Fishing reports
15021 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
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.
Fall cool-down has Smallmouth and Walleye feeding on Lake Lanier
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came back for Lanier or Allatoona this cycle, but the state's own fishing blog flags the seasonal trigger anglers want: per Georgia Wildlife Blog — Fishing, cooler mornings and changing leaves have arrived across the state, and that cooling trend is the signal Smallmouth Bass and Walleye anglers wait on all summer. Tactical Bassin notes October is a power-fishing month as bass chase baitfish aggressively with suspended fish showing up in open water under foggy mornings that clear to bluebird skies, a pattern that applies directly to the clear, deep reservoirs that make up Lanier and Allatoona. Fishing the Midwest adds that as waters cool and weeds begin to die back, baitfish and gamefish relocate out of thinning cover toward the healthiest remaining green growth, a cue worth carrying into these lakes' standing timber and grass lines.
Fall turnover sets up smallmouth, walleye patterns on the Savannah chain
Georgia's DNR marked the turn into fall on September 25, flagging cooler mornings and changing leaves across the state in its Georgia Fishing Report. At Lake Hartwell and the Russell impoundment on the Savannah chain, that shift lines up with the pattern change anglers watch for every autumn. Fishing the Midwest's Mike Frisch is running his bottom-bouncer "plain rig," tipped with a nightcrawler snell, calling it his go-to once water cools past summer highs, a presentation built for walleye holding tight to deep structure. B.A.S.S. News is pointing anglers toward the Z-Man TRD Finesse Jig for the same seasonal window, offered in sizes built to cover smallmouth depths from shallow rock to deeper breaks. Both signal the technique shift the Savannah chain typically sees as the calendar turns.
Georgia coast holds warm as anglers wait on the fall turn
Water off the Georgia coast is still running warm, 81°F at the Fort Pulaski NOAA CO-OPS gauge as of this afternoon, more typical of late summer than early October. The Georgia Wildlife Blog's October 2 report highlighted a prize catch from inland waters rather than the coast — a 14-plus-pound, 46-inch gar landed on the Satilla River by 79-year-old angler Jerry Wilson, recognized under the state's Angler Award Program — while coastal saltwater activity stayed quiet in this week's reporting. Georgia Sea Grant's latest research roundup noted ongoing university studies into how warming waters are affecting striped bass and other species in the Turtle-Brunswick River and Satilla River estuaries, a reminder that the coast's water column is still shifting into its fall pattern rather than having turned over.
Fall turnover arrives on Georgia rivers as trophy gar headlines the season
Georgia's fall fishing season is officially underway, and the headline this week comes from the coast rather than top-water action. The Georgia Wildlife Blog's October 2 report features 79-year-old angler Jerry Wilson landing a Georgia Angler Award qualifying gar, over 14 pounds and 46 inches, out of the Satilla River, the kind of catch the DNR's Angler Award Program exists to document while tracking genetics and growth data statewide. Closer to the Chattahoochee and Savannah systems, the same blog's late-September reports lean into the seasonal turn: cooler mornings, changing leaves, and "Happy Fall" messaging that typically precedes a pickup in freshwater activity as surface temperatures start easing off summer highs. Early October in this region sits at the shoulder of that transition, with mornings cooling noticeably faster than afternoons, the classic setup anglers watch for heading into peak fall patterns.
Cooling Gulf of Maine Signals Fall Striper Push South
Water temperatures along the Maine coast show a clear north-south gradient this week: NOAA's Portland station reads 59.5°F, Bar Harbor 57.2°F, and Eastport 54.7°F, confirming the seasonal cool-down is furthest along toward the Canadian border. Fishing took a hit from this past weekend's nor'easter. Per The Fisherman's South Shore Massachusetts to Maine report, the Surfland correspondent said the storm may be exactly the catalyst needed to finally get Maine's striped bass moving south in numbers, with steadier action already building on the Merrimack. Up the coast, Beauport Fishing Adventures expects the blow to push feeding activity from the outer grounds (Cashes, Jeffrey's, the Platts) into the western Gulf of Maine, concentrating fish around Stellwagen and the Cape Ann grounds.
Fall Run Wakes Up as Stripers Push Into Long Island's Surf
The fall run is turning on across Long Island. On The Water's October 1 Long Island and NYC report notes that a weeklong nor'easter scattered the false albacore, but striped bass have woken up and the fall run is just getting started. Water temperatures support that: 66°F at Montauk and the upper 60s through Long Island Sound per NOAA CO-OPS, cool enough to push baitfish out of the bays. Ebb Tide on the East End reports stripers already showing along the beaches, and Tight Lines Tackle on the South Fork heard of bass taken off the Point in Montauk on bucktails before the storm. Bluefish are mixing in too, with River Bay Outfitters in Baldwin holding cocktail blues alongside snappers in the back bays. Fluke remain productive: the Shinnecock Star is running trips through October 15, though Capt. Walter on the Fishfinder II feels the storm pushed bay fluke toward the inlets and channels rather than out of the system.
