Fishing reports
19070 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Hill Country bass lean on deep cover as Highland Lakes flows hold steady
The Colorado River gauge just below Austin (USGS 08158000) logged flow near 652 cfs early this morning, a moderate release keeping current moving through the Travis-to-Austin stretch of the Highland Lakes chain. Direct on-the-water reports specific to Travis, LBJ, and Buchanan were thin this cycle, but regional technique intel fills some of the gap: Tactical Bassin's recent summer videos point to jig fishing and Neko-rigged worms working bass out of deep cover as water warms, while Wired 2 Fish's look at creature baits in heavy cover echoes the same approach anglers lean on for summer largemouth. Texas Fish & Game Magazine notes forward-facing sonar is proving effective for pinpointing submerged brush piles, a technique that translates directly to the standing timber and rockpiles scattered through the Highland Lakes. Nearby Canyon Lake, a separate Hill Country reservoir on the Guadalupe system, is running about 8 feet higher than this time last year per My Canyon Lake Fishing — a rough proxy for regional lake health heading into peak summer, though not a direct read on Travis, LBJ, or Buchanan.
Eastern Sierra trout settle into summer rhythm as flows ease
The USGS gauge at site 10265200 wasn't returning a live flow or temperature reading at check time, and this week's angler-intel sweep didn't turn up any reports specific to Eastern Sierra waters — worth flagging honestly rather than guessing. NorCal Fish Reports tracks the Eastern Sierra as one of its regular regional beats, but this crawl didn't pull a fresh write-up for the area. What we can say with confidence from general seasonal knowledge: by mid-July, Sierra Nevada trout fisheries are typically well past spring runoff, with lakes and tailwaters settled into steady summer flows and warming surface temps that push the best bite toward dawn, dusk, and after dark. Rainbow and brown trout are the bread-and-butter species here, with cutthroat and brook trout in select high-country waters. The Waning Crescent moon this week favors low-light feeding windows. Lean on general summer tactics and check a current local report before you go — we don't have confirmed on-the-water intel for this specific area today.
Smallmouth heat up on weeds as walleye and muskie settle into summer
Smallmouth are the headline this week: a Tactical Bassin (blog) on-the-water video shows anglers boating roughly 27 pounds of smallmouth on finesse paddletails by targeting active fish tight to cover, a pattern that tracks well for Iron Range smallmouth water right now. Walleye anglers are leaning on classic open-water tactics — Fishing the Midwest's Bob Jensen is working weedlines as the 2026 open-water season hits full stride, while Jason Mitchell Outdoors (YT) is running spinner rigs through weed pockets for a summer walleye pattern. Muskie hunters get a more targeted read from AnglingBuzz (YT), which is finding fish holding tight to weed cover up at Leech Lake — a solid template for Boundary Waters and Iron Range muskie water too. Our nearest flow gauge (USGS 05129115) logged 189 cfs late last night with no temperature reading this cycle. Panfish should be settling into typical mid-summer weed-edge holding patterns.
Summer terrestrials and streamers turn on Wind River, North Platte trout
On The Fly Fishing Forum this week, one angler described fooling a "hungry N Platte brown" on a homemade articulated streamer tied with 17 lb mono in place of wire, a solid anecdotal sign browns are chasing big meals as summer settles in. Direct instrument readings for this stretch aren't currently coming through: USGS gauge 06259000 has no live flow or temperature reading posted, so treat conditions as typical mid-July freestone-into-tailwater water until a fresh number lands. Broader trend lines back up the streamer report. Trout Unlimited's latest field tip flags terrestrials as full-swing summer trout food as grasshoppers and beetles work into grassy banks, and Caddis Fly (OR) notes golden stonefly and yellow sally hatches running as key Western summer bugs right now. Expect rainbows and cutthroat keyed on terrestrials and stonefly nymphs, with browns willing to eat streamers, especially in low light. Check current Wyoming regs before harvesting anything.
