the seasonal window where cooler nights start pulling summer's low, clear flows back toward a more comfortable fall baseline. Spring Creek and Penns Creek draw heavily on groundwater, so their wild brown trout typically stay active through the day even as the broader region cools, a pattern that holds through much of autumn on these systems. With the moon at First Quarter, low-light periods around dawn and dusk should carry the bulk of surface activity this week.
Early fall transition takes hold on the Catawba and Roanoke
Water in the Catawba and Roanoke systems is entering the early fall transition this week, with the first-quarter moon overhead and cooling nights beginning to push largemouth bass off deep summer holding water. National bass-fishing coverage from Tactical Bassin and Fishing the Midwest this week describes the same shift showing up across comparable Southeastern and Midwestern fisheries: bass schooling up on baitfish and sliding onto flats, points, and remaining green weed edges as surface temperatures ease off late-summer highs. For Catawba and Roanoke anglers, that points to a transition that's just getting underway rather than one already in full swing.
North Shore steadies into its fall trout and steelhead window
Mid-September puts Minnesota's Lake Superior North Shore into its fall transition, the stretch that resets the season for river-mouth fishing. As surface water cools, Brown Trout and Steelhead begin staging near tributary mouths and current seams ahead of the fall run, while Brook Trout in the North Shore's smaller streams respond to the same temperature drop. This is the seasonal cue anglers watch for heading into October, when river-mouth fishing typically peaks.
Presque Isle bass hold shallow as Erie's fall turnover begins
Mid-September marks the start of Lake Erie's fall transition along Pennsylvania's Presque Isle shoreline, the seasonal shift local anglers plan around every year. As surface water begins shedding summer heat, largemouth bass tend to hold tighter to weed edges and shoreline cover in the shallow bays around Presque Isle, an early-fall pattern rather than a late-summer scatter. Farther out, the first trickle of steelhead into Lake Erie's tributary systems is typically not far behind as the water keeps cooling.
Upper Peninsula trout waters ease into the fall turnover
Mid-September is the hinge point for Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Lake Superior's nearshore water is cooling into the range that typically pulls forage fish, and the trout and early-run steelhead trailing them, toward tributary mouths. Inland, brook trout in the UP's smaller feeder streams are shifting into the shorter-day feeding pattern that usually builds ahead of their October spawn. It is a transition week rather than a peak week, with conditions favoring anglers who fish the morning and evening light rather than the midday lull.
Snook bite builds as fall transition reaches Lower Laguna Madre
Water temperatures are holding in the upper 80s across Lower Laguna Madre and South Padre, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 87.6°F at Port Isabel and 88°F just offshore as of Tuesday evening. That warmth still favors the fall snook pattern building along this stretch of coast. Sport Fishing Mag notes Gulf snook are feeling the shorter days and starting to push toward winter holding areas, calling it one of the season's best windows, with swimbaits like Z-Man's Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ drawing strikes from aggressive fish. Texas Fish & Game Magazine identifies the Lower Laguna Madre as the established center of Texas snook fishing, though the species ranges further up the coast than many anglers realize.
Mississippi Sound holds late-summer heat into fall transition
NOAA CO-OPS station 8747437 read 88.3°F and station 8741533 read 86.9°F as of Saturday evening, keeping Mississippi Sound solidly in late-summer water temperatures even as the calendar turns toward fall. Regional intel this week leans on broader Gulf-coast patterns more than site-specific reports: Sport Fishing Mag's fall roundup notes Gulf snook feeding up and staging toward winter holding water as days shorten, a shift playing out generally across the northern Gulf. Closer to the Sound, an angler on the Pensacola Fishing Forum logged a mixed catch this week that included several redfish among triggerfish and vermilion snapper, a sign that nearshore structure is still holding a variety of species despite the warm water.
Oregon Coast settles into its fall water-temperature transition
Oregon Coast water temperatures show a notable split this week: NOAA CO-OPS station 9435380 reads 56.7°F while station 9439040 comes in at 64.4°F, a gap that reflects how much local exposure and mixing vary along this stretch of coastline in mid-September. Both stations point to an early-afternoon low tide today, September 19 — 12:40 p.m. PDT at 9435380 and 1:52 p.m. PDT at 9439040 — putting the strongest outgoing current of the day right around midday.
Snook and false albacore mark the fall turn along Mobile Bay
Gulf water off Mobile Bay is still running summer-warm: 86.7°F at the bay-mouth CO-OPS station and 87.4°F at the upper-bay gauge as of midday today. That warmth lines up with the fall transition anglers are starting to report across the Gulf coast this week. Sport Fishing Mag's fall roundup notes Gulf snook beginning to migrate toward their winter holding areas as days shorten, a shift that typically starts along the northern Gulf in September and carries into October. The same piece flags false albacore starting to show, blitzing bait on the surface as cooler nights push migratory schools closer to shore. Locally the tide is on its way out, with the next lows near 4:53 p.m. at the bay mouth and 6:06 p.m. up the bay, making afternoon and early-evening outgoing water the window worth planning around today.