Rangeley trout turn color as fall spawning run begins
Fall is arriving in the Rangeley Lakes and Androscoggin headwaters: per Mainely Fly Fishing, a trout taken last week already showed spawning colors, the clearest signal yet that the seasonal shift is underway. The same report described a strong hatch with rises at dusk on area lake water in early August, a pattern now giving way to the cooler-water behavior typical of October in this region.
Fall turnover settles onto Moosehead Lake and the upper Penobscot
Early October puts Moosehead Lake and the upper Penobscot squarely into the fall turnover window, as surface water cools and begins mixing through the column, pushing baitfish and the fish that follow them off the shallow flats and toward breaklines and deeper structure. The Last Quarter moon this week tends to even out feeding activity through the day rather than stacking it around one sharp window, which favors anglers who can fish a few different depths and times rather than waiting on a single peak.
Olympic Peninsula rivers ease into their fall transition
Early October marks the seasonal pivot for Olympic Peninsula freshwater river systems, with shortening daylight and a Last Quarter moon easing tidal pull on lower-river stretches this week.
Fall Cooldown Sets Up Walleye, Smallmouth Season in Eastern WA
Early October marks the real start of fall on Eastern Washington's Yakima and Spokane-area waters. As daytime highs ease and overnight lows drop, lake and river temperatures are sliding into the range that pulls walleye and smallmouth bass out of their late-summer holding patterns and onto more active, predictable feeding structure. This is the window regional anglers wait for all summer, when shortening days trigger a baitfish push and both species start feeding harder to build reserves ahead of winter.
Santa Cruz stripers hold tight to the shoreline as fall sets in
Water temperatures along California's Central Coast are split this week: one NOAA tide station reads 60.3°F while a second logs 65.5°F, the kind of patchy thermal mix typical as fall sets in. Captain Allen "Bushy" Bushnell, reporting for Western Outdoor News — Saltwater out of Monterey Bay, says striped bass have been working close to shore near Santa Cruz, with fish showing nearshore as anglers follow the diving birds and bait.
Post-nor'easter push sends Maine stripers toward NH surf
The season's first nor'easter rolled through the Gulf of Maine this past week, and it looks to have done what fall-run anglers hope a big blow will do. Just south of the New Hampshire line, per The Fisherman's South Shore Massachusetts to Maine report, Surfland Bait and Tackle noted steadier striped bass action building from the Merrimack as the storm cleared, and expects the blow to be the trigger that finally gets Maine's stripers moving south along the coast. The same report describes a heavy push of groundfish and bait, mackerel, pogies, squid, settling into the western Gulf of Maine on grounds off Cape Ann, a pattern that typically works its way north toward New Hampshire water as the fall progresses.
Delaware Bay bite rebounds as nor'easter winds finally ease
Delaware Bay water held at 66.7 degrees this week as a punishing nor'easter finally eased, with wind gusts Eric Burnley clocked above 50 knots and more than three inches of rain keeping nearly every boat tied to the dock. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reported blues taken on metal lures during incoming water, about the only action anyone managed through the blow. At Smith's Bait Shop in Port Mahon, the bite held up through late September and is expected to build into October, with weakfish coming on yellow bucktails and yellow worms over the bay's reef sites. Further south at Indian River Inlet, Hook 'em and Cook 'em logged fluke and sea bass catches on the days the Judy V could clear the inlet, including a 7.4-pound fluke aboard the Gale Force and a boxed run of 11 bluefish for a group of kids fishing the inlet itself.
Birds working bait signal shrimp push along Texas Gulf Coast
Water along the upper and middle Texas coast is still running summer-warm heading into October: NOAA CO-OPS readings this afternoon show 87.3°F at station 8771450, 85.8°F at station 8771341, and 86.2°F at station 8772471. Texas Fish & Game Magazine reports working birds diving over shrimp-driven bait from Sabine Lake down through Galveston Bay and the Middle and Lower Coast this week, the kind of surface activity anglers watch for to find fish holding on open-water edges and channel mouths.
Fall transition lights up walleye and lake trout across NY
New York's fall transition is underway, and the clearest signal is coming from the state's big-lake fisheries. Brookdog Fishing Co., running the Buffalo, Niagara, and Lake Ontario corridor, reports walleye holding strong through late September, lake trout producing consistently on deep-water jigging programs out of Barcelona, and smallmouth bass picking up as water cools. NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter confirms the fall shift is in motion statewide, with Lake Ontario tributary fisheries gearing up for the cold-water season. Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes anglers are seeing the same seasonal cues: cooling water is pushing baitfish and predators into a more active fall pattern.
Fall tide swings put Oregon Coast anglers to work near Buoy 10
A NOAA CO-OPS tide station on the Oregon Coast logged water temperature at 55.6°F this morning, a typical early-October mark as the seasonal cool-down settles over the coast. Up north, anglers on IFish.net Fishing Reports describe brisk boat traffic around Buoy 10 this week, with gear going overboard in the crowded trolling lanes just north of the legal line, a sign that effort is stacking up there as the fall push continues. Tide timing is the variable worth building a trip around this week.