Fishing reports
14989 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Striper push and a strong offshore bite keep the SoCal Bight moving
Stripers are swarming throughout the Southern California Bight, and Western Outdoor News — Saltwater describes the offshore bite around the Northern Channel Islands as the best in years. Our readings this morning put water at 76.5°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 in San Diego and 70.5°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 9410230 in La Jolla, a six-degree split on the same coast. The same report says at least three fish over 400 pounds were landed in the past two weeks, including a 449-pound catch weighed in San Diego, so the heavier offshore fish are biting too.
Morning falling tide sets up the shoreline window this week
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 9416841 read 55°F at 4:12 a.m. Pacific, and Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports a shoreline striper highlight at Santa Cruz this week, with nearshore fishing described as very good. That is one catch and one report, so read it as a signal worth testing on the shoreline rather than a confirmed bite.
Warm fall water at the Chesapeake mouth keeps tide timing in charge
Water at the Chesapeake mouth is reading 72°F at NOAA station 8638610, which is warm for the first days of October and suggests the fall cooldown has not yet arrived. The most dependable planning tool this week is the tide, so build your windows around the schedule below.
Stripers wake up on Long Island as the fall run gets started
Our Montauk station reads 66°F (NOAA CO-OPS station 8510560), and the striped bass are where the action is. On The Water's Long Island and NYC report for October 1 says a weeklong nor'easter scattered the early fall action, but the bass have woken up and the fall run is just getting started. That fits the September 24 report, where anglers expected the nor'easter to kickstart the fall run and stripers were becoming more active in Long Island Sound. Anglers Journal's Between Fish column calls the late-season striper blitz packed with action. Striped bass is the species with clear New York support this week. The NY DEC Saltwater Fishing and Boating program is asking boaters to monitor the weather before and during trips and to get off the water before a storm arrives.
Afternoon low tides and warm water set the pace on the Gulf Coast
NOAA CO-OPS station 8760922 read 84.7°F and station 8761724 read 84.6°F in the early morning, a warm reading for early October. Both stations show their next low tide in the early afternoon, at 2:06 PM and 3:02 PM local, so falling water is the window to plan around. Bays this warm keep baitfish and predators active, and the tidal swing sets the pace of the bite.
Fall run builds on Narragansett Bay as striper action waits on cooler nights
Narragansett Bay water sat at 65.7°F and 66.6°F at two NOAA CO-OPS stations as of 6:54 AM ET, so the bay is still holding summer warmth. Saltwater Edge Blog (RI) called striped bass 'pretty lackluster for most' in its September forecast, but expected the bite to improve with chilly nights and northerly winds. Plan around the afternoon high tides, roughly 1:56 PM and 2:10 PM ET.
Delaware Bay blues and stripers wait on storm water to settle
NOAA CO-OPS station 8557380 reads 68°F as the fall run gets going behind last week's nor'easter. Per Hands Too Bait and Tackle in Cape May, stripers and blues kept surf anglers busy on most tides before the storm. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle had blues on metal lures during incoming water, and Hook 'em and Cook 'em reports the kids boxed 11 blues at Indian River Inlet.
Cooling water and a Saturday morning high frame WA saltwater
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 9443090 reads 52.7°F, and the next high tide lands near 7:55 a.m. PDT Saturday, so that morning is the window to plan around. Water is cooling into October, and the tide is the clearest timing signal in today's data. Build the outing around the early-morning push rather than the afternoon.
Interior and Kenai rivers settle into the fall shoulder season
Early October is the turn of the season on Kenai and interior rivers. Days are shortening, nights are running cold, and the water is steadily giving up the warmth it held through summer. Fish that spent the warm months in deep runs and slow pools typically tighten up and feed in shorter, more predictable windows, most often the warmest hours of the afternoon on sunny days. Plan around those windows rather than a full day on the water.
Columbia migration counts hit record low as fall turn begins
Hatch Magazine reports that this year's Columbia River migration count at Bonneville Dam is the smallest ever recorded, with counting running since July 1. Plan trips around fewer fish than usual and treat a solid bite as a bonus. Early October is the seasonal turn from summer to fall, and the next few days are when that shift starts to show on the water.
Oregon Coast anglers eye shifting tides as fall settles in
Water off Newport reads 55.4°F this week at the South Beach tide station, a solid nine degrees cooler than the 64.4°F recorded at the Columbia River mouth in Astoria, a split that tracks the usual fall separation between open coast and estuary. A Last Quarter moon has the tide curve running toward neap, with swings at both ends of the coast softer than they'll be once the moon fills back toward new. South Beach is dropping to a low near midnight tonight ahead of a high just after 7 a.m., while Astoria's cycle runs several hours out of phase, cresting this evening before bottoming out near 1 a.m.
