Fishing reports
16671 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Night eels producing big stripers as Narragansett Bay bait push builds
Striped bass are producing well at night on live eels around the incoming tide or slack current, per Quonnie Bait and Tackle this week, though sharks remain a persistent nuisance for bass anglers fishing around Block Island, according to both Snug Harbor Marina and Saltwater Edge. Bottom fishing stays reliable — Frances Fleet and Snug Harbor Marina both report solid fluke, black sea bass, and scup, with fluke starting to slide into deeper water as the pattern shifts. Green bonito are still around per Quonnie and Saltwater Edge, but false albacore haven't shown up locally yet, even as Saltwater Edge's latest forecast notes peanut bunker, silversides, and bay anchovies pushing out of the salt ponds toward the oceanfront — the bait movement that typically sets up the albie run. Offshore, Booked Off Charters is finding recreational bluefin tuna work, and boaters are reporting some limit catches on tautog.
Gulf Coast redfish turn on as fall mullet run begins
Redfish are showing up tailing on skinny, tea-colored flats near Pensacola this week, with mullet stacking at the mouth of the Escambia River — a classic signal of Florida's fall mullet run getting underway, per an angler at Pensacola Fishing Forum. Water on the shallow flats there pushed into the mid-80s under bright late-summer sun, though clarity swung from tea-stained to fairly clear depending on the tide. Farther south, Naples Offshore Fishing Charters' most recent reports describe steady sight-fishing for permit paired with tarpon still pushing through on the tail end of their spring migration, a pattern that typically starts winding down as water cools into fall. Salt Strong notes September historically brings less fishing pressure and more aggressive fish as temperatures ease, a trend Gulf Coast anglers should start feeling over the next few weeks. Redfish and trout on skinny flats look like the highest-percentage play right now.
Keys snapper bite stays lit heading into September
The most recent word out of the Florida Keys comes from ALL IN Key West, whose captain described "huge yellowtail, tons and tons of mutton snapper" during this summer's full-moon mutton spawn, calling the reef and offshore action some of the best he'd seen in 16 years working out of Key West. Bud n' Mary's in Islamorada echoed the pattern in its early-summer report, noting tarpon stacked on the bridges alongside mahi offshore and yellowtail working the reef. No fresh September dispatch has landed from either shop yet, so this snapshot leans on those most-recent reports plus typical late-summer patterns for the Keys. Florida Sea Grant also flagged permit spawning aggregations on the flats — sometimes topping a thousand fish — as a notable regional phenomenon worth watching for sight-casting anglers. No live buoy or gauge data is available for this update, so plan around a local forecast and typical Keys tidal movement rather than a specific reading.
Snook still smashing on the Treasure Coast as mullet run builds
Snook Nook in Stuart is still logging quality snook in the 40"+ range through late summer, with the better bites coming from anglers working the St. Lucie Inlet and running the beach on live croakers and threadfins. The shop notes this year's mullet run is running later than usual after a cooler winter — early September has produced scattered schools of larger mullet moving down the beaches, with the bulk of finger mullet still to arrive. Offshore, Snook Nook's own charter team just placed first in the small-boat division of the One More Bite Sailfish Challenge, a sign sailfish are cooperating in the Atlantic Coast's nearshore/offshore zone. Meanwhile red snapper access remains unsettled — CCA Florida reports a federal court injunction has blocked the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper exempted-fishing-permit season Florida anglers were counting on, so status there stays uncertain pending further action.
Okeechobee bass hold summer patterns as fall bite still weeks off
No fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for the Okeechobee/St. Johns system this cycle, and today's angler-intel feeds were light on direct Florida freshwater reports, so this outlook leans on seasonal pattern rather than fresh eyewitness bite calls. Tactical Bassin's September lineup and On The Water's fall-transition roundup both flag bass keying on baitfish as moving baits — buzzbaits, topwater, reaction baits — start outproducing slow presentations; that shift typically lands later on subtropical water like Okeechobee and the St. Johns than it does on the northern reservoirs those pieces describe, but the underlying cue (shad and bream schooling tighter as days shorten) still applies. Expect largemouth bass to stay on a summer-pattern rhythm — mats, points, and low-light windows — for now. Bluegill and shellcracker should keep working around structure through the heat. Black crappie (speckled perch) typically remain the slowest bite until water starts cooling later in fall. Check current conditions before heading out.
