Fishing reports
16124 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
UP Anglers Eye Cooling Water as Superior Stays Rough
NOAA buoy 45004 is logging roughly 4-5 foot swells on Lake Superior this morning under sustained southwest wind near 20 mph and mild air near 60°F — a day to fish sheltered water rather than push into open-lake chop. The buoy wasn't reporting a water temperature reading, but early September on Superior typically still holds late-summer thermal layering before the real fall turnover kicks in. On the intel side, WI DNR's Lake Superior Fishing program continues tracking a genuinely growing lake whitefish fishery in the Chequamegon Bay area, drawing both boat anglers now and ice anglers later in the season — a trend worth watching as a signal for whitefish activity elsewhere along the lake's south shore, UP waters included. Direct reports out of Upper Peninsula trout streams were thin in today's feeds, so we're leaning on typical early-fall patterns for brookies and browns until fresher shop or captain intel comes through. Expect stream fish to key harder on cooling flows and shortening days from here.
Pine Barrens Bass and Pickerel Push Through a Stormy September Week
A 3-pound largemouth topped a recent HOFNOD contest out of Creekside Outfitters, and Pine Barrens waters are still producing despite a stormy, quiet stretch, per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater. Batsto Lake continues giving up bass and pickerel, Ocean Acres bass are running to 3 pounds on Chatterbaits and live killies, and Waretown Lake is holding a decent catfish bite. Over toward the Delaware Bay side, Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic reports water temps still in the upper 70s, with bass, snakeheads and crappie working an early/late topwater pattern, plus panfish stacked in the dam spillways. Recent storms bumped water levels in the upper tidal streams and slowed the sweetwater bite overall, but Dennisville and local Cape May-area lakes and ponds are still turning out largemouth and panfish for anglers working shaded weed edges.
Fall baitfish exodus signals striper push in Narragansett Bay
Saltwater Edge in Middletown reports bonito and a handful of Spanish mackerel landed over the past couple weeks, with albies expected close behind as the fall run gets underway in Narragansett Bay. Their September New Moon forecast, timed to today's moon phase, describes peanut bunker, silversides, and bay anchovies pushing out of the salt ponds and estuaries toward the oceanfront, mixing with sandeels, herring, and squid — the bait exodus stripers key on this time of year. To the north at the Cape Cod Canal, OTW Saltwater documented a squid-driven blitz with 40- and 50-inch bass tearing through the current, a preview of what often follows down the coast. Coastal Angler Magazine and Anglers Journal both flag the broader Northeast striper migration building toward its October peak. No buoy or gauge readings came back this cycle, so check a local forecast before heading out.
Fluke Bite Stays Hot at Sandy Hook as Albies Push Onto Bay Reefs
Fluke fishing has been outstanding out of Atlantic Highlands, with Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ reporting "perfect drift all day, beautiful clean water and the fluke were hungry" on a recent trip, with several anglers boating three-keeper limits and pool fish running 3-5 pounds — though tricky current and afternoon southerly winds cut into a few other days out. Sea bass are riding along as a steady mixed-bag partner, with Ol' Salty II (The Fisherman — Northern NJ) reporting one-fish limits of sea bass, ling, and fluke on recent trips. Fall migrants have arrived on the local reefs: Golden Eagle Fishing noted good bluefishing with bonito and Spanish mackerel mixed in between nighttime storms, and OTW Northern New Jersey's September 10 report has albies joining bonito and Spanish mackerel on the reefs while the tuna bite stays spotty. Grumpys Tackle (NJ) is also seeing bonito and albies in the mix. Expect New Moon tides to sharpen the bite this week.
Fluke finish strong as albies and bonito flood Jersey reefs
Fluke are going out on a high note before New Jersey's season closes September 25 — Capt. Ron's Atlantic Highlands called it "exellent fluke fishing" this week, banking a 5-pound-9-ounce pool fish and full limits for several customers despite a couple of current-battered days. On Long Beach Island, Fisherman's HQ LBI reports warm, clean surf water and heavy spearing bait keeping a variety bite going, while the Hi Flier open boat is putting anglers on big bonita, false albacore, and 27-to-30-inch bluefin roughly 30-45 miles out on light spinning gear. Grumpys Tackle and OTW's Northern New Jersey report both note albies have now joined bonito and Spanish mackerel busting bait on the reefs, with fluking still holding steady there too. Black sea bass regs tighten to a 10-fish bag limit on September 23, and NJ Fish & Wildlife is holding hearings this week on a menhaden reduction cap that could ripple into fall bait supply.