Mille Lacs walleye tuck into summer weed pockets
Direct readings on Mille Lacs itself are thin this cycle: the nearest station, USGS gauge 05227530, is logging a modest 4.53 cfs regional flow as of today with no water-temperature sensor reporting, so treat lake-surface temps as unconfirmed until you check a thermometer at first light. Technique intel is where this week's signal actually lives. Jason Mitchell Outdoors flags "Weed Pocket Walleye" as the go-to mid-July pattern, working isolated pockets inside emerging cabbage and coontail rather than blanket-casting the whole weedline. Fishing the Midwest's Bob Jensen echoes the same idea in "Work the Weedline," noting that versatile anglers adding a weed-structure presentation this time of year are getting bit more consistently than those camped on open-water summer spots. That lines up with typical mid-summer Mille Lacs behavior: walleyes sliding shallower into vegetation during low-light windows and sagging to deeper structure once the sun climbs. We're calling weed pockets the play until firmer local reports come in.
Driftless trout anglers eye streamers as flows run high
USGS gauge 05407000 is reading 7,580 cfs this morning, a notably high flow for Driftless Area trout water and a strong signal that area spring creeks and their receiving rivers are running full, faster, and likely off-color after recent rain. Water temperature wasn't available from the gauge, but elevated flow this time of year usually keeps water cooler and well-oxygenated even as summer heat builds. For technique, Root River Rod Co's go-to Driftless streamer, a pine squirrel jig that bounces the rocky bottom without hanging up, is built for exactly these tight, technical, high-water stretches, per MidCurrent's Tying Tuesday roundup. Trout Unlimited also flags summer terrestrials as prime forage right now, with hoppers and other bugs blown or crawling into the current along undercut banks. Expect browns and brookies to slide tighter to structure and slower seams until flows ease back toward typical summer norms, with subsurface presentations outproducing dries until then.
High water pushes Upper Mississippi walleye to the weed edges
The USGS gauge at Prescott is reading roughly 21,900 cfs this week, a sign the pools between Prescott and La Crosse are running high and pushing fish out of the main current into calmer water along the banks and backwaters. No fresh water-temperature reading came through for this reach, so anglers should judge thermal conditions by feel until an update posts. Fishing the Midwest's Bob Jensen is steering open-water anglers toward weedlines right now, a reliable summer pattern for walleye and other predators holding tight to vegetation edges as the season progresses. Writing for the same outlet, Mike Frisch notes that small adjustments, like touching up hook points after a missed strike, are the difference between a follow and a fish in the boat this time of year. Elsewhere on Midwest water, moving baits worked over emerging weed tops are drawing bass strikes. Expect current-break pockets and backwater eddies to concentrate fish while flows stay elevated on these pools.
Olympic Peninsula rivers hold steady for summer steelhead and cutthroat
Olympic Peninsula gauges are running moderate for mid-July, with one westside monitoring point (USGS gauge 12041200) holding at 615 cfs and a second peninsula stream (USGS gauge 12035000) reading 328 cfs as of Friday evening — flows that keep rivers fishable without the low, clear, spooky-water conditions that can shut summer runs down in drought years. Water temperature wasn't reported at either site, so anglers should carry a thermometer and back off if readings climb into the high 60s, standard practice for protecting summer steelhead and searun cutthroat. WA WDFW Fishing Reports remains the best source for river-specific catch counts right now; no Olympic Peninsula-specific numbers came through in this cycle's feeds. Absent fresh bite reports, expect the typical July pattern here: summer steelhead trickling in and building, resident and searun cutthroat active in the same pocket water, and Chinook still mostly staging lower in the systems ahead of a bigger push later in summer.
High water pushes Pittsburgh anglers toward slow, bulky presentations
Summer water is running high on the Allegheny tailwaters, with the USGS gauge at site 03036500 logging 10,200 cfs as of early Tuesday morning, well above the low, stable crawl this stretch typically settles into by mid-July. A push like that usually means stained water and repositioned fish rather than a shutdown, and it lines up with the broader summer pattern national outlets are flagging right now: Fishing the Midwest's 'Work the Weedline' column points anglers toward technique versatility over sonar dependence, while Tactical Bassin's recent jig-fishing breakdown leans hard on slowing down and fishing heavier cover exactly when flows spike like this. No Pennsylvania-specific shop, agency, or charter report came through our feeds this cycle, so treat the species calls below as seasonal defaults for the fishery rather than confirmed bites. Smallmouth bass and channel catfish are the region's bread-and-butter targets this time of year, with walleye and muskellunge rounding out the tailwater mix.
