Fishing reports
14764 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Colorado River flows steady as fall temperatures settle in
The Colorado River is running 5,640 cfs at the USGS 09380000 gauge this morning, with water holding steady at 67°F. Two gauges further downstream, USGS 09383050 and USGS 09383100, read slightly warmer at 68°F and 69°F — the typical pattern as the river picks up heat moving through the canyon away from the upstream release. Flow is holding without major swings, and water temperatures across all three stations sit within a two-degree band, giving stable conditions for anglers working the Colorado system this week.
Cooling flows set up a fall bass-and-walleye window on WV rivers
Water across West Virginia's New River and Ohio-basin gauges is settling into classic fall range. USGS gauge 03054500 reads 61°F with flow near 439 cfs, gauge 03069500 sits at 60°F and 458 cfs, and gauge 03068000 is the coolest of the group at 56°F. Gauge 03051000 is running lighter at 168 cfs. That upper-50s-to-low-60s spread matches the shift Field & Stream flags in its fall bass breakdown, where cooling water pushes shad and other baitfish into the shallows and bass activity climbs. Fishing the Midwest's fall notes on walleye and pike point the same direction, favoring bottom-bouncer crawler rigs and bladed swim jigs as baitfish concentrate.
Snake and Salmon Rivers ease into fall flow as steelheading nears
USGS gauges on the Snake River are holding near 3,090 cfs (gauge 13341050, 53°F water) and 3,040 cfs (gauge 13342500, 54°F), while the Salmon River gauge (13340000) reads a lighter 1,150 cfs at 57°F. Both rivers sit in a stable fall flow pattern, with water in the low-to-mid 50s marking the seasonal cool-down that shifts fish toward deeper runs and slower water as days shorten. Trout Unlimited's recent coverage of lower Snake River steelhead and salmon recovery work highlights how this basin's fall steelhead and salmon runs anchor the region's angling calendar heading into winter.
Cooling tailwater sets up slower fall presentations on Lake Cumberland
Water near the Lake Cumberland tailwater is holding at 60°F this week, per USGS gauge 03414002, while Cumberland system gauges upstream run warmer — 68 to 69°F on gauges 03409500 and 03408500 — with flows trickling at just 16.2 and 25.1 cfs. A fourth gauge, 03413200, reads barely 2.8 cfs, underscoring how little fresh water is moving through the watershed right now. Field & Stream's fall bass report notes that as summer heat fades and water temps recede, baitfish push into the shallows and bass activity builds, a pattern consistent with the cooling trend showing up on these gauges.
Delaware lake crappie bite holds as flows run low this week
USGS gauge 01483155 on the Christina side is running just 2.72 cfs at 60°F, while the Nanticoke-side gauge (01491000) sits at 61°F on 17 cfs — both basins are low and stable heading into the second week of October. Per Smith's Bait Shop (The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater), Delaware lake crappie are keying on dam spillways, working small jigs tipped with plastics, Gulp, or minnows as the water continues to cool.
Vermont's thin flows push fall fish into deeper holes
Vermont's feeder streams are telling two different stories this week. USGS gauge 01135100 is reading a near-dry 0.08 cfs with water sitting at 48°F, while USGS gauge 01129500, closer to the Connecticut River system, is carrying far more current at 333 cfs and 53°F. A third station, USGS gauge 01135300, is also running thin at 4.44 cfs. That split between a trickle and a working flow matters this week: fish are concentrating wherever current and oxygen still exist, not spread evenly through the system.
Fall cooldown splits cold tailrace from warming creeks on Lanier
Chattahoochee flow below Buford Dam is running a steady 613 cfs with water holding at 53°F, per USGS gauge 02334430, classic cold tailrace conditions for early October. A nearby gauge (02334500) reads even colder at 52°F, while gauge 02334480 shows a smaller creek running low at just 9.43 cfs but noticeably warmer at 66°F. That spread, cold dam-release water against a warmer creek arm, is the defining story on Lanier and Allatoona right now. Georgia Wildlife Blog's late-September fishing report flagged the first cooler mornings and changing leaves as fall settling in statewide, and these readings back that up on the main river system while shallower creek arms still carry some late-summer warmth.
Fall Cool-Down Settles Over Potomac and Patapsco Tributaries
Gauges across the Potomac and Patapsco watershed are reading low, steady flows this morning, from 0.63 cfs up to 29.7 cfs, with water temperatures spanning 60°F to 68°F. That split is the classic early-October signature for this region: smaller feeder streams running near baseflow while temperatures ease down but haven't broken into the cooler range that typically flips fall fishing into high gear. Clarity tends to sharpen as flows drop this low, which is the one clear edge these readings hand anglers right now.