Fall striper push nears Virginia's Eastern Shore
Water temperatures off Chincoteague remain summer-warm, with NOAA's Wachapreague station (8631044) reading 77.5°F in the latest check — a sign the seasonal cool-down hasn't fully reached the seaside Eastern Shore. The tide turns to low near 8:10 PM and back to high around 1:57 AM, a late-night window worth planning around. The fall striper run that The Fisherman (Northeast) reports pushing into New Jersey's bay beaches and mixing with bluefish in Long Island's back bays this week is the leading signal for what should arrive here as water continues to cool.
Stripers, tog rebound on NJ's Delaware Bay as nor'easter clears
A nor'easter that flooded Cape May County docks and kept most Delaware Bay boats tied up all week is finally clearing, and the NJ-side bite is coming right back. NOAA's Cape May station reads 68.7°F as of Friday evening, still solid fall-run water. Per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, Big Dave's Tackle says the bay and back bays produced the week's best action before the storm, with kingfish, croakers and spot mixing with a good tautog bite off the bridges and lighthouses on sandfleas and green crabs, and plenty of baitfish pushed up the bay and into the inlets. Pier 47 Marina and Fin-Atics, in the same report, both flagged strong nighttime striper action along the sod banks on flood tide, fish running 16 to 29 inches with a few over 31. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf, Hands Too Bait and Tackle had blackfish, weakfish, stripers, bluefish, croakers and kingfish going before the storm cut up the bayside and beaches.
Fall stripers push into Sandy Hook waters as nor'easter clears
Water read 67.3°F at the NOAA CO-OPS station late Thursday night, with Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook climbing out from under last week's nor'easter. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands got back on "the meat" this week after nine days stuck at the dock, reporting an all-day sea bass bite in 55 feet of water with keepers and shorts for everyone aboard, though the bite died off at the tide change. That same outfit closed out fluke season on its last clean day before the storm with what it called some of its best action of the trip — shorts, keepers and sea bass from start to finish. Grumpys Tackle has blues in and already has its bucktails 30% off for the fall run. Per OTW Northern New Jersey's recent weekly reports, fall-run striped bass are building along the beaches, bluefish and false albacore are still mixed in, and black sea bass season is lining up well as conditions settle, arriving close to on schedule for this point in fall.
Delaware River smallmouth, crappie turn on as water levels rebound
Catfish and smallmouth bass are coming steadily off the Delaware River near Doylestown, according to Dave's Sport Shop, with improved water levels this past week giving both boat anglers and waders solid access after a tougher stretch. The same report credited those better flows for decent bass and crappie action in Nockamixon. Elsewhere in the region, Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic noted that area lakes and ponds had just turned over and were starting to give up good numbers of fish right before this week's nor'easter rolled through and shut most activity down. On the tidal end of the Pine Barrens, Allen's Dock on Bass River reported solid action in the cedar-stained water ahead of the storm, with boats pulled from the water in anticipation of the blow.
Fall striper run kicks off at the Jersey Shore as nor'easter clears
Water temperatures read 68°F across both Jersey Shore CO-OPS stations as the coast digs out from this week's nor'easter, which OTW Northern New Jersey says "put all fishing on hold" over the weekend and left Northern NJ boats like the Golden Eagle and Ol' Salty II tied to flooded docks in Belmar. The timing favors anglers: The Fisherman (Northeast) reports the season's first 50-inch-and-over striped bass already showing along the north coast, and Fishermans HQ LBI says Long Beach Island's surf is settling into good post-storm fall fishing as October opens. Ahead of the blow, The Fisherman — Southern NJ had Pier 47 Marina logging stripers from 16 to 31 inches on bucktails and darters along the sod banks during flood tide, while The Fisherman — Central NJ had Jingles Bait and Tackle mixing bluefish in with stripers on mullet-type plugs. Bottom fishing never slowed through the storm. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ logged an all-day keeper black sea bass bite with limits for much of the boat, and The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf had tautog and bluefish coming off the Atlantic City rocks pre-storm. Fluke is winding down for the season, while false albacore and bonita are still working on live peanut bunker, per Fishermans HQ LBI.
