Fishing reports
17101 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Big stripers push toward the Gulf of Maine ahead of the cod reopener
Striper action has caught fire north of the Cape, with some seriously big fish in the mix from Maine to Boston and beyond, according to The Fisherman's New England Video Fishing Forecast. That pattern extends up the coast toward NH waters — Beauport Fishing Adventures, working out of Gloucester just south of the New Hampshire line, reports striper action is all big fish right now, with plenty of squid and pogies keeping bait thick around the harbor. Bluefish remain scarce north of Salem this season, per the same report, so blitz action stays striper-and-bait-school focused for now. The bigger story for NH bottom fishermen is regulatory: per The Fisherman's Dave Anderson, a Gulf of Maine cod season opens September 1st with a 1-fish limit at 23 inches minimum, the first legal cod opportunity of 2026 in this stock area. No live buoy or gauge readings were available for this update — check local marine forecasts before heading out.
Delaware Bay flounder limits keep coming as fall transition nears
Anglers are still boating flounder to 23 inches out of Delaware Bay, per Higbee's Bait and Tackle, with the EP Tower and water near the lighthouse consistently giving up keepers. Big Dave's Tackle reports the bay giving up flounder, croakers, and spot from the beaches out to the shipping channel, while anglers working structure are finding tog and sheepshead on green crabs and sand fleas. On the Delaware side, Smith's Bait Shop notes boats sailing from Port Mahon are taking flounder, trout, croaker, and spot over bay structure, with striped bass in the 20-24 inch range coming from tidal creeks and rivers on sandworms and shrimp — sized close to Delaware's summer slot per DNREC's most recent revision (confirm current regs before keeping fish). Eric Burnley's column notes the bite remains steady from the ponds to the canyons, though most croaker are running short of the 9-inch mark. With flounder season closing September 25 on the New Jersey side, the Delaware side's four-fish, 17.5-inch limit runs through year-end.
Spanish Mackerel Bite Heats Up Off Cape Lookout
Off Morehead City and Atlantic Beach, nearshore anglers are locked into a strong Spanish mackerel bite this week, with the biggest fish showing up around Cape Lookout, according to Chasin' Tails as reported by Fisherman's Post (NC). Bottom rigs further offshore are also picking up. Down the coast at Swansboro and Emerald Isle, pier anglers casting jigs and Gotcha plugs are connecting with spanish mackerel and bluefish, and a few king mackerel have started showing, per The Reel Outdoors (Fisherman's Post NC) — an early signal ahead of the fall king run. Up on the Outer Banks, TW's Bait and Tackle reports a solid surf bite on sea mullet, bluefish, and croakers, with inshore action finally waking up after a slow stretch. With a full moon pushing bigger tidal swings through Pamlico Sound and around Cape Lookout, expect stronger current on structure and jetties this week — good news for mackerel and bluefish keyed on bait getting pushed around.
Bluefish blitzes ignite off Montauk as bluefin jigging stays hot
Captain Dan aboard Montauk's Double D Charters reports savage light-tackle bluefish blitzes have become the norm this week, with jumbo porgies and strong offshore bluefin mixed in. On The Water's August 20 Long Island and NYC report calls the bluefin jig bite red-hot, with fluke fishing excellent off the South Shore and weakfish, bluefish, and porgy keeping east-end inshore anglers busy. Bergen Bay Docks notes bluefin still working the Linda and Coimbra wrecks off Fire Island Inlet, while Babylon Fishing Station logged a 57-inch bluefin by the Towers. Tight Lines Tackle is hearing early rumors of false albacore around Shinnecock as the fall transition nears, with porgy also improving at North Sea. On The Water also flagged two tiger sharks landed on back-to-back nights, a reminder of the variety moving through under this full moon.
Catskills and Adirondack trout hold to dawn and dusk windows
No fresh buoy or gauge readings are available this week for Adirondack and Catskill trout water, so today's outlook leans on late-August fundamentals rather than a specific on-the-water report. With a Full Moon overhead and the calendar deep into summer, freestone streams across the region are typically running low and warm by midday, which pushes trout into shaded runs and riffles early and late in the day. Elsewhere in trout country, Hatch Magazine's terrestrial countdown flags exactly this seasonal window — hoppers, ants, and beetles becoming a primary food source as aquatic hatches thin out — a pattern that applies just as well to Catskill freestoners and Adirondack brook-trout water. Anglers working these systems should expect the same late-summer discipline: fish first and last light, carry a thermometer, and give fish a break once water climbs into the stress zone regardless of the exact reading on any given stream.
