Fishing reports
15953 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
High flow keeps catfish the safer play on the Kansas River
The gauge on the Kansas River system read 81°F and 3,320 cfs early this morning (USGs gauge 06892350) — warm water riding an elevated, likely stained flow for mid-September. We don't have a shop, captain, or state-agency report specific to the Kansas or Arkansas River system this week, so what follows is seasonal expectation rather than confirmed intel: channel and blue catfish typically feed hardest through warm, high-flow stretches like this, working current seams and eddies where baitfish get swept out of the main channel, while white bass and drum tend to stack in the same transition zones off the current. If the mainstem is running color, check tributary mouths and slack-water pockets first. Cut bait and scent will likely out-produce moving lures until flow eases back toward a more wadeable, sight-fishable stage.
Western Basin walleye bite holds steady as flow stays up
USGS gauge 04193500 read 74°F with flow at 778 cfs early this morning, keeping water on the warm side for mid-September walleye. No buoy data came through for the Western Basin today, so surface conditions should be checked against a local forecast before running out. Regional multi-species reports from Fishing the Midwest describe walleye anglers blending traditional live-bait presentations with forward-facing sonar as clear water and warming trends reshape where fish set up, and note bladed swim jigs with plastic trailers working across walleye, pike, and bass on shoreline flats with emerging weeds - a pattern relevant as Erie's shallow reefs and flats hold baitfish into fall. General seasonal knowledge for the Western Basin points toward walleye starting to stage on reefs and deeper structure as the fall transition approaches, though specific on-the-water Erie reports were not available in today's intel feed. Check state regulations before harvesting.
Cumberland Bass Waters Shift Into Fall Feeding Mode
Flow on the regional USGS gauge is running low and steady at 56.1 cfs early this morning, typical late-summer base flow with no water-temperature reading logged at this station. The bigger story is the fall transition finally taking hold: bass are moving off summer haunts and keying on baitfish along flats and grass edges, per Fishing the Midwest's latest report, while Tactical Bassin notes that patterns anglers leaned on all August are starting to fail as fish reposition with cooling nights. That shift should show up across Cumberland-system reservoirs over the next week. Tennessee's bass fisheries are also drawing bigger attention nationally — Old Hickory Lake near Nashville hosts the World Bass Enterprise Average Joe Sweepstakes this fall, per Field & Stream, with a $1.25 million top prize, the largest in pro bass history. Expect largemouth and smallmouth to keep building as flows stay stable and low.
Fall Chinook push builds as Peninsula rivers hold steady
The two Olympic Peninsula gauges we track are running a steady 345 and 282 cfs this morning, comfortable, fishable flows for mid-September with no big spike or drop in the data. Water temps weren't reported at either site today, so plan around flow and clarity rather than a specific number. No fresh bite reports came through our sources for these salmon rivers this cycle — the WA WDFW Fishing Reports program (creel and catch surveys, plus stocking updates) is the best next check for current counts. Seasonally, mid-September is when Olympic Peninsula rivers typically start turning on for the fall Chinook push, with sea-run cutthroat often active in the lower reaches and coho still building toward their late-September/October run. The First Quarter moon this week keeps tides and light moderate, favorable for early-morning and evening drifts.
Eastern Washington rivers running high ahead of fall trout turn-on
Flow at USGS gauge 12484500 was reading 1,370 cfs early Wednesday morning, with no water-temperature reading logged for this cycle — enough to note the river isn't running low and clear yet for Eastern Washington's rivers and lakes this week. We don't have a direct shop, guide, or agency report specific to the Yakima or Spokane fisheries in this cycle; WDFW's statewide fishing and stocking report system tracks creel and catch data region-by-region and remains the reference point for on-the-ground detail once conditions firm up. Mid-September in Eastern Washington typically means cooling water, active trout in moving water, and smallmouth bass still working structure before the fall slowdown, with walleye action picking up on nearby reservoirs as baitfish push shallow. Anglers should treat today's flow as a call to fish edges and slower water rather than the main current until levels settle.