Fall transition puts bass on the move at Smith Mountain Lake
Bass anglers across Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island are entering the September fall transition that regional bass sources are flagging as the signal to change tactics. Tactical Bassin's latest September breakdown notes bass moving off summer structure to chase baitfish near open water, favoring moving baits — topwater, crankbaits, and swimbaits — over slower presentations. On The Water's fall-transition roundup echoes the same shift, pointing to baitfish migrations reshaping where fish set up as water cools. For deeper structure once the moving-bait bite slows, the Virginia DWR's recent breakdown of drop shot rigging remains a solid go-to for both smallmouth and largemouth. No direct reports from Smith Mountain Lake or Buggs Island came through this week, so treat the species status below as seasonal expectation rather than a confirmed local bite — worth a call to a local shop before you head out.
Chesapeake mouth anglers wait on hard intel as fall transition nears
No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Chesapeake mouth on this pull, and none of today's angler-intel feeds carried a Virginia saltwater report — the Virginia DWR Wildlife Blog's newest post this week covered freshwater drop-shot technique for largemouth and smallmouth bass, not Bay-mouth species, and VA Sea Grant's recent items were fellowship and internship announcements rather than fishing intel. Without a direct captain, shop, or agency report for this stretch of water, this update leans on typical seasonal patterns for the Bay mouth heading into September: striped bass, red drum, Spanish mackerel, and cobia are the species anglers here are typically working this time of year as water starts to cool and baitfish begin staging near the mouth. Treat status calls below as season-typical rather than confirmed-on-the-water until a local source reports in. Check state regs before harvesting any species, and confirm current conditions locally before heading out.
Maine Stripers Surge South as Gulf of Maine Cod Reopens
Cod fishing returned to the Gulf of Maine on September 1 after being closed for all of 2026, with a one-fish limit at a 23-inch minimum, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME. The same report calls striper fishing in Maine "insane" right now, with bass beginning to push south in waves as the fall migration gets underway — good news for anglers working the coast from Maine down through Massachusetts. No buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so pack a way to check water temp yourself before running offshore. Elsewhere in New England waters, On The Water reports a 529-pound swordfish caught off Maine that set a new state record, a reminder of what's cruising the deeper canyons this time of year. Bluefish should also be active inshore as summer turns to fall, typical for this stretch of the season. Check current state regs before harvesting cod given the tight limit.
Striped bass still running strong through Cape Cod Bay
Striper fishing in Cape Cod Bay is running hot right now: Capt. Rich Antonio of Black Rose Fishing Charters, reporting via The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands, calls the bass bite "excellent" for larger specimens this week. Shore anglers from the Fishing Ledge area up toward Provincetown are also connecting, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, though the ocean-beach bite there remains mostly a bait-triggered pattern. In the same Cape Cod & Islands report, Sports Port notes bay-side black sea bass and scup running legal-size and plentiful, while bluefish and green bonito work the surface over in Buzzards Bay. Not everything has switched on yet — Goose Hummock Shop's Falmouth-to-Harwich run turned up bonito and small blues but no false albacore, and juvenile great whites have been shadowing hooked stripers in a few spots. No buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so lean on these local reports and check a fresh forecast before you launch.
Buzzards Bay Blues and Bonito Fire Up as Stripers Hold in the Canal
Buzzards Bay is lit up with topwater blues and bonito this week, per Sports Port in the Cape Cod tackle-shop network, while anglers working the Cape Cod Canal are scoring schoolie stripers on topwater and metal lures. Black Rose Fishing Charters reports striper fishing in Cape Cod Bay has been excellent for larger specimens, alongside strong sea bass and fluke action of legal size. Around Scorton Creek and nearby waters, stripers are running larger than the slot limit, and kingfish have shown up along the Nantucket Sound shoreline from Bass River to Craigville Beach. At Goose Hummock, the Falmouth-to-Harwich run turned up bonito and small blues instead of albies, and sharks — including juvenile great whites — have been shadowing hooked stripers in some spots. Big scup are filling out bay-side coolers. Local buoy readings weren't available this cycle, so lean on the bite reports above and check tides before heading out.