Deep mackinaw and kokanee patterns hold on Tahoe and Truckee waters
Late August has settled Lake Tahoe and the Truckee-area lakes into their typical deep-water pattern, with mackinaw and kokanee salmon holding well below the thermocline during daylight hours and rainbow and brown trout sliding into low-light windows along shoreline structure and river runs. No buoy or gauge readings came back for this region on today's pull, and none of the angler-intel feeds fetched for this update covered Nevada, Tahoe, or Truckee specifically, so this report leans on general seasonal knowledge rather than fresh instrument data or a local source this time. A full moon overnight typically brightens the surface and can push feeding activity toward the very early morning and after-dark hours, especially for kokanee and mackinaw suspended over deep structure. Anglers running deep troll spreads or vertical jigging known humps and drop-offs should still find willing fish, while river and shoreline trout anglers will likely do best working the first and last hour of light. Always check current Nevada and California regulations before keeping any species, since limits and seasons vary by water body and can change year to year.
Topwater windows tighten as Georgia reservoirs hold in late-summer heat
Water on Bartletts Ferry is running high-80s to low-90s and "typically very tough" for late August, per Tyler Morgan's report at GA Sportsman/Georgia Outdoor News — largemouth are keying on a short window before sunup, hitting frogs and buzzbaits in the grass, then sliding to shaded docks on a weightless Senko once the sun climbs. Up on the Savannah system, Lake Hartwell guide Cole Wilson (Spot Chaser Guide Service, via GA Sportsman) reports an 88-degree surface but a livelier spotted-bass bite up-river around brush, points and bream beds, with a Whopper Plopper drawing strikes near bedding bream. Lake Russell tells a slower story — Kerry Partain calls it the hottest water of the year there, with drop-shot finesse worms the most consistent producer when generation isn't pushing current. On the gauge, Chattahoochee flow is running elevated at 4,300 cfs, a sign of active generation worth timing trips around.
Low flows sharpen bass and catfish patterns at Eufaula, Red River
USGS gauge 07247500 logged a bare 1.86 cfs late Tuesday night, a reminder that the tributaries feeding the Eufaula/Red River system are running about as thin as they get in late August heat. Water temperature wasn't directly measured at this gauge, so anglers should expect the typical late-summer thermal stack for this region — warm surface layers pushing bass deeper by midday and catfish into low-light feeding windows. No shop or charter report specific to Lake Eufaula or the Red River came through this week, so this outlook leans on regional technique notes rather than local on-the-water intel. Largemouth are likely following the classic late-summer script Tactical Bassin describes this month — shallow points at first light sliding to finesse presentations as the sun climbs. Catfish, going by the heat-driven bite Wired 2 Fish reported elsewhere this month, should favor a post-dark window that lines up well with this week's full moon.
Terrestrial Bite Carries the Green River Tailwater Into Late August
The Green River tailwater below Flaming Gorge Dam is holding a cool, stable 59°F with releases running near 1,730 cfs as of Wednesday night (USGS gauge 09234500) — textbook late-August conditions for this dam-controlled fishery. No fresh on-the-water reports came in from this exact stretch this week, but the pattern anglers have leaned on here for years still holds: Trout Unlimited's own account of floating the river's "B" section with cicada patterns underscores how reliable the terrestrial game gets on the Green once summer heat pushes hoppers and cicadas onto the water. With a full moon overhead, look for stronger overnight and low-light feeding, with the brightest midday hours likely slower. Rainbow, brown, and cutthroat trout should all still respond to terrestrial patterns and subsurface nymphs, with mountain whitefish rounding out the typical bycatch on this water.