Fall transition arrives for Travis, LBJ, and Buchanan bass
Bass are shifting into their fall pattern across Texas reservoirs, per Tactical Bassin's latest breakdown of fall-transition behavior, with fish schooling tight to baitfish as summer offshore patterns break down. On Hill Country lakes like Travis, LBJ, and Buchanan, that shift typically means largemouth sliding out of deep summer haunts toward creek arms, points, and baitfish schools as surface temps ease off their late-summer peak. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came back for these three lakes this cycle, and none of this week's shop or charter reports named them directly, so treat the pattern above as seasonal guidance rather than an on-the-water report. White bass and hybrid stripers typically start showing up in the same baitfish schools this time of year, chasing shad toward the backs of coves. Catfish stay steady on cut bait regardless. Check current TPWD regulations before harvesting anything, and confirm lake levels locally before launching.
Fall Bait Push Signals Early Striper Action in Cape Cod Bay
Buoy readings this morning show 66°F at station 44013 and 71°F at 44020, with seas nearly flat (0.7 ft) and light 3-6 m/s winds — comfortable conditions for working structure and shoreline inshore. The bigger story is the calendar: Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) reports peanut bunker, silversides, and bay anchovies pushing out of salt ponds and estuaries as days shorten, the annual signal that kicks the fall run into gear along the southern New England coast, Cape Cod Bay included. Anglers Journal notes striper migrations are already underway, with fall blitzes building as bait, birds, and gamefish converge before the coastwide push south. On The Water backs that up with technique notes on twitchbaits for working stripers in blitz conditions. Albies haven't been confirmed locally yet — Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) says they're "hopefully not far behind" the bonito and Spanish mackerel already showing in the wider region.
Baitfish Exodus Signals Albies Closing In on Vineyard Sound
NOAA buoy 44085 near the Buzzards Bay approaches read 67°F this morning, with 44020 to the east at 71°F and seas calm under two feet at both stations — a typical early-fall temperature split as inshore water starts to cool. Regionally, Saltwater Edge in Rhode Island reports peanut bunker, silversides, bay anchovies, sandeels, herring, and squid pushing out of the salt ponds and estuaries into open water ahead of the September new moon, with bonito and a spanish mackerel already showing and albies reportedly "not far behind." That same bait exodus runs through Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound this week. Striped bass are settling into their classic fall pattern — On The Water points to twitchbaits for stripers working bait pushed tight to structure, while Anglers Journal notes the fall blitz stretch is the heart of the Northeast season. Expect baitfish-driven action to build through the week.
Erie smallmouth stage up as the fall transition builds
Lake Erie held at 72°F this morning per NOAA buoy 45132, with a calm 1-foot chop and a light 4 m/s breeze — comfortable conditions for smallmouth bass still working summer structure before the fall push really sets in. Regional multi-species intel from Tactical Bassin (blog) describes bass sliding off shallow cover and grouping around open-water baitfish as the fall transition advances, a pattern that lines up well with what Erie smallmouth typically do this time of year. Fishing the Midwest notes walleye anglers blending traditional presentations — jigging and pulling live-bait rigs — with forward-facing sonar as clearer late-summer water scatters fish deeper, which is useful context for Erie's open-water walleye game right now. Yellow perch should stay a dependable option as water cools toward classic fall schooling behavior. We're also watching for the Niagara River steelhead run to start building over the next several weeks as temperatures keep sliding.
Kings and browns stack up as Lake Ontario salmon run rolls
Lake Ontario's open water sat at 72°F this week per our nearshore buoy reading, with light 6 m/s winds keeping the surface calm at 1-foot waves — comfortable trolling weather heading into the Salmon River and Oswego stretch. Strike Zone Charters (Lake Ontario) reports salmon fishing has been very good the past week, with browns and lake trout mixed in alongside Chinooks, fish holding in 100 to 160 feet of water. Preferred depths have shifted day to day as wind pushes the thermocline around, so Mag Dipsey Divers are earning their keep when temperature holds deep. Green, white, and chartreuse e-chip spinners paired with Atomic flies are producing, per the same report. With water still near 72°F offshore, expect staging fish to keep filtering toward the river mouths as nights cool. Typical timing for mid-September in this fishery, though check current NY regs before harvesting.
