Fishing reports
15021 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Fall brown trout push builds on South Platte tailwaters
Colorado's tailwaters remain the reliable play as the state works through what Pat Dorsey Fly Fishing describes as one of the worst droughts on record, with reservoir-fed stretches like the South Platte continuing to fish well while freestone water struggles under low, warm flows. Colorado Trout Hunters reports the Dream Stream reach of the South Platte is entering its classic fall window, when migratory brown trout push up out of Eleven Mile and Spinney reservoirs to spawn.
Early fall transition settles over DE's Christina and Nanticoke
Early October marks the turn into fall on the Christina and Nanticoke, as cooling water starts pushing fish out of their summer haunts and into transitional holding areas along current breaks and deeper bends. Low, clear flow is typical of both systems this time of year, favoring quieter approaches and more subtle presentations over the noise and speed that worked through the warmer months. Anglers working either river should expect fish to be more structure-oriented and less willing to chase than they were even a few weeks ago.
Snake River steelhead run hits record low as fall push continues
The Snake River's steelhead run is shaping up to be the smallest ever recorded, according to Hatch Magazine. Fisheries managers have tallied just over 52,000 fish past Bonneville Dam since counts began July 1, putting 2026 well behind any prior year on record. For anglers planning fall steelhead trips on the Snake, that means fewer fish moving through and tighter windows to connect. Elsewhere in the state, Field & Stream reported a Montana angler landing a potential world-record-class smallmouth bass in an Idaho lake on a homemade glide bait, worked through deep structure off a point that drops from shallow water to over 100 feet, a reminder that smallmouth are keying on structure transitions this time of year.
Fall Transition Sets Up Bass Fishing at Eufaula and the Red River
Oklahoma's fall transition is underway as of October 1, with cooling water pushing baitfish schools shallower and sparking more aggressive feeding windows for bass across reservoir and river systems. Nationally, Tactical Bassin is flagging the same shift this week, noting that bass are keying hard on baitfish as surface temperatures slide, with crankbaits, topwater, and chatterbaits all producing as fish chase schools through low-light periods. That mechanism typically plays out the same way on Lake Eufaula and the Red River, where largemouth populations respond to the same seasonal cue.
Delta Largemouth Shift Into Fall Feeding Mode as Baitfish Bunch Up
October marks the start of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's fall bass pattern, when largemouth push off summer weed edges to chase schooling baitfish in open water. Tactical Bassin's October roundup frames this stretch as a 'power fisherman's dream,' with bass feeding aggressively and willing to run down moving baits as the water cools — a pattern that tidal, grass-lined fisheries like the Delta typically follow closely. Wired 2 Fish's look at the current run on urchin-style soft plastics, including Berkley's new PowerBait MaxScent Moeba, tracks the same shift: bass committing hard to bulky, erratic profiles right now rather than finesse presentations. The waning gibbous moon keeps dawn and dusk the sharper windows to fish this week.
SoCal Bight offshore bite surges as warm water lingers into fall
Water temperatures are holding warm across the Southern California Bight, with NOAA CO-OPS station 9410170 reading 76.5°F and station 9410230 at 72.7°F overnight, numbers more typical of August than the first days of October. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater reports the pelagic bite is running some of the best it's been in years throughout the Bight, with activity pushing north into waters around the Northern Channel Islands after a Santa Barbara Harbor-based commercial boat spotted repeated sightings just off its bow. Farther south out of Point Loma, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater also logged a trophy-class catch pushing nearly 450 pounds landed on kite gear, a sign the offshore grade of fish moving through Southern California waters right now is substantial.
Chincoteague waits on the fall run as water begins to cool
Water on Virginia's Eastern Shore is still running warm for early October, with NOAA's Wachapreague station reading 72.5°F and the Kiptopeke gauge close behind at 69.8°F. That keeps us a step behind the cooldown already stirring the fall migration farther north. Saltwater Edge in Rhode Island reports the tautog bite picking up and the striped bass finally waking up as nights turn chilly, while Anglers Journal describes the fall striper blitz as the heartbeat of the Northeast fishery this time of year. Chincoteague anglers are watching the same shift arrive on a short lag.