Delaware Bay Keeper Flounder Bite Holds Strong Into September
Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports a boat limit of keeper flounder to 22 inches this week on minnows, spearing and squid strips, with croaker, spot, and black drum to 20 pounds mixing in along Delaware Bay, plus more blues and weakfish showing than in recent weeks. Big Dave's Tackle sees the same spread — flounder to 23 inches, weakfish to 19 inches, black drum in the teens on clam baits — while tog and sheepshead work the lighthouses and sea walls on sand fleas and green crabs. Hands Too Bait and Tackle calls the bait supply from the bay down to Cape May "tons and tons," with blues to 6 pounds on hard plastics, weakfish to 4 pounds on soft plastics and bloodworms, and stripers starting to push into the back-bay sod banks. Boulevard Bait & Tackle says the bay flounder bite is still going but keepers take some sorting; better odds are at the reef sites and along the jetty.
Taneycomo trout hold steady as dam flows ramp up each afternoon
Water temperatures on Lake Taneycomo have climbed to about 53 degrees this month, a normal read for early September according to Lilleys Landing's September 1 report. Dam operators have settled into a predictable rhythm — minimum flow through the morning, ramping up into the afternoon and evening — with liquid oxygen being injected at the outflow to keep dissolved oxygen levels healthy for trout. That steady pattern is translating to consistent fishing after a rough June defined by heavy, rain-driven generation. Lilleys Landing describes trout fishing as pretty good through late summer, building on a stretch where fish were hitting hard and aggressive and the shop's trophy release program rebounded after a slow spring. Guides have leaned on the Provo rig in the afternoons, while a simple straight-line drift with a drop-shot dropper about 18 inches off the bottom — tied with fluorocarbon tippet, a tip credited to guide Blake Wilson — has also been producing fish.
Scup and Sea Bass Load Up Long Island Sound as Fall Bite Builds
Scup are stacking up on both sides of the river mouth at Fort Trumbull and Avery Point, with anglers scoring on sandworms, squid and clams according to AW Marina's report to The Fisherman — Connecticut. Tartan II is seeing similarly strong bottom action, calling scup "numerous and large" alongside a solid mix of black sea bass and steady bluefish, with the occasional shark mixed in on their trips. Striper fishing near the river mouth has been decent as bait continues moving through the system. Just over the CT/RI line, J&B Tackle reports false albacore showing from Watch Hill to Point Judith, with the best window early morning before boat traffic pushes them down — Hogy epoxy jigs and Joe Baggs long-cast resins are producing. Black Hawk's fluke trips have cooled off, a sign that summer flatfish action is winding down as the Sound shifts into its fall pattern.
Walleye and Smallmouth Keep Cooperating Across NY Waters
Walleyes continue to cooperate for anglers fishing the Buffalo/Niagara/Lake Ontario corridor, with Brookdog Fishing Co. reporting a first-ever walleye landed by young anglers this week and limits coming easily even through crowded launches, while smallmouth bass action is described as 'picking up' as summer eases toward fall. No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Hudson Valley/Finger Lakes corridor this cycle, so treat water temps as seasonal estimates until fresh data posts. Statewide, the NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter has flagged black bass and walleye fishing as a summer highlight and just rolled out a new 'Tackle Box' tool for finding quality bass and walleye water. For Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley anglers, early September typically brings smallmouth and largemouth pushing back toward structure as water cools, walleye feeding more aggressively in low light, and panfish still working weed edges before temperatures drop further. Wind and boat traffic were bigger factors than temperature in the western NY reports this week.
Southern Maine stripers stack up ahead of the fall push south
Striped bass are stacked up and feeding heavily along the southern Maine coast right now — anglers farther south in Massachusetts are still waiting on that concentration of fish to make its typical fall push into their local waters, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME. That's the headline for Gulf of Maine anglers this week: the bass are here, feeding, and in no hurry to leave. Offshore, the reopened Gulf of Maine groundfish season is a mixed bag — Beauport Fishing Adventures reports cusk, redfish, and especially pollock biting well on bottom rigs, though codfish haven't shown up in the numbers anglers were hoping for. Bluefish, meanwhile, have been essentially a no-show all season along that stretch. No live buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so lean on typical early-September Gulf of Maine water temps and check a local forecast before running offshore this week.