Lake Michigan salmon fishery holds momentum off the Indiana shore
Lake Michigan's salmon fishery carries real momentum into midsummer: the WI DNR Lake Michigan Fishing Report notes anglers lakewide hauled in over 210,000 coho salmon and more than 160,000 Chinook salmon in 2024, the best coho year on record and the biggest Chinook count since 2012, with recent strong alewife survival helping stocked fish along the way. That trend matters for Indiana-shoreline anglers too, since Chinook, coho, and steelhead range the open lake rather than sticking to one state's water. No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Indiana shoreline this cycle, and we don't have a dedicated charter, shop, or state report from the Indiana side this week, so treat conditions as typical for mid-July: warm surface layers pushing salmon and trout down to cooler water, while smallmouth and perch hold tighter to structure in the shallows. Great Lakes Now's coverage of mussel-driven forage decline for whitefish is a longer-arc concern, not a this-week bite factor.
Striped bass warm up Cape Cod Bay as canal bite battles wind
Cape Cod Bay is heating up for striped bass, with Charley Soares reporting via The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands that the bay was warming from Barnstable to Billingsgate and into Provincetown Harbor, even as wind scrubbed a few Cape Cod Canal club contests this week. Anglers who stuck it out took canal stripers on jigs in the west and east ends, with a hot mid-afternoon topwater bite on white and bone-colored plugs. To the north, per The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME, Beauport Fishing Adventures is seeing solid stripers both inshore and offshore with some pushing into the mid-40-inch class, alongside reliable flounder around Gloucester and Rockport and mackerel schooling thick on most trips. Offshore haddock near Tilly's Basin has been on-again, off-again as fish wind down their spawning period. Bonito are also reported racing around Cape Cod per The Fisherman (Northeast)'s regional forecast, giving bay anglers another target to watch.
Big Striper Push Rolls Into the Gulf of Maine
Maine striper guys reported a strong push of larger fish this week, per Dave Anderson's regional roundup for The Fisherman — South Shore MA to ME — the clearest signal yet that Gulf of Maine bass are settling into their summer pattern. Just south of the state line, Beauport Fishing Adventures out of Gloucester has stripers running inshore and offshore with a few pushing into the mid-40-inch class, alongside reliable flounder action around Gloucester and Rockport and an on-again, off-again haddock bite offshore near Tilly's Basin as those fish wind down their spawning period. Mackerel remain thick throughout the region, which is helping hold bass close to structure. Surfland Bait and Tackle notes the Merrimack River run has mostly played out, with Joppa Flats now the more consistent producer for tube-and-worm trollers. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through this cycle, so treat water temps as seasonal-typical until the next update.
Key West Snapper Bite Stays Red Hot Into July
Yellowtail and mutton snapper are practically jumping in the boat this summer, according to ALL IN Key West, which describes the May-June bite as some of the best it has seen in 16 years running trips out of Key West. Mutton snapper chewed hard around the May full-moon spawn, and the crew has kept finding grouper, cobia, barracuda, and kingfish on Gulf-side trips, with live bait pulling in king mackerel, tuna, and sailfish as well. There's no fresh buoy or gauge reading in this cycle, so treat water temp as typical for a Keys July — warm and stable. The waning crescent moon means tides are building toward the next new-moon push, which has historically sharpened the reef-edge bite. Separately, CCA Florida is tracking a court injunction complicating this year's South Atlantic red snapper pilot season, so check current state regs before targeting that species specifically.
Over-slot stripers headline a strong Buzzards Bay week
Westport River Outfitters is finding slot and over-slot striped bass on almost every trip this week, per The Fisherman — Cape Cod & Islands, with black sea bass filling out productive days on jigs and tubes, plus a tautog taken on a live eel. Little Sister Charters out of Westport reports breaking stripers mixed with occasional bluefish and bonito, alongside solid legal sea bass action. At the Cape Cod Canal, Red Top Sporting Goods says the bite has slowed some, though stripers to the high 30-inch class are still coming on white pencils and canal jigs, with a few bluefish showing off Wareham and along the West Falmouth shoreline. Charley Soares notes wind knocked down club-contest effort this week, while Cape Cod Bay was heating up from Barnstable to Billingsgate. Stripers remain the region's headline fish heading into mid-July.