King salmon show up strong on West Michigan piers ahead of Labor Day
Anglers working the Lake Michigan piers at Ludington landed a 21-pound king salmon this week, with coho and pin-hook salmon rounding out a wild, storm-tossed morning bite, per reports on Michigan Sportsman Forum. Farther south, a St. Joseph angler pushed out to 110 feet before settling into 70 feet, marking solid bait and salmon activity despite building chop that had boats pounding on the ride out — also per Michigan Sportsman Forum. Perch fishing was tougher to call: one westside-bay trip managed just six fish trolling spoons and flickers behind dipsy divers in 12-16 feet, a sign the perch bite hasn't fully switched on. The MI DNR's September 2 Weekly Fishing Report flags Labor Day weekend activity statewide, including free tours at the Black River sturgeon hatchery near Onaway on September 5. Walleye remains a strong statewide draw, now the most-harvested species in Michigan's Great Lakes waters this season per the DNR.
Eastern Shore Anglers Watch the Early Fall Turn at Chincoteague
Chincoteague's back bays and inlets are heading into the early-September turn that typically opens Virginia's Eastern Shore fall run, and it's worth being upfront that no buoy or gauge readings and no region-specific angler reports came through in today's intel feeds — this outlook leans on typical seasonal patterns for the barrier-island stretch rather than fresh testimony, so treat the species calls below as general guidance until local reports firm up. Historically, this is the window when speckled trout start working onto marsh-edge structure, summer flounder still hold tight to channel edges and inlet drop-offs before their fall exit offshore, and the well-known Eastern Shore bull red run begins building around the barrier islands. Spanish mackerel typically linger near the inlets into early fall before sliding south. Striped bass remain a non-factor here until the region's fall migration arrives later in autumn. The Last Quarter moon this week means modest tidal swings — steady water movement without the strongest pushes of the cycle.
Fall Chinook Chatter Builds on the Columbia as Puget Sound Rivers Wait on Coho
Solo trollers working the lower Columbia near Buoy 10 report hot Chinook action just north of the legal boundary, per chatter on the IFish.net forums — a promising sign, though it's a single unconfirmed post rather than a shop- or agency-verified bite, and no buoy or gauge readings came through today to back it with hard numbers. WA WDFW Fishing Reports continues its statewide creel and catch monitoring at access sites, the standard way conditions like this eventually get confirmed. On the Olympic Peninsula, an angler on The Fly Fishing Forum is lining up a guided Hoh River float this month, a sign river trips are still very much in swing. Early September sits right at the seasonal hinge for Columbia and Puget Sound river systems: fall Chinook runs are building, Coho are still mostly staging before their bigger push later in the month, and summer steelhead fishing is winding down ahead of the winter run. With the moon in its Last Quarter, expect steadier, less extreme tide swings on tidal river reaches this week.
Fall transition puts drop shot rigs to work on Potomac bass
Virginia's DWR Wildlife Blog highlighted drop shot tactics this week, a rig built for smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass that suspends bait just off bottom for a natural presentation — a solid starting point for Potomac and Shenandoah anglers as summer patterns give way to fall. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this stretch today, so treat water temp and flow as unknowns until you check locally. Nationally, bass are starting to move onto baitfish as summer fades into fall (per Tactical Bassin), with reaction baits and moving presentations gaining traction over slower summer approaches — a pattern that typically shows up on Potomac and Shenandoah water around the same calendar window. Catfish stay a dependable back-pocket option through early September on both systems. With a Last Quarter moon overhead, expect steadier, more spread-out feeding windows rather than one dramatic spike.
Truckee-basin trout settle into thin, clear late-summer flows
USGS gauge 10311000 is reading a skeletal 8.2 cfs as of this afternoon, the kind of low, clear late-summer stage that pushes trout into cover and makes stealthy approaches matter more than fly or lure choice. We didn't get any direct Truckee or Tahoe-specific angler reports in this cycle's intel sweep, so the read here leans on typical early-September Sierra patterns rather than fresh local testimony: rainbows and browns tend to feed hardest in the low-light hours while water is coolest, Tahoe's Mackinaw fishery holds steady on deep structure regardless of surface conditions, and kokanee begin staging for their fall spawning push through the month. Anglers working skinny water should expect spooky fish and long, careful presentations rather than an aggressive bite. With no wave, tide, or fresh temperature data in hand, treat today's numbers as a low-flow baseline and plan around dawn and dusk windows until a warmer or wetter signal shows up in the next read.