Gulf of Alaska Anglers Watch the Season Turn Colder
Water temperatures across the Gulf of Alaska continue easing lower, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 48°F and 47.3°F as of this afternoon. That lines up with the seasonal cooling arc typical of early October here, as the region moves out of its brief open-water window and toward the colder, storm-driven pattern that defines late fall and winter in the Gulf. The Last Quarter moon keeps this week's tidal swings on the moderate side rather than the larger ranges that follow a new or full moon.
Stripers and blues swarm the SoCal Bight as marlin bite heats up
Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports the best marlin bite in years working through the Southern California Bight, with stripers and blues swarming alongside it out toward the Northern Channel Islands, per a Santa Barbara-area commercial boat owner who noticed the fish while working other waters. NOAA CO-OPS readings show a clear nearshore split this week: 75.9°F at the Los Angeles station (9410170) against 72.7°F at Santa Monica (9410230), the kind of gradient that tends to hold bait along current edges up and down the Bight.
NorCal stripers hold tight to the surf as coastal waters cool into fall
Water temperature at NOAA's Bodega Bay station (9416841) measured 55.6°F this afternoon, marking the seasonal slide into fall cooling along the Northern California coast. Nearshore striper fishing has held up well to the south on the Santa Cruz stretch of Monterey Bay, where Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports anglers working the surf behind diving birds and bait schools for shoreline stripers.
Chesapeake mouth warmth holds as fall striper push builds up north
Water at the Chesapeake Bay mouth is holding warm for early October, with NOAA CO-OPS stations 8638610 and 8637689 both reading 72.5-72.7°F as of midday October 2. That's summer-range water this late in the season, keeping the transition into fall patterns slow at the Bay mouth. Further north, the fall run is already in gear: The Fisherman (Northeast)'s New England and Long Island forecasts describe striped bass and bluefish picking up behind last week's nor'easter, and the publication's NJ/DE Bay Region report notes the season's first 50-inch-plus striped bass along the north Jersey coast. That's the leading edge of the migration that eventually works its way down to Virginia water.
Red drum keep pushing through Pamlico Sound surf and rivers
Water temperatures are holding in the high 70s across the sound, with NOAA CO-OPS stations at Oregon Inlet and Hatteras both reading right around 79 to 80 degrees this week. That warmth is keeping red drum the clear story along this stretch of coast. Fisherman's Post (NC) has three separate correspondents corroborating the same push this week: Donald of Custom Marine Fabrication says red drum are the main focus on the Pamlico/Neuse, with fish scattered throughout the river and bait staging up around New Bern. At Topsail/Sneads Ferry, Nathan of East Coast Sports reports slot-sized reds running the surf and piers, with some over-slot fish mixed in. Down at Swansboro/Emerald Isle, Morgan of The Reel Outdoors has scattered red drum working the beachfront alongside bluefish.
Mississippi Sound Stays Warm as a Major Bottom Fishery Closes for the Year
Mississippi Sound is still carrying summer heat into the first week of October. NOAA CO-OPS station 8747437 logged 87.1°F this afternoon, and station 8741533, sitting closer to the barrier islands, read 84.4°F at the same hour, both taken under this week's Last Quarter moon. The notable development in the Sound right now is regulatory rather than a bite report: the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources confirmed that a major recreational bottom-fishing season in state territorial waters closed at 11:59 p.m. on September 27 and will stay closed for the remainder of 2026, so anglers working nearshore structure should check current regulations before keeping anything from that fishery through year-end.
Redfish and Snook Hold Steady as Gulf Coast Nears Fall Transition
Water temperatures along Florida's Gulf Coast are still holding in the low 80s as October opens. NOAA CO-OPS station 8725520 logged 82.6°F and station 8727520 read 83.3°F this evening, both typical for a slow transition out of summer heat. High tide at station 8727520 is due at 7:48 PM ET tonight, putting the evening push right around dusk. Reader catches logged with Coastal Angler Magazine this week show the inshore bite holding: a 28-inch redfish came out of Pine Island Sound and a snook was landed in Naples waters, solid signs that the shallow-water bite stays active as peak summer heat eases.
Fall cooldown pushes Kennebec and Penobscot bass toward deeper water
Kennebec and Penobscot waters are moving into the early-October transition that redefines freshwater fishing across Maine each fall. As surface layers cool, largemouth and smallmouth bass abandon summer flats for deeper structure and drop-offs, while yellow perch and crappie begin tightening into schools as the colder stretch approaches. Walleye typically follow baitfish into that same deeper water. This week's Last Quarter moon keeps the bite steady rather than explosive, favoring anglers who work structure methodically over those chasing a single hot window.