Bluefin Giants and Squid-Fed Stripers Ignite Cape Cod Bay
A 753-pound bluefin tuna — boated by Captain Billy Hayes in just 27 minutes on spinning gear — anchors what's shaping up as a strong stretch in Cape Cod Bay, per On The Water. Inshore, stripers are stacked along the Bay shore and schooled up under pogies, with the Fishing Ledge and Provincetown areas producing, according to The Fisherman's South Shore MA to ME report. Over at the Cape Cod Canal, a heavy squid push turned the current into a full-on striper feeding frenzy on 40- to 50-inch fish, per OTW Saltwater's Squid Hounds report. Albies and bonito are working the sound side from Osterville to Falmouth Harbor, per The Fisherman's Cape Cod & Islands shop reports, though the regional forecast calls this year's albie run "weird" so far — good feeds, but inconsistent. Bluefish remain largely absent for the season. Canyon boats are also cashing in on yellowfin to 187 pounds, with a few giants reported around the Sword and Crab Ledge grounds.
Squid-fueled striper blitz meets early albie push in Buzzards Bay
Big stripers are stacking up around the Cape Cod Canal, where a heavy shortfin squid push turned the current into a genuine feeding frenzy — 40- and 50-inch bass hammering squid, with soft plastics outfishing traditional squid-pattern plugs, per OTW Surfcasting's podcast breakdown. Inside Buzzards Bay and along Vineyard Sound, Falmouth Bait & Tackle is seeing albies and bonito working the sound side from Osterville to Falmouth Harbor and east toward Woods Hole, with topwater bonito and small blues mixing into the surface blitzes. Sports Port reported a 12-pound albie taken at Monomoy, and Goose Hummock notes Cape Cod Bay bass schooled up under pogies. The Fisherman's coastwide forecast calls this fall's albie run "weird" so far — good feeds but inconsistent — while striper action is organizing into a proper fall run. Offshore, canyon boats are boxing yellowfin past 200 pounds per Falmouth Bait & Tackle.
Albies Arrive Off Montauk as Stripers Trickle Into the LI Surf
Albies are beginning to fill in off Montauk and big fluke are chewing from the Western Sound to the South Shore as they exit the backwaters, per On The Water's September 10 Long Island report. Striped bass are just starting to show: Double D Charters out of Montauk (via The Fisherman — Long Island East End) reports a few stripers trickling in alongside strong porgy and sea bass fishing, while Tight Lines Tackle on the South Fork (via The Fisherman — Long Island Surf) noted a shot of stripers from the sand at Ditch Plains and rising bluefish numbers around Shinnecock, Montauk, and Gin Beach. On the South Shore, Fishfinder II (via The Fisherman — Long Island South Shore) called the bluefish bite the best in years on diamond jigs, and fluke fishing remains steady with keepers mixed among plenty of shorts. Bonito and Spanish mackerel are also filling in along the Sound and East End.
Fall Striper Migration Sets Its Sights on the Bay Mouth
Coastal Angler Magazine's latest dispatch, "The Fall Striped Bass Migration Is Coming," frames what anglers should watch for at the Chesapeake mouth this week: cooler water pushing bait and stripers down the coast from New England through the Mid-Atlantic. No buoy or gauge readings came through for this stretch today, and this week's feeds didn't carry a Virginia-specific catch report, so treat this as a seasonal heads-up rather than an on-the-water update. Farther north, The Fisherman (Northeast) notes fluke and black sea bass regulations shifting later this month in the NJ/DE bay region — a sign of the same fall transition working its way toward Virginia waters. Locally, mid-September at the Bay mouth typically still belongs to red drum and speckled trout, with cobia fading and stripers only beginning to stage. Check current state regulations before targeting any of these species, and lean on your own thermometer until fresh Chesapeake-specific reports arrive.