Low water tests Catawba & Roanoke anglers as fall bass patterns build
USGS gauge 02142900 logged flow at just 0.89 cfs this afternoon (2026-09-02), a low-water reading that points to clear, slow-moving conditions typical of late-summer drawdown on Catawba and Roanoke system tributaries. No charter, shop, or state-agency reports specific to these NC waters came through this cycle, so we're leaning on seasonal norms rather than fresh local intel — worth noting rather than guessing at a bite that wasn't reported. Nationally, outlets like Tactical Bassin and Fishing the Midwest are flagging the early fall transition, with bass keying on baitfish migrations and reaction baits (bladed swim jigs, buzzbaits, topwater) as water starts to cool. Low, clear flow on the Catawba and Roanoke typically pushes largemouth and catfish activity into low-light hours through early September. Anglers should watch for the first real cooldown to trigger a more aggressive shallow bite. Hurricane season is also active — NC Sea Grant's latest storm-readiness guidance is worth a read before any extended trip.
Low, Weedy Ponds Keep Central MA Bass on the Bite
Central Massachusetts gauges are running lean this week — our readings show flows near 6.6 and 31 cfs, matching the low, weedy conditions Jerry's Bait and Tackle in Milford describes across area ponds, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. Largemouth bass are still cooperating: Jerry reports decent action at North Pond (Lake Maspenock) in Hopkinton and Lake Winthrop in Holliston, with topwater lures moving well as vegetation crowds the shallows. Further west, Sauder's Boat Livery in Southwick called bass at the Congamond lakes "on fire," with a recent big-bass event producing largemouth up to 4 pounds, 9 ounces. Fishing pressure is easing regionally as kids head back to school and vacation time runs out, per Jerry's report — good news for anglers with weekday access. Expect largemouth to keep favoring topwater and weed-edge presentations through the low, clear water typical of early September. Panfish and smallmouth should stay catchable on quieter days, though local intel on those species is thin this week.
Upper Penobscot flows hold steady as fall bite window opens
The Piscataquis gauge (USGS 01030500), part of the upper Penobscot watershed, logged 43.5 cfs as of early Tuesday afternoon — a manageable, wadeable flow heading into the first full week of September. No direct reports came in from Moosehead Lake or the upper Penobscot corridor this cycle, so we're leaning on seasonal norms rather than fresh testimony: this stretch of Maine typically holds landlocked salmon and lake trout (togue) working through the water column as surface temperatures ease, with brook trout and smallmouth bass still catchable in the cooler tributaries and coves. Elsewhere in New England, per The Fisherman's freshwater desk, thin water on rivers like the Merrimack is already pushing anglers toward smaller, more technical presentations — a pattern worth watching if the Piscataquis keeps trending down. Moon sits at Last Quarter, which generally favors low-light bite windows around dawn and dusk over the coming days.
Fall Transition Turns On Kennebec-Penobscot Bass and Salmon
Our regional flow gauge (USGS 01046500) logged 1,470 cfs as of early Tuesday afternoon, a solid early-September read with no paired temperature reading available this cycle. Direct reports from the Kennebec and Penobscot corridor are thin this week, but the same late-summer-to-fall shift showing up across New England freshwater systems is worth planning around. The Fisherman's New England Freshwater desk describes anglers elsewhere in the region working low, weedy water with topwater as bass push shallow before the transition deepens, while Tactical Bassin's September notes emphasize fish keying on baitfish and moving with schools rather than holding tight to structure. Fishing the Midwest's bladed swim jig pattern is a solid multi-species call worth carrying here too, since it covers bass, pike, and, regionally, landlocked salmon water. With school back in session and boat traffic thinning, this is a good week to scout quietly before the real fall bite compresses into a shorter window.