Buoy 10 Chatter Builds as Washington's Fall Salmon Season Turns
No NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for Puget Sound or the outer Washington coast today, so this update leans on angler chatter and seasonal knowledge rather than fresh numbers. The most concrete signal comes from IFish.net's forum, where an angler working the Buoy 10 fishery near the Columbia River mouth reported hot chinook action trolling solo — a single, uncorroborated post, so treat it as chatter rather than confirmed news. Washington Sea Grant is marking 20 years of its SoundToxins program this month, a useful reminder to check biotoxin advisories before keeping Puget Sound shellfish or crab. WDFW's statewide creel and stocking reports remain the best baseline for verified catch data, though no current figures came through in today's feed. Expect the typical mid-September pattern: chinook still pushing through nearshore water, coho beginning to stack up behind them, and rockfish holding steady over structure.
Fall salmon push begins moving into Puget Sound river systems
Mid-September marks the start of the fall Chinook and Coho push into Puget Sound tributaries and Columbia system rivers, with sea-run cutthroat active in slower pools as flows begin cooling toward fall. This cycle's feeds carried no buoy or gauge telemetry for the region and no direct angler reports from Columbia or Puget Sound river systems, so we're leaning on the seasonal pattern rather than fresh on-the-water intel. WA WDFW Fishing Reports remains the go-to resource for current creel counts and stocking updates before you head out. Washington Sea Grant's SoundToxins program, marking its 20th year monitoring harmful algal blooms, is a useful check for anyone fishing where river mouths meet the Sound, since bloom advisories can affect water safety near tidal reaches. Expect typical early-fall river conditions — cooling water, shifting salmon behavior as they stage for their runs, and regs worth confirming before keeping anything, since seasons and limits vary by river and time of year.
Fall Chinook Push Holds at the Coast as Bottomfish Stay Steady
No buoy or gauge readings came through for the Oregon Coast this cycle, so today's read leans on angler chatter layered onto typical mid-September patterns. One IFish.net report from the Buoy 10 area near the Columbia mouth described a solo troller into hot Chinook action, though that's a single unconfirmed account rather than a broad trend. Further south, an angler fishing out of Garibaldi told IFish.net that salmon weren't cooperating but rockfish filled in well on the same trip. Neither report is corroborated by a shop, charter, or agency source, so treat both as anecdotal rather than confirmed conditions. Seasonally, this is peak window for the Buoy 10 Chinook fishery and for nearshore rockfish and lingcod over structure, with Dungeness crab pots still a reliable fallback off jetties and bays. Check the latest state regs and local forecast before committing to a plan.
Early flounder push builds on South Padre bay edges as TPWD watches red tide
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists began fielding reports of a red tide bloom off Galveston on Sept. 8, according to Texas Fish & Game Magazine's TPWD update — a signal worth tracking for Gulf Coast anglers generally, though the bloom is currently centered well north of Lower Laguna Madre with no confirmed South Padre impact. Closer to home, the same publication's early-flounder feature notes that Texas's fall flounder migration doesn't peak until later in the season, but the first push of fish can start staging on bay edges as early as late August and September as flounder work out of marshes, bayous, and backwater systems toward larger water. That pattern applies broadly across Texas bay systems, Lower Laguna Madre included, making bay-edge structure worth a look right now. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat water temp and flow as unconfirmed until the next check.
Fall Transition Kicks In Across Kentucky Lake and Barkley
Bass are sliding out of summer haunts and onto structure near grass flats early in the day before pushing into open water to chase baitfish as the sun climbs — the two-stage fall pattern Tactical Bassin's latest fall-transition breakdown describes, and one that fits Kentucky Lake's ledges and Lake Barkley's grass-lined flats well this time of year. Fishing the Midwest points to the same driver behind it: dying summer weeds shed oxygen, pushing baitfish and bass toward whichever grass is still green and healthy. No live buoy or gauge readings came back for this stretch, so treat today's conditions as seasonal guidance rather than a measured snapshot. Smallmouth and largemouth should keep firming up across both lakes through the rest of September as the pattern develops; crappie typically lag here and usually don't turn consistent until water temps drop further into true fall.