Fluke bite builds as bluefin push into Jersey Shore reefs
Fluke are turning on across the Jersey Shore heading into the second week of July. Per OTW Northern New Jersey's July 9 report, fluking is on the upswing from the surf to the reefs, bluefin are still working the midshore grounds, and small bluefish and stripers are mixing it up on the beaches. In Central Jersey, The Fisherman — Central NJ notes an 8.5-pound keeper striper taken on live spot while drifting for fluke, plus bluefish and striped bass doubling up in Barnegat Inlet, while the fluke bite is improving as jigged Gulp outfishes bait. Farther south, The Fisherman — Southern NJ describes a hot back-bay and reef flounder bite, with fish up to 8 pounds showing at Ocean City. Offshore, The Fisherman — NJ/DE Offshore reports bluefin to 40-60 pounds and a building yellowfin push at the canyons. Black sea bass has been inconsistent this season, per The Fisherman — Northern NJ, with several captains pivoting to fluke and blues.
High water tests Pearl River anglers as summer bass hold pattern
USGS gauge 07289000 is reading an extraordinarily high flow around 799,000 cfs, well above typical summer levels for the Pearl River system, with no water temperature reported at this reading. That kind of surge points to significant high water and likely stained, current-heavy conditions rather than the low, clear summer flows Mississippi anglers usually see in July. None of our tracked sources filed MS-specific "what's biting" intel this cycle, so we're leaning on general seasonal knowledge for freshwater catfish, largemouth bass, crappie, and bream. High, moving water typically pushes catfish onto current breaks and shallow structure, a pattern consistent with the kind of near-shore, deep-hole tactics highlighted in this week's catfish coverage from Wired 2 Fish. Bass anglers should expect tighter, cover-oriented fish; Tactical Bassin's recent shallow-water power-fishing and jig breakdowns are good general references for working through elevated, off-color water this week.
Channel cats muscle up as Missouri River walleyes settle into summer mode
Missouri River water temps are pushing 83°F this week, a clear sign the system has settled into peak summer patterns across North Dakota's Red and Missouri River fisheries. That heat has channel catfish fired up: Wired 2 Fish detailed an angler who boated 178 pounds of catfish in a single evening drop on the Missouri River, including a two-fish haul that shows how aggressive the summer bite has turned. AnglingBuzz's fresh Red River coverage backs that up, running through big channel cat bait and rig secrets for the river system this week. Walleye anglers have options too. Jason Mitchell Outdoors is working spinner presentations for Lake Sakakawea walleyes as a dedicated summer pattern, and dialing in weed pockets where fish are holding tight to cover. Flow is holding steady near 1,040 cfs, keeping structure and clarity predictable for both techniques. Warm-water species are leading the way right now, with walleye still very catchable on the right presentation.
Warm-water bass and deep walleye bite settles in on Erie/Niagara
Flow off the Niagara-area USGS gauge (site 04231600) held near 885 cfs with water sitting at 77°F as of late Friday night, a clear signal that Western NY's Lake Erie and Niagara waters have settled into full summer mode. At that temperature, expect the typical July shift: smallmouth and largemouth bass pushing shallow cover and weed edges at first light before sliding deeper as the sun climbs, while walleye and yellow perch drop onto structure and thermoclines through the heat of the day. Fishing the Midwest's Bob Jensen notes this pattern broadly across the Great Lakes basin right now, urging anglers to work weedlines rather than open water for consistent bites. Tactical Bassin's summer playbook (jig fishing, neko rigs, shallow power-fishing in low light) applies well to Erie's rocky points and harbor structure this week. We didn't see Western NY-specific catch reports in this cycle's feeds, so treat species calls below as seasonal defaults until local intel firms up.
Low water tests Pine Barrens anglers as smallmouth bite holds strong
New Jersey's freshwater scene is running lean this week, with JB Kasper (The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater) reporting a drought-driven dip going into July: below-normal water temps, low flows, and a wobbly June finally giving way to the steadier "Dog Days" pattern anglers expect this time of year. At Old School Outdoors in Ewing, John Bullock says smallmouth fishing is good and should sharpen further this month, with catfishing also producing well in the river even as crappie action has slowed. Dow's Boat Rentals reports largemouth settling into classic early-morning, late-afternoon feeding windows around the vegetation that's survived recent cutting and spraying, while walleye and hybrid stripers are working drop-offs and points after dark. Fairfield Fishing Tackle notes low flow on the Passaic is pushing pike and smallmouth into deeper holes, eddies, and bridge pilings, and anglers willing to dig them out are still connecting. Tackle World adds that northern trout streams remain well stocked and should keep producing with any rain.