Water cools toward fall pattern in SF Bay and Bodega
NOAA CO-OPS readings put water temperature at 56.5°F off station 9418767 and 54.1°F off station 9416841 as of midday, a spread that tracks the patchy upwelling common along the Bay and Bodega coastline this time of year. Both stations show low tide arriving within the same half-hour window, at 12:15 PM and 11:48 AM Pacific respectively, putting the bottom of the ebb right around midday today. With the First Quarter moon in play, tidal swings are moderate rather than extreme, which keeps current speeds manageable for anyone working structure or channel edges on the drop.
Charleston Harbor stays warm as fall bite window approaches
Charleston Harbor's NOAA CO-OPS station (8665530) is reading 84.6°F this afternoon, still full summer warmth for September 19, with the next high tide due at 3:05 PM local. A second CO-OPS station up the coast (8661070) shows a similar 83.1°F, with high tide there at 2:38 PM. Water this warm this late in September means the harbor hasn't started its fall cool-down yet, and that lag is the single biggest factor shaping what's on the move this week more than any specific bite report.
Gulf of Maine cools into the fall tautog and albie window
CO-OPS station 8418150 is reading 61.5°F, the warmest of the three Gulf of Maine stations we're tracking, while station 8410140 sits at 55.2°F — a six-degree spread that shows the seasonal cool-down already moving through the region. Farther south, Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports the tautog bite picking up and false albacore thick along the oceanfront this week, with striped bass staying lackluster until the colder nights and northerly winds in the forecast arrive. On The Water confirms the albie run is producing outsized fish, noting a 19.9-pound false albacore that broke a 36-year-old Massachusetts record. Anglers Journal describes the fall striper blitz as the "heartbeat of the Northeast fishery," driven by bait pushing out of estuaries as days shorten.
Snook and redfish turn on as Sarasota inshore heats up
Water temperatures are holding in the mid-to-upper 80s across the Tampa Bay-area tide stations, 87°F near the bay entrance and 85°F off Clearwater Beach, and the inshore bite in Sarasota Bay is active. Capt. Kelly Kurtz of CB's Saltwater Outfitters reports anglers finding snook, redfish, and spotted seatrout together on the same trips right now, working docks and bridges in Sarasota Bay. Capt. Chuck Cress, fishing out of the same shop, described hooking into several redfish on a rising morning tide using a popping cork with live shrimp, with smaller snook mixed in on the same outing. Capt. Rick Grassett's September forecast, also from CB's Saltwater Outfitters, calls snook fishing good this month, with fish still holding around passes and in the surf before the seasonal move inland begins.
Warm Gulf Stream Keeps Florida Keys Bite Rolling Into Fall
Water temperature at Key West is holding at 87.4°F this week, with Florida Bay reading a similar 86.7°F, keeping the reef and Gulf Stream fishery running on a summer pattern even as the calendar turns toward fall. ALL IN Key West reports the offshore and reef bite has stayed strong through the season, with steady numbers of fish coming over the rail on recent trips and live-bait trips producing especially well along the reef edge. Bud n' Mary's Islamorada Fishing Marina points to early summer through early July as the most productive stretch of the year in the Keys, and captains say that momentum has carried into September. CCA Florida also flags ongoing federal court activity over South Atlantic fishery management pilot programs, a storyline anglers along Florida's coast are watching closely this fall.
Historic-low steelhead run clouds outlook on cool, low Deschutes flows
Water on the upper Deschutes system is running cold and thin heading into the weekend. Three reporting USGS gauges (14070900, 14070624, 14070621) show flows between 6.1 and 18.6 cfs with temperatures holding at 38-40°F as of Saturday morning, typical for the spring-fed tributaries in this stretch. The bigger story for the fall run is regional: Hatch Magazine reports the 2026 Columbia and Snake river steelhead run is shaping up as the smallest ever recorded, with just over 52,000 fish counted above Bonneville Dam since tallies began July 1. That basin-wide shortfall points toward a slow steelhead season working into Deschutes tributaries this fall.
High Mississippi River flow keeps Pearl River anglers eyeing the fall shift
Flow on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg is running well above typical levels for mid-September, per USGS gauge 07289000, pushing extra water into the sloughs and backwaters that feed the Pearl River system. No water-temperature reading came through with this cycle's data. That elevated, off-color water lines up with the fall transition regional bass coverage has been flagging this month — Tactical Bassin notes largemouth pulling off summer offshore structure and keying on baitfish along breaklines and grass edges as the season turns, a pattern that typically extends into river backwaters like these.