Fall transition sets up walleye and salmon action on Saginaw Bay
Mid-September marks the start of the fall shift on Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, when cooling surface water typically pushes walleye and yellow perch back onto structure and starts the Chinook salmon push into Huron's tributary rivers. No buoy or gauge readings came back for this region on this pass, and the region's angler-intel feeds this cycle didn't surface Michigan-specific catch reports, so treat the picks below as seasonal-pattern guidance rather than today's bite. Typically for this window, walleye trollers work deeper breaklines and mid-bay humps as bait balls stage, perch anglers start finding fish on hard bottom in 20-30 feet, and smallmouth slide off summer shoreline structure toward first drop-offs. Chinook runs generally get underway on Huron-side rivers by mid-to-late September. Check the MI DNR's weekly report and current state regulations before you head out, since specific bite conditions can shift fast this time of year.
Late-season transition puts CT freshwater bass and walleye on the move
With no fresh CT buoy or gauge readings available today, this update leans on seasonal patterns and national angler intel to frame the early-fall shift. Fishing the Midwest notes that as fall progresses, cooling water pushes baitfish and gamefish out of dying weed beds toward the healthiest remaining green growth — a pattern that applies broadly to CT's inland lakes and ponds as water temperatures ease down. Tactical Bassin reports bass are schooling and feeding aggressively on baitfish during this fall transition, with anglers adjusting from shallow-grass patterns to open-water baitfish schools as the day warms. No CT-specific buoy, gauge, or state agency angler report was available for this cycle, so treat species activity below as seasonally typical rather than confirmed on the water. Anglers should scout for green, living weed edges and baitfish activity, and expect largemouth bass and panfish to be the most consistently active targets statewide as the fall pattern sets in.
Fall Weed Transition Sets Up Bass and Walleye on Illinois Waters
Fishing the Midwest's latest fall coverage describes gamefish and baitfish pulling off dying weed growth toward healthier green vegetation as water cools — the classic early-fall shift setting up across the upper Midwest, with bladed swim jigs producing on bass, pike, and walleye in that transition. Tactical Bassin's fall-bass roundup describes the same pattern nationally, with bass schooling on baitfish in open water as summer patterns break down. No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Illinois River or Lake Michigan this cycle, and this week's intel pull carries no water-specific bite report for Illinois itself — Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant's feed is administrative (a teacher workshop, registration for November's State of Lake Michigan Meeting, seed-grant funding) rather than a conditions update. Treat the species notes below as seasonal-typical rather than locally confirmed: early-to-mid September is normally a building period on both waters, not peak yet.
Fluke Finale and Albie Push Mark the Sandy Hook Run
Capt. Ron out of Atlantic Highlands says fluke fishing stayed strong into the tide change this week, with angler Dennis boating a 4.5-pound flattie to take the boat's pool as anglers limited out with their three-fish bag before the fluke season winds down (per Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ). Regionally, the pattern lines up with what shops are reporting up and down the Jersey coast: Grumpys Tackle says bonito, albies, and fluke are all producing, and the OTW Northern New Jersey report notes albies have now joined bonito and Spanish mackerel working the reefs while fluke action stays consistent and the tuna bite goes spotty. Sea bass charters are also cashing in - Blue Chip Sportfishing reports trips getting limits for the whole boat, plus a stretch of shark action including released mako. Expect a fast-closing fluke window and a strengthening albie bite as water cools into fall.