Falling Savannah flows push GA anglers toward deeper summer patterns
The Savannah River near Clyo continues to recede, with USGS gauge 02197000 reading roughly 3,870 cfs on the latest check — a drop echoed by Joshua Barber's Southern Waters Fishing Report (GA Sportsman/Georgia Outdoor News, July 11), which logged the Clyo gauge on the Savannah at 3.1 feet and falling. Falling summer flows on Georgia's Piedmont and coastal-plain rivers typically push bass, bream, and catfish tight to current breaks, laydowns, and deeper holes as afternoon heat builds and current slackens. No source in this cycle reported specific bites on the Chattahoochee or Savannah systems directly, so treat the species outlook below as seasonal expectation rather than confirmed catches. On the logistics side, the Georgia Wildlife Blog's July 10 fishing update is camping-focused this week, flagging renovated campgrounds at Rocky Mountain, Evans, and McDuffie Public Fishing Areas for anglers looking to combine a camp-and-fish trip. Water temperature wasn't reported at the gauge this cycle.
Savannah chain settles into a deep, ledge-and-brushpile summer bite
The only hard reading on the board is USGS gauge 02192000, posting 332 cfs as of just after midnight July 12, with no water-temp data reported for the Hartwell/Russell system this cycle. In the absence of lake-specific intel, the pattern lines up with what B.A.S.S. News is describing on comparable Southeastern reservoirs right now: as summer current drops off, striper and bass schools push out to points, ledges, and brushpiles rather than staying shallow. Tactical Bassin's recent summer coverage backs up the tactical shift too, favoring jigs and finesse rigs worked slow around deep cover once the surface heats up. The Georgia Wildlife Blog's latest fishing update stayed general (PFA camping access, angler resources) with nothing lake-specific for Hartwell or Russell this week. Bream and crappie typically slide into a slower, deeper pattern through mid-summer heat. Treat species notes below as seasonal expectation until a Hartwell-specific report lands.
Connecticut River Settles Into Summer Patterns As Shad Run Wraps
Fishin' Factory 3 in Middletown reports the Connecticut River's shad run has wrapped for the season, with rivermen now turning up channel catfish and bowfins in its place, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. That's the clearest signal into the VT stretch of the river this cycle: our reading at USGS gauge 01135300 has flow sitting near 22.9 cfs, a quiet, stable summer stage with no water-temp reading logged. Regionally, bass fishing in ponds and lakes has settled into classic warm-weather mode, with fake frogs, Whopper Ploppers, and Senkos working early and late, again per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater. Trout action has gone quiet at popular venues per the same report, typical as water warms into July. We don't have direct intel on Lake Champlain this cycle, so treat the smallmouth/walleye outlook there as seasonal expectation rather than a confirmed bite.
Winnipesaukee bass settle into steady summer patterns
Watershed flow near Lake Winnipesaukee is running near 836 cfs at USGS gauge 01081000 this week, a steady read with no dramatic swings. Direct water-temperature data wasn't available at reading time, but with July sun the lake has almost certainly settled into typical warm-season stratification. Regional New England freshwater reports (per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater) describe ponds and lakes across the region firmly in "summertime mode" — trout bites going quiet while bass fishing locks into classic warm-water patterns, with fake frogs, Whopper Ploppers, Senkos, and shiners producing best early and late in the day. Expect a similar script on Winnipesaukee: smallmouth and largemouth working structure and weed edges at dawn and dusk, lake trout and landlocked salmon sliding deeper to find cooler water, and perch holding steady in modest numbers. The waning crescent moon this week favors low-light bites more than usual.
Summer bass and bream settle into typical St. Johns, Okeechobee rhythm
The USGS gauge near DeLand on the St. Johns River logged a flow of 155 cfs just after midnight, a steady, unremarkable reading for mid-July. Water temperature wasn't reported at this gauge, but by early July both the St. Johns and Lake Okeechobee are typically deep into summer heat, which usually pushes largemouth bass and bream into narrow dawn-and-dusk windows and sends black crappie deep to escape the warmth. No Florida-specific shop, charter, or state-agency report came through in this cycle's intel feed, so this update leans on seasonal norms rather than a fresh bite report. General summer bass advice still applies broadly to Okeechobee and St. Johns largemouth this week: Fishing the Midwest's reminder to work developing weedlines, and Tactical Bassin's caution against fishing memories instead of current conditions, meaning keep baits moving through cover rather than repeating spots that produced last month. Catfish remain the most dependable overnight bite as surface temps climb. Check state regs before harvesting anything you plan to keep.