Trout keep biting through Galveston's summer wind and heat
Anglers working Galveston Bay are still finding speckled trout on soft plastics despite stubborn southwest winds, according to the Galveston Daily News' Reel Report — those working the lower bay are having to slow down and grind through the wind but are coming back with limits. Earlier in the week, Ed Lantz and Armando Huereca launched out of Eagle Point Fishing Camp and worked a gas well in choppy water for a decent trout bite. The Reel Report also notes the Texas coast remains locked into a hot, dry pattern with rain chances under 15 percent all week, so expect continued heat and wind through the Full Moon. Meanwhile the CCA-Texas STAR Tournament, per Texas Fish & Game Magazine, is in full swing coastwide through September 7, and Texas City Dike remains a hotspot for both anglers and, unfortunately, illegal gill-netters the magazine flagged this week. No fresh buoy or gauge data came in for this update.
Northwoods Muskies Turn On as Fall Transition Begins
Water temps across the Northwoods have slipped into the low 70s as summer gives way to fall, with the region also experiencing a severe drought this month, per Rollie & Helen's Musky Shop (WI) in their late-August report. That cooling trend is triggering an excellent topwater bite on muskies, with the shop noting increasingly vicious strikes as fish key on the seasonal shift — the classic "September Transition" musky anglers watch for every year. Walleye anglers should note that as weeds begin dying back with cooling water, per Fishing the Midwest, baitfish and gamefish typically abandon struggling weed beds for healthier, still-green cover nearby, a pattern worth tracking on area lakes over the next couple weeks. With a Full Moon overhead and no fresh flow or temperature readings from local gauges this cycle, plan around low-light windows and don't abandon summer structure just because the calendar flipped.
Chinook Talk Heats Up at Buoy 10 Ahead of Oregon's Fall Run
Out of Garibaldi this week, one angler summed up the mixed bite simply: salmon weren't very cooperative, but the rockfish more than made up for it, per a report on the IFish.net Fishing Reports forum. Further north at the mouth of the Columbia, another angler flagged hot chinook action trolling solo near Buoy 10, though that's a single, uncorroborated forum note worth treating as anecdote rather than a confirmed pattern until agency or charter reports catch up. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for this update, so treat sea state and water temp as unconfirmed and check a live source before running offshore. With Oregon's fall chinook and coho runs typically building through late August into September, and a full moon overhead pushing tides, this is a reasonable window to watch estuary mouths and nearshore reefs for the push to solidify.
Redfish and trout stay busy on Lower Laguna Madre flats
Redfish tailing on the skinny grass flats around South Padre and the Lower Laguna Madre remain the headline bite this week, and Salt Strong's latest coverage stresses that picky, tailing fish in clear or pressured water respond to matching lure profile, color, and action rather than reaching for one go-to bait. Spotted seatrout are holding in typical late-August form, and Salt Strong's summer advisory says to slow the retrieve as water temps peak, since fish won't burn energy chasing fast-moving prey in the heat. Flounder are still catchable around inshore channels using patient presentations, per the same source's shipping-channel flounder report. No fresh buoy or gauge telemetry came through for this stretch of coast, so treat water temp and tide numbers as unconfirmed until you check a local source. The CCA-Texas STAR Tournament remains underway coastwide through September 7, adding extra incentive to target tagged redfish and trout this week.
Gag Grouper Season Opens as Redfish Bite Holds on Gulf Flats
Sport Fishing Mag's trolling breakdown for Gulf gag grouper season describes captains working close-to-shore rock piles as the short September season opens — a pattern echoed Gulf-wide as fall approaches. Mobile Bay and the Alabama Gulf don't have fresh NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings in this cycle, so this report leans on regional angler intel over live numbers. Inshore, Sport Fishing Mag's Louisiana coast guide notes big trout want a big meal — mullet, pogies, or live croakers typically outfish small plugs when trophy specks are the target. Salt Strong's piece on tailing redfish breaks lure choice down to water clarity and pressure, worth applying with the full moon pushing extra tidal flow through Mobile Bay's marsh edges. Salt Strong also flags flounder and mangrove snapper as easy shipping-channel targets through late summer. Expect grouper, trout, redfish, and flounder to be the go-to Gulf targets this week, typical for late August in the northern Gulf, though local Mobile Bay specifics weren't in today's feeds.