Fall striper push signals building for Virginia's Eastern Shore
Coastal Angler Magazine flagged the opening move of the fall run this week: cooling water and shifting baitfish are starting to pull striped bass south out of New England and into the Mid-Atlantic, the leading edge of the migration Chincoteague surf and boat anglers watch for every September. The same source is calling for the fall kingfish (sea mullet) migration to arrive as October nears, another staple of the Eastern Shore surf scene. No fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for this region today, so there's no direct water-temp or current reading to report — check a local buoy or marina report before you commit to a trip. With the new moon bringing stronger tidal swings, structure and inlet spots should see more current to work with. Flounder action typically eases through mid-September regionally, while Spanish mackerel remain a solid bet in the surf and along nearshore structure into early fall.
Moosehead Lake anglers eye the fall cooldown as togue wake up
No buoy or gauge readings came through for Moosehead Lake or the upper Penobscot this cycle, and none of today's angler-intel feeds carried a report specific to this water — the lone Maine item in the mix (ME Sea Grant) covered oyster-reef restoration and marine-economy programming, not freshwater fishing conditions here. So this update leans on typical mid-September patterns for the region rather than fresh eyewitness reports. This is usually the stretch where surface water starts sliding down off summer highs, pushing lake trout (togue) and landlocked salmon out of deep thermal refuges and back into range for trolling and jigging crews, while smallmouth bass stay active around rocky structure ahead of their own fall slowdown. Brook trout fishing in the feeder streams typically firms up as nights cool under the new moon's dark skies. Treat the species notes below as seasonal expectation rather than confirmed local reports, and check with a local shop before planning a trip around them.
Fall salmon push building along MN's North Shore
No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Lake Superior North Shore stretch this cycle, so this update leans on seasonal patterns rather than fresh on-the-water numbers. The one Lake Superior-specific signal in today's feed is administrative rather than a bite report: WI DNR Lake Superior Fishing notes a lake whitefish fishery that has grown noticeably in Chequamegon Bay in recent years, plus an ongoing DNR/Michigan Tech burbot research effort — both signs of rising angler interest across the lake generally, not a North Shore conditions report. With no charter, shop, or forum intel specific to this stretch this cycle, we're falling back on what's typical for mid-September: this is usually when coho and chinook salmon begin staging toward river mouths for the fall run, with lake trout fishing picking up as surface water cools. Treat species notes below as seasonal expectations, not confirmed bites, until local reports come through.
Texas lakes ease into fall transition as bass and catfish adjust
Texas Fish & Game Magazine's read on Lake Conroe sums up where Texas lakes stand this week: fall doesn't arrive with one cold front, it comes in stages, and after a hot September the crappie and bass bite is only starting to shift toward autumn patterns. Fresh inflows and rising water are the story on Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth too, where North Texas Catfish Guide has long pointed to that combination as the trigger for active, feeding blue and channel catfish once it shows up. Farther north on Lake Texoma, Wired 2 Fish highlights a North Texas guide running forward-facing sonar to find deep-structure fish — a technique that translates well right now as bass and catfish hold near cover while surface temps ease. No buoy or gauge readings came back for Texas waters this cycle, so treat water temps as seasonal-typical until a local reading confirms otherwise.
Fall feeding window opens for Erie walleye and smallmouth
No buoy or gauge readings came back for Presque Isle this cycle, so this update leans on the calendar rather than a fresh instrument snapshot — and none of this week's angler-intel feeds carried a direct report from Lake Erie or Presque Isle waters either, so treat the species read below as seasonal expectation, not eyewitness testimony. Mid-September on Lake Erie's south shore typically still holds water in the upper 60s to low 70s, the range where walleye start sliding back onto structure after summer's deep, scattered pattern. Smallmouth bass around Presque Isle's rock piles and breakwalls usually pick up through this stretch as baitfish schools tighten before the water cools further. Yellow perch should be grouping over deeper humps and are usually a reliable target this time of year. Steelhead are still weeks away from staging near Erie tributaries for their fall run. For anything specific to current stocking or survey activity on this water, PA Fish & Boat's Biologist Reports page is the resource to check. Confirm current regulations before keeping any fish this week.