Central MA largemouth stay shallow as low, warm flows hold
Regional USGS gauges show low, stable flow this week — 0.05 cfs on the Sudbury-area site, 5.44 cfs near the Neponset, and 15.8 cfs on the Blackstone — while water temperature holds at 73°F on the Ashland-area monitoring gauges. That combination, warm water riding a low, steady base flow, is classic late-summer stability, and it's keeping largemouth bass shallow and feeding. Per The Fisherman's Jerry's Bait and Tackle report out of Milford, at least 100 kids fished shiners over the weekend and connected on largemouth bass at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park, a strong showing for a Central MA freshwater week.
Bass Action Holds as Quabbin-Area Rivers Begin Their Fall Cool-Down
The Swift River's Quabbin outflow (USGS gauge 01173000) is running 66°F on 21.2 cfs this morning, with Wachusett's feeder streams close behind: the Quinapoxet (USGS gauge 01095375) at 63°F and the Stillwater (USGS gauge 01095220) at 64°F. A fourth tributary on the Quabbin side, USGS gauge 01174500, is running similarly low at 8.24 cfs. Water across both reservoir systems is holding in the mid-60s, right where early-fall largemouth bass activity typically picks up. Per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, largemouths continue to bite well at ponds on and off Cape Cod, and Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford reports steady action on largemouths, pickerel, and panfish taken on live shiners at Hopedale Pond and Choate Park, a pattern consistent with what these Quabbin-area tributaries are showing this week.
Rangeley-area trout show early fall colors as flow stays low
The Androscoggin headwaters gauge (USGS 01054200) near Rangeley is running low and steady, typical for mid-September before fall rains build flow back up. Mainely Fly Fishing's most recent Rangeley-region dispatch already found trout carrying spawning colors, a clear signal the fall shift is underway a few weeks ahead of peak color change.
Wabash tributaries hold summer warmth as fall bass patterns emerge
Wabash River gauges are telling two different stories right now. The mainstem near Lafayette (USGS gauge 03335500) is running high at 11,500 cfs after recent rain, while upstream tributary readings sit at 72°F (USGS gauge 05524500) and 74°F (USGS gauge 03353200), still summer-warm for mid-September. A separate freshwater site reads noticeably cooler at 59°F (USGS gauge 395223086214202), a sign that stillwater is already easing toward fall temperatures faster than the moving river. Tactical Bassin's fall-transition breakdown notes bass are shifting off deep summer structure and pushing toward baitfish as the season turns, and Fishing the Midwest's Bob Jensen points out that as weeds start dying back, fish move toward whatever green, living cover remains.
Allegheny-area tailwaters settle as one gauge runs high
USGS gauge 03039000 is reading 70°F with flow at 1,060 cfs as of midday, and gauge 03039040 nearby is also holding at 70°F. The Kiskiminetas-area gauge (03036000) is running cooler and lower, 68°F at 531 cfs. The fourth station in the network, 03036500, is elevated well above the others at roughly 15,500 cfs, with no temperature reading reported, a sign that a recent rain pulse is still working through that stretch of the watershed. Across the readable gauges, water temps sitting in the upper-60s to 70°F reflect the typical seasonal cooldown for mid-September in this region.
Cooling limestone flows set up an early-fall trout window in central PA
Water temperatures across the watched gauges range from 57°F to 69°F this morning, per today's USGS readings, with flows holding in the 80–370 cfs range on three of the four monitored sites; a fourth, larger contributing stream is running much higher at 2,790 cfs. That's a textbook mid-September spread for spring-fed water in this region: the smaller limestone tributaries are neither blown out nor low and skinny enough to push fish into hiding, and the cooler readings signal these systems are settling out of the summer heat stress that limits daytime activity on limestone trout streams.
Catawba bass ease into the fall transition as flows hold steady
Catawba-system gauges are still reading warm — 85°F at USGS gauge 0214267602, USGS gauge 0214264790, and USGS gauge 02145910 — with the mainstem holding a solid 906 cfs at 02145910. The upstream gauge at 02142900 is essentially flat, just 0.52 cfs, more lake stage than moving river right now. That combination, warm water and stable flow, means summer holding patterns haven't broken yet even as the calendar turns toward fall. Per Tactical Bassin's early-fall coverage, largemouth are starting to key on baitfish schools and push toward open water as the seasonal transition gets underway, a pattern that tracks with what these readings suggest for Catawba largemouth right now.
North Shore tributaries split as fall cool-down takes hold
USGS gauge 04024000 is reading 63°F on 649 cfs of flow this morning, while gauge 04015438 upstream sits at 58°F on a bare trickle of 3.95 cfs, and gauge 04015330 is running low at 8.6 cfs with no temperature logged. That five-degree spread between stations is typical for mid-September on the North Shore, where flow closer to the harbor holds heat longer than the small feeder creeks. Lower, cooler water in the smaller tributaries is the signal anglers watch for heading into fall, and these three gauges show that shift is already underway on the upper reaches.