Shark gear rules tighten as tuna surge pushes up the coast
Western Outdoor News — Saltwater is calling it plainly: Northern California bluefin action is "exploding to unheard of levels," with Half Moon Bay boats posting six-fish days on tuna running 130 to 170 pounds — a sign warm water has pelagics ranging further up the coast than typical for late August. That kind of ocean warmth tends to keep structure fisheries humming too, so expect rockfish and lingcod to stay dependable over reefs and kelp beds, with resident halibut holding through the shift. Shore and pier anglers should also note a change flagged on AllCoast Forum this week: an emergency regulation now limits shark gear from Pigeon Point south to hooks no larger than 1.5 inches with no wire or metallic leaders — confirm specifics with the state before rigging up. Direct buoy and gauge readings weren't available for the Central Coast this cycle, so treat the species outlook below as seasonal expectation pending local confirmation.
Yellowfin and dorado stack up off San Clemente as surf rebounds
The Sum Fun out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing put 43 yellowfin tuna in the 30- to 40-pound class in the boat for 26 anglers this past week, per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, with captain Brian Woolley working schools found on kelp paddies near San Clemente Island. Warm water is the driver — Western Outdoor News reports sea-surface readings pushing toward 80 degrees off San Clemente and 78-79 along the coast from Oceanside to Newport — and that warmth has also pulled dorado and yellowtail onto kelps as far north as Santa Cruz Island. Closer to the beach, the sand bass tagging project run by PIER out of the Tijuana border zone has now marked over 1,000 fish this season, a sign the summer sand bass push is in full swing. Surf anglers are finally catching a break too: after a brutal stretch of elevated surf blamed on El Niño, Surf Fishing in So Cal calls August the best surf-fishing window of the year so far on the San Diego coast.
NorCal Bluefin Bite Exploding Off Half Moon Bay
Bluefin tuna up to 170 pounds are stacking up off Half Moon Bay this week, with Captain John Marfia of Tanker City Sport Fishing boating six fish in that range on a single trip, per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater. What was described last issue as an unheard-of five-fish day has already been blown past, with party and commercial boats reporting increasingly common multi-fish scores. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for the SF Bay/Bodega corridor today, so treat water temp and swell as unconfirmed until you check a local forecast before running offshore. Inshore, expect the usual late-summer mix of striped bass, halibut, and rockfish to hold steady in the bay and along the coast, though none of today's intel specifically flagged their bite. With a full moon overhead, tidal swings will be strong — plan around slack water for bay structure fishing and be ready for stronger currents on the troll grounds offshore.
Late-summer bass and walleye patterns hold across Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley waters
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came in for the Hudson Valley/Finger Lakes corridor this cycle, so this report leans on regional angler intel and typical late-August patterns. The clearest signal in NY water right now comes from Brookdog Fishing Co., running out of Buffalo/Niagara on Lake Ontario, where the walleye bite has stayed "ridiculous" through mid-August with limits coming easily despite crowded launches and dead-calm conditions — a pattern that tends to track with Finger Lakes walleye behavior this time of year as fish hold on deeper structure. For largemouth around Hudson Valley lakes and reservoirs, On The Water's late-summer guidance points anglers toward dense shoreline cover during low-light hours, working frogs, compact jigs, and stickbaits. With a full moon overhead, expect stronger low-light feeding windows at dawn, dusk, and overnight. Smallmouth and lake trout should stay active on deeper structure as surface temps hold near seasonal highs; check local forecasts before heading out since no direct weather data was available.
Triggerfish bite holds as Panhandle mornings hint at fall
Offshore anglers running out through the pass near Pensacola are still connecting on trigger fish over deep-water structure and drop-offs, per a recent trip report on the Pensacola Fishing Forum — the same session dodged a waterspout and a band of downpours before the captain pushed on to troll and deep-drop successfully. Inshore, another Pensacola Fishing Forum post described a pre-dawn topwater session on a bait caster that produced quick hookups, with the angler noting 'a hint of fall in the air' even as afternoon heat holds on. Gulf-wide, Sport Fishing Mag notes gag grouper trolling on Florida's west coast is running against a short September closing window, worth factoring in if grouper is the target this trip. No live buoy or gauge readings are in for the Panhandle right now, so plan around dawn light and the Full Moon's stronger tide push rather than a specific temperature number.