Bass hold to healthy grass as Okeechobee, St. Johns ease into fall
Fishing the Midwest's latest fall-pattern rundown, 'Find the Green, Find the Fish,' is the seasonal cue worth watching for Okeechobee and St. Johns anglers this week: as remaining grass beds stay green longer into September, bass tend to hold tight to the healthiest vegetation before pushing shallower once truly cooler nights arrive. No NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for this stretch, so treat today's picture as pattern-based rather than fresh gauge data. Early September on these Florida waters is still very much a summer-to-fall transition — largemouth bass stay catchable on moving baits worked along grass edges and dock pilings, per Tactical Bassin's early-fall dock-fishing notes, while black crappie (specks) remain off their winter pattern until water temperatures drop further. Tonight's new moon could nudge bluegill bedding activity, a lunar-tied behavior typical of Florida bream in warm months.
Early fall cooldown sets up Kennebec and Penobscot rivers
No NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came back for the Kennebec and Penobscot this cycle, and this week's angler-intel feeds skewed toward national tackle news, saltwater flats fishing, and Maine Sea Grant coastal programming rather than direct reports from these two rivers, so we're working from typical September patterns rather than a fresh bite report. Early September in central Maine usually brings the season's first real cooldown, and that shift typically pushes smallmouth bass and landlocked salmon into a more active early-fall pattern as baitfish begin schooling. Brook trout on tributary stretches are generally still catchable this time of year but taper off as water continues cooling toward true fall temperatures. With a new moon overhead, low-light dawn and dusk windows are typically the strongest stretches of the day for both species. Check current state stocking updates and local shop reports before heading out, since we don't have a direct read on today's water conditions on the Kennebec or Penobscot.
Smokies trout streams inch toward the fall pre-spawn window
No direct reports came in this cycle from Western NC's Smokies streams, and the buoy and gauge feeds returned nothing usable, so this update leans on the typical rhythm for the region in mid-September. Freestone water in the park and surrounding national forest is usually running low and gin-clear by now after a summer of thin flows, which means spooky, pressured fish and a premium on stealth — the same approach Gink and Gasoline lays out in its educated-trout tips, favoring small profiles and long, drag-free drifts over big attractors. Expect rainbows and browns holding tight to shade and pocket water through the warm midday stretch, with the best window still early morning before sun climbs the ridgelines. Brook trout in the high feeder creeks should stay steady since those headwaters run cooler year-round. With no fresh local intel to confirm a hot bite, treat today's read as seasonal baseline rather than a hot tip.
Early-fall transition sets up smallmouth and muskie on PA rivers
Mid-September conditions checks for the Susquehanna and Allegheny systems came back thin this cycle — no NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings populated, and the inbound intel feed leaned heavily national and off-topic (PA Sea Grant staff and education news, Wired2Fish and Field & Stream pieces on Michigan sturgeon and Idaho moose) rather than direct catch reports from these two watersheds. Rather than manufacture a bite report, here's what's grounded: this is the classic early-fall transition window for both rivers, when smallmouth bass slide onto current breaks and main-channel structure as surface temps ease down, muskie activity on Allegheny-system water typically builds through September and October, and walleye start relating to deeper edges as baitfish push out of the shallows. Field & Stream's live-sucker muskie primer this week is a useful technique refresher if you're targeting that Allegheny muskie window — precision over volume, as the piece stresses. Check current flow and temps locally before you go; we didn't get fresh gauge data this run.
Fall Pattern Shift Puts Santee, Murray Bass Back on the Move
MLF News confirms the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit's stop at Santee Cooper Lakes — filmed in Clarendon County earlier this year — premieres this weekend on VICE TV, keeping South Carolina's reservoir bass fisheries squarely in the national spotlight as the calendar turns toward fall. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Santee or Lake Murray this cycle, so we're leaning on seasonal pattern knowledge rather than a hard temperature number. Technique reports from Tactical Bassin and Fishing the Midwest both describe the same early-fall shift that typically shows up on Southeastern reservoirs this time of year: bass sliding onto dock pilings and remaining green grass edges as baitfish reposition, with bladed swim jigs and free-rigged plastics drawing renewed interest. Striped bass and catfish — both reservoir staples on Santee Cooper — should also be waking up as nights cool, though we have no direct local report to confirm activity yet. Crappie remain the slower player until water temperatures drop further.