Snook and Tarpon Stay Locked on the Fall Mullet Run
NOAA CO-OPS readings this afternoon put water temperatures at 86°F at station 8722670 and just under 80°F at station 8720218, confirming the warm, stable water that's kept Florida's fall mullet run rolling along the Atlantic Coast. Snook Nook's October report out of Stuart says snook and tarpon are feeding hard on the migrating mullet schools, with the better action coming from anglers working the St. Lucie Inlet and running the beach with live croakers and threadfins. Salt Strong describes a similar pattern this week: a change in lure presentation on an otherwise quiet, bait-loaded spot turned into what they called a quick inshore slam that included redfish and snook. Snook Nook notes the recent full moon and higher king tides made the bite tougher toward the end of last month, but the shop expects things to keep picking back up as the mullet continue pushing south.
Fall transition spreads across NY waters as Niagara bass turn on
Hudson Valley gauges are reading 61 to 62°F this morning, with flow holding near 1,400 to 1,560 cfs across USGS gauges 01357500, 01358000, 01359139 and 01354230 — steady, typical early-October water for the region. Statewide, Brookdog Fishing Co., working the Buffalo/Niagara/Lake Erie corridor, reports a transition week as Lake Erie's cooling water reshapes the bite, with the Lower and Upper Niagara producing solid smallmouth bass sessions. It's the same fall shift beginning to move across New York's freshwater fisheries this week.
Fall yellowtail run pushes north as Central Coast water cools
Central Coast water is holding in its typical early-fall range: Monterey's NOAA station reads 64.4°F this morning while Port San Luis is running warmer at 67.1°F, a gap consistent with this time of year as upwelling eases. Both stations show an afternoon low tide today, 3:49 PM at Monterey and 3:22 PM at Port San Luis. Further down the coast, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports a Point Loma half-day boat crushing a strong yellowtail bite on a recent crew trip, a sign the fall yellowtail push is active along the California coast.
Lure switch turns on redfish and snook as Gulf waters stay summer-warm
Water along the Galveston-Corpus corridor is still running summer-warm, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading between 82.8°F and 84.7°F and the tide building toward a midafternoon high. Per Salt Strong, swapping from hard plugs to soft plastic jerk lures turned a dead stretch into a quick inshore slam, with redfish and snook in the mix — proof the bite is there for anglers willing to adjust presentation rather than relocate.
Fall trolling effort builds along the Oregon Coast
Water off South Beach reads 52.9°F this morning while the Columbia River mouth near Astoria holds a much warmer 65.8°F, per NOAA CO-OPS readings taken at 9:54 am local time today. That spread reflects the river's warmer fall discharge mixing with cooler open-ocean water, a pattern that shapes where boats are working. IFish.net Fishing Reports shows real trolling pressure this week, with lost-gear posts from Buoy 10 at the river's mouth down through Nehalem and Garibaldi, signaling steady boat traffic along that stretch of coast.
Maine stripers linger as Gulf of Maine cools into fall
NOAA's CO-OPS stations show a clear cooling gradient along the Maine coast this morning: Portland (8418150) at 57°F, Bar Harbor (8413320) at 54.9°F, and Eastport (8410140) at 54.3°F, each a few degrees colder moving Downeast. Per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, striped bass reports are still coming out of Maine, with local striper addicts driving south to Surfland for eels rather than waiting on bait closer to home, a sign fish are present but anglers are working for them as the water cools.
Cooling Puget Sound sets the stage ahead of midday high tide
Puget Sound water read 52.5°F this morning at NOAA CO-OPS station 9443090, with the next high tide due at 12:05 PM PDT. That's a typical early-October reading as the Sound continues its seasonal cooldown from summer highs. WA Sea Grant's current coverage this week centers on its SoundToxins program's 20th anniversary and ongoing Clean Marina certifications across the state, both markers of the broader shift into fall on Washington's inside waters.
North Shore streams ease into fall trout water ahead of DNR meeting
Three USGS gauges feeding Lake Superior's North Shore show the classic fall split. Gauge 04024000 is running a healthy 405 cfs at 58°F, gauge 04015438 has thinned to 1.31 cfs and cooled to 45°F, and gauge 04015330 is holding a modest 7.31 cfs. That gap between a strong, warmer stem flow and two small, chilling tributaries is typical for this stretch of shoreline in early October. On the management side, WI DNR Lake Superior Fishing has scheduled an Oct. 15 public meeting in Ashland to discuss the recommended lake trout quota for zone WI-2, a reminder that lake trout remain the backbone fishery here heading into winter.