Cooling rivers lift restrictions, hopper bite holds strong in Yellowstone country
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks lifted hoot-owl restrictions on the Smith and Sun Rivers Aug. 29, and afternoon closures came off several western and southwest Montana streams — including the upper Clark Fork, lower Bitterroot, and Silver Bow — as stream temperatures cooled through late August, per MT FWP Fishing News. Some Big Hole River sections went the other direction, closing as flows dropped. Our reading at USGS gauge 06043500 puts flow at 413 cfs, a moderate late-summer stage. Hatch Magazine's Yellowstone terrestrial countdown notes it's been a long, hot, smoky summer across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with hopper season now in its prime window before the fall shutoff. Expect rainbows, browns, and Yellowstone cutthroat still keying on grasshoppers and ants blown onto the water, with whitefish activity typically picking up later as temperatures keep dropping.
Lake Trout and Walleye Stay Steady Off Duluth's North Shore
Surface water temps near Duluth held around 60–65°F with cooler water toward Two Harbors, per the MN DNR Lake Superior Summer Fishing Report's August 27 update, and anglers there kept a steady bite going on 18-33 inch Lake Trout and 17-23 inch Walleye trolling spoons close to shore. Inland, our two monitored river gauges read a moderate 4,980 cfs and 1,940 cfs, flows that stay fishable but aren't blown out heading into early September. Fishing the Midwest still likes a bladed swim jig with a plastic trailer as a reliable multi-species pick for bass, pike, and walleye on area lakes as shoreline weeds begin to thin. With the moon in its Last Quarter phase and the fall baitfish shift underway, smallmouth and pike should increasingly key on remaining green weed edges. Check state regulations before harvesting any clipped or otherwise protected fish.
Erie smallmouth shift gears as summer turns to fall
Gauge readings show 72°F water and a steady 517 cfs flow as of the morning of September 2 — warm enough that Lake Erie and Niagara-area smallmouth are still holding a late-summer pattern, with the fall transition close but not yet triggered. Elsewhere in New York's smallmouth world, Wired 2 Fish reported the biggest all-smallmouth bag in Bassmaster history came off the St. Lawrence River this week (109 lbs, 9 oz) — a sign the state's smallmouth fisheries are peaking right now, even though that catch came from a different system than Erie. On The Water's fall-transition playbook flags moving baitfish and cooling water as the trigger anglers should watch for on smallmouth and walleye alike, while Fishing the Midwest notes more anglers leaning on forward-facing sonar to locate suspended baitfish for walleye. No direct on-the-water reports from Erie or the Niagara River came through this cycle, so treat species status below as seasonal expectation rather than a confirmed bite.
Kings Stack Up in Deep Water as Lake Ontario Salmon Run Builds
Salmon fishing has been very good over the past week, per Strike Zone Charters (Lake Ontario), with browns and lake trout mixed in alongside Chinook holding in 100 to 160 feet of water. Preferred depths have been shifting day to day as wind moves the thermocline, and the charter reports Mag Dipsey Divers working best when fish sit deep, with green, white, and chartreuse e-chip spoons paired with Atomic attractant drawing strikes. On the tributary side, USGS gauge 04250750 is reading a steady, low 174 cfs, a typical early-September stage before fall rains push flow up and pull staging salmon into the rivers. With the moon in its Last Quarter phase, low-light bites should stay productive around dawn and dusk. Lake trout and browns are riding along with the salmon push rather than driving it on their own this week.
Rio Grande runs low as San Juan trout lean on terrestrials
The Rio Grande gauge (USGS 08330000) read 0 cfs at 11:15 a.m. on September 2, with no water-temperature reading coming through — consistent with the late-summer irrigation drawdown that regularly pinches flow on stretches of the river this time of year. No shop, charter, or agency reports came in specifically from the Rio Grande or San Juan this cycle, so we're leaning on regional and seasonal context rather than fresh local intel. Elsewhere in trout country, Hatch Magazine's ongoing terrestrial-season tracking and Caddis Fly (OR)'s note on a jigged sunken-ant pattern both point to the same late-summer pattern: hoppers and ants are carrying trout as aquatic hatches thin out, and that typically holds for New Mexico's freshwater trout water too. Expect technical, low-and-clear conditions on exposed Rio Grande reaches, with the San Juan generally holding steadier flow and fishing through late summer.