Late-summer weed shift puts walleye, bass on the move
Late August has these pools sliding into their fall transition, and Fishing the Midwest's Mike Frisch notes that as shallow weeds start dying off, walleye and bass push toward whatever green, oxygen-holding growth remains — a pattern typical for early-fall on Upper Mississippi pool structure. No live buoy or gauge data came through for this stretch today, so verify current flow and water temperature at a nearby USGS gauge before you launch. Smallmouth bass should still be active through the coming weeks, though Tactical Bassin's late-summer notes warn against camping on spots that worked all summer — moving until you find committed fish matters more right now than it did in July. Channel catfish remain a dependable option through the lingering heat, typically feeding hardest after dark and around current breaks below wing dams and lock-and-dam structure this time of year. Sauger activity stays generally slower until water cools further into September.
Late-summer bass bite holds as Finger Lakes eye fall walleye shift
No buoy or gauge readings came back for Cayuga, Seneca, or Skaneateles this cycle, so today's read leans on the broader freshwater pattern anglers elsewhere are working right now. On The Water's "Beat the Bank" piece notes shore largemouth keying on dense cover during low-light windows, working frogs, compact jigs, and stickbaits — a pattern that should translate directly to Finger Lakes weed edges, docks, and rock piles at dawn and dusk. On the deeper bite, Fishing the Midwest's ongoing coverage of Forward-Facing Sonar notes walleye aren't the strict bottom-huggers anglers once assumed, with suspended fish showing up well off traditional structure; worth testing on Cayuga's and Seneca's open basins. Smallmouth should stay active around rock and gravel in the same low-light windows. Lake trout remain the deepwater question mark until nights cool and the thermocline starts to break down heading into fall.
Puget Sound salmon push builds as crab season hums along
Washington Sea Grant's late-September Skills and Drills course for new commercial fishermen is putting a spotlight on Dungeness crab this week, noting it as one of the state's largest commercial fisheries — a reminder that crab traps are working hard across Puget Sound and coastal waters even though this week's angler-report feeds ran unusually thin on specific WA catch details. WDFW's statewide Fishing and Stocking Reports page remains the primary creel-check resource anglers should lean on for area-specific numbers, since no fresh buoy or gauge readings came through this cycle. With late August underway and a full moon overhead, this is typically prime window for coho moving into Puget Sound alongside resident and migrating chinook, and Dungeness crabbers should be finding decent pulls in deeper channels. Absent hard local intel this week, treat species notes below as seasonal expectations rather than confirmed bite reports, and check WDFW's page directly before planning a trip.
Seatrout Bite Peaks in Sarasota Bay as Tarpon Push Inshore
Spotted seatrout are "aggressively biting" across Sarasota Bay's grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and passes right now, according to Capt. Brandon Naeve of CB's Saltwater Outfitters, who points anglers toward sunrise and sunset feeding windows during what he calls the peak summer bite. On the redfish side, Capt. Chuck Cress reports reds eating well on a popping cork tipped with live shrimp during a rising morning tide, with juvenile snook mixed in as incidental catches on the same drifts. Looking ahead, Capt. Rick Grassett's August forecast for CB's Saltwater Outfitters calls for tarpon to hold along the coastal Gulf early in the month before thinning out and sliding into bridges, deep grass flats, and ladyfish schools as they push toward inside waters. With a full moon overhead and grass-flat structure producing consistently, Tampa Bay and Sarasota anglers have several species worth targeting this week.
Highland Lakes bass push deep as late-summer heat holds over Hill Country
Direct reports out of Lake Travis, LBJ, and Buchanan are thin this week, but the regional picture from nearby Hill Country water gives a useful read: My Canyon Lake Fishing's recent posts describe area lake levels still running well above last year's mark even as summer draws them down, with boat ramps and lake access holding up under heavy late-August recreational traffic. That kind of pressure typically pushes Highland Lakes largemouth off the bank and onto secondary points and deeper timber during daylight, with the bite compressing into the first and last hour of light. Tactical Bassin's late-summer notes back that pattern, pointing anglers toward baitfish schools and reaction baits worked faster as shad start grouping up ahead of the fall transition. Striped and white bass on Buchanan and LBJ should still be following shad schools suspended over old river channels and humps, a pattern that typically holds through early September before cooling water breaks it open.