Upper Peninsula streams cool into fall trout window
USGS gauge 04059000 is reading 277 cfs and 49°F this morning, right in the window where Upper Peninsula trout streams settle into fall base flow. A smaller tributary nearby, gauge 04059500, is running lower at 48.3 cfs. On Lake Superior, Wisconsin DNR's Lake Superior Fishing program is holding a public meeting October 15 in Ashland to discuss the lake trout quota for management zone WI-2, the fishery most anglers on this stretch of the lake depend on.
Kenai-area rivers settle into their early-winter chill
Three USGS gauges across the Kenai Peninsula and interior drainages show the seasonal cool-down well underway: gauge 15239070 reads 42°F on 69.3 cfs, neighboring gauge 15238986 is running colder at 38°F on 58 cfs, and the larger-volume gauge 15266300 sits at 46°F carrying 5,340 cfs. The gap between the two low-flow tributary gauges and the much larger system reflects how much more slowly a bigger river body cools than a small feeder stream this time of year. Water in the high 30s to mid 40s puts these drainages solidly into their pre-freeze rhythm, with activity concentrating in whichever stretches hold the most stable flow.
Gulf of Alaska water cools as fall pattern takes hold
Water across the two NOAA tide stations tracking this stretch of the Gulf of Alaska reads in the upper 40s this morning, 48.6°F at station 9455500 and 47.3°F at station 9452210, consistent with the seasonal cool-down now underway. Both stations are tracking toward an early-morning low and building to a midday high, the kind of window worth planning a trip around as daylight shortens into October.
Flounder Closure Looms for Louisiana as Gulf Holds Summer Warmth
Gulf water temperatures remain in the low 80s this week, with NOAA CO-OPS stations 8761724 and 8760922 near the Louisiana coast reading 81.3°F and 81.9°F respectively, still full summer warmth for early October. The bigger story for inshore anglers is timing: Louisiana Sportsman reports the state's recreational and commercial Southern Flounder season closes Oct. 15 through Nov. 30, giving anglers roughly a week-long window to target flounder in the back bays and bayou mouths before the closure takes effect.
Panhandle eyes the fall mullet run as Gulf waters stay warm
Water temperatures across the Panhandle held in the upper 70s to low 80s this week, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8729108 reading 80.1°F and station 8728690 at 78.1°F, both recorded Thursday morning. Those readings put inshore water solidly in the warm-season range even as the calendar turns toward fall. Saltwater Sportsman's coverage of the fall mullet run notes the baitfish migration pushes south along Gulf of Mexico shorelines from September into November, a cue that typically reshapes how inshore species feed through the Panhandle this time of year. Salt Strong publishes a weekly regional breakdown that includes a dedicated Florida Panhandle & Big Bend game plan, a useful check-in for anglers planning around the current bait push.
Olympic Peninsula rivers hit the early-fall flow transition
Across the five USGS gauges we monitor on the Olympic Peninsula, water is running 52 to 56°F this week, with flow stage spread widely: 148 cfs on the lowest gauge up to 538 cfs on the highest, both measured in the early morning hours of October 8. That split points to a drainage-by-drainage picture rather than one uniform trend, with at least one system already running noticeably higher, likely from a recent rain pulse upstream, while others sit closer to late-summer base flow. Cooling water in the low-to-mid 50s is the signal worth watching as these systems move into their fall pattern.
Eastern Washington Rivers Ease Into Fall Cool-Down
Water temperatures across Eastern Washington's monitored rivers have slipped into the low 50s as the fall cool-down sets in. USGS gauge 12462500 read 55°F on a 347 cfs flow overnight, while gauge 12484500 is running higher at 803 cfs. A smaller tributary gauge, 12492900, has dropped to just 1.81 cfs and 50°F, typical of a small system settling into fall low-water stage. Wired 2 Fish reported this week that pikeminnow removal effort on the Columbia and Snake systems remains active, with one angler banking over $130,000 in bounty payouts for the summer.
Smokies trout streams settle into cool, low-flow fall pattern
Gauge readings across the Western NC trout drainages this morning show flows holding low and water cooling toward true fall range: 55.8 cfs and 55°F on USGS gauge 03460000, just 15.9 cfs and 54°F on the smaller 03455500, and 154 cfs with water at 60°F on the larger 03512000. That spread is classic early-October water for these streams — clear, wadeable, and shedding the last of summer's thermal stress. NC Sea Grant's recent look back at Hurricane Helene's impact on Western North Carolina sites is a useful reminder that these same watersheds are still settling two years after the storm reshaped them.