Bonito and albies keep LBI and North Jersey hot into fall
Warm surf water is holding the late-summer bite together up and down the Jersey Shore. Fishermans HQ LBI clocked 75°F on the Ship Bottom surf this morning (Sept 16) and is still running bonita, albacore, and fluke on live peanut bunker, while Hi Flier open boats out of LBI report big bonita and albacore plus 27-30 inch bluefin on light spinning gear working 30-45 miles offshore. Up north, On The Water's Northern New Jersey report (Sept 10) has albies joining bonito and Spanish mackerel on the reefs with fluke action steady, though the tuna bite is described as spotty. Fluke remains a mainstay closer to shore too — Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands is still boating quality doormats on half-day and full-day sailings. No NOAA buoy or USGS gauge data came back for this cycle, so treat the surf-temp figure as shore-reported rather than instrument-verified.
Fall transition nears as fluke season winds down in NJ
No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Delaware Bay stretch today, so this report leans on angler intel from across the Jersey Shore. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands is calling it 'the last of the Fluke season,' with a drift-dependent bite that turned on around the tide change and produced several limits despite tough conditions early. Down the coast, Fishermans HQ LBI is seeing bluefish blitzes and moving mullet on the surf as September cools things off, and On The Water's Northern New Jersey report has albies, bonito, and Spanish mackerel mixing with steady reef fluking plus a scattered bluefin bite midshore. None of these reports come from the Bay side specifically, but the same fall shift — cooling water, bait pushing out of the back bays — typically reaches Delaware Bay on a short lag. NJ Fish & Wildlife is still collecting summer flounder and black sea bass data as the season closes out; check current state regs before keeping anything.
Delaware River and Pine Barrens bass ease into fall mode
Water temperatures across the Delaware River and Pine Barrens region are entering their typical mid-September slide, and that cooling trend is usually what kicks largemouth and smallmouth bass into harder pre-fall feeding. No NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for this stretch in this cycle, so we don't have hard numbers to report today. None of this week's angler-intel feeds carry direct reports from Delaware River or Pine Barrens waters — coverage this cycle skewed almost entirely to the Jersey Shore's bonito, albie, and fluke action from captains and shops between Atlantic Highlands and Cape May. For local freshwater anglers, expect the season's usual script: largemouth and smallmouth bass keying on baitfish along current breaks, chain pickerel staying aggressive in the weedier cedar-water stretches typical of the Pine Barrens, and catfish holding steady after dark. Confirm current flow and any seasonal harvest regulations locally before heading out.
Coastwide fall signals build while Chesapeake mouth awaits its push
The Fisherman's New England forecast this week reports striped bass action 'beginning to show signs of organizing into a full-on fall run,' with isolated blitzes already showing farther north — a coastwide signal Chesapeake mouth anglers watch closely since much of that migratory stock eventually filters south into Virginia waters as the season progresses. No buoy or gauge data came back for this stretch of the Bay mouth this cycle, and none of today's angler-intel feeds carried a direct report from VA's Chesapeake mouth specifically, so this update leans on typical September patterns for the region rather than a fresh local bite report. Historically, early-to-mid September at the Bay mouth is prime time for the tail end of cobia season alongside building red drum and Spanish mackerel action around the CBBT structure, with striper numbers still mostly resident fish ahead of the bigger migratory push that usually arrives closer to late fall.
Fall Striper Run Pushes South While Chincoteague Awaits Its Turn
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came in for Chincoteague this cycle, so today's read leans on the broader coastwide picture and typical September patterns for Virginia's barrier islands. Up the coast, The Fisherman's New England forecast describes the fall striper run 'organizing into a full-on fall run with isolated blitz action,' particularly to the north, while On The Water and Anglers Journal both frame mid-September as the heart of the Northeast's migratory push as baitfish clear the estuaries. That same exodus typically works its way down to Virginia's Eastern Shore a few weeks behind the northern kickoff, which lines up with when bull red drum usually start showing along the barrier-island surf and inlets here. Spanish mackerel should still be mixed in nearshore as bait balls tighten up, echoing Sport Fishing Mag's note on king mackerel pushing closer to shore elsewhere on the coast this time of year. Flounder are typically thinning out as they stage for the fall move offshore.