Redfish hold steady as Outer Banks waters stay warm into October
Water off the Outer Banks held at 78.6°F Wednesday evening at NOAA CO-OPS station 8658163, still firmly in summer range as September closes out. Redfish are still producing: Coastal Angler Magazine reports a charter win on redfish this week, and that lingering warmth is likely why the bite hasn't slowed. On the beachfront, Hatteras Jack's Eric (Fisherman's Post NC) reports anglers working the Rodanthe-area surf finding steady bottom-fishing action, with scattered windows to sight-cast the skinny water as the tide swings.
Fall tide swings keep Oregon Coast anglers at the river mouths
Oregon Coast water temperatures are split by location today: 56.8°F at the central-coast station near Garibaldi (NOAA CO-OPS 9435380) versus 61.7°F off Astoria (NOAA CO-OPS 9439040), reflecting the Columbia River's warmer outflow mixing with cooler open-coast water. Anglers remain active at the classic fall spots. IFish.net Fishing Reports threads this week log gear lost or found at Buoy 10 near the Columbia's mouth, the Nehalem jetty, Garibaldi's public cleaning docks, and the mouth of the Lewis River, all signs of steady boat traffic working river-mouth structure as the season turns.
Snook heat up Sarasota Bay as fall pattern kicks in
Water temps are running warm at 84.6°F and 82.8°F across our two local NOAA CO-OPS stations, still holding onto late-summer heat as September closes out in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota region. Conditions remain solidly within the warm-season range for game-fish activity. Capt. Kelly Kurtz of CB's Saltwater Outfitters reports an active inshore bite in Sarasota Bay right now, with anglers connecting on snook and redfish alongside a mix of other inshore species this week. Capt. Brandon Naeve, also out of CB's, says the fall snook run is in full swing along the stretch down toward Fort Myers, calling it some of the best snook water anywhere this time of year.
Redfish keep biting as Gulf Coast waters hold steady
Water temperatures are holding at 83.5°F across both NOAA CO-OPS stations covering this stretch of the Gulf Coast, keeping the water squarely in late-summer range as September closes out. Redfish are the story worth telling: Coastal Angler Magazine's latest dispatches out of the Charlotte Harbor area show Fish Face Charters putting clients on reds between passing showers and lingering heat, while young angler Harvey Henke boated a solid red in the same stretch of water. With a Waning Gibbous moon overhead, reds are staying active on the shallow flats typical for this point in the season.
Redfish keep biting as Gulf Coast holds late-summer warmth
Water temperatures at NOAA's Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay CO-OPS stations both read 84.7°F today, still solidly in late-summer range for the northern Gulf coast. Redfish are providing the bright spot this week: Coastal Angler Magazine reports the Fish Face Charters crew landed a solid redfish "between the showers and heat," and young angler Harvey Henke boated a nice red as well, evidence the species is staying active as the calendar turns into fall.
Charleston Harbor stays summer-warm as fall transition builds
Charleston Harbor's NOAA CO-OPS gauges are still running summer numbers this week: 79°F at station 8665530 and 78.8°F at station 8661070, both recorded late Wednesday. That kind of warmth on September 30 keeps the harbor in a late-summer holding pattern rather than the sharper cool-down anglers start watching for as October opens, under this week's waning gibbous moon.
North Shore fall turnover sets up lake trout, steelhead runs
Minnesota's Lake Superior North Shore is settling into its fall pattern this week: cooling surface water starts pushing lake trout out of deep basins toward nearshore structure, and the first steelhead begin staging at river mouths ahead of the tributary runs that define the shoulder season here. The lake trout story making headlines right now is on the management side. Per WI DNR Lake Superior Fishing, the department will hold a public meeting Oct. 15 in Ashland to review the recommended lake trout quota for management zone WI-2, a call that shapes harvest limits across the shared Lake Superior basin population that North Shore anglers also target. The waning gibbous moon this week favors low-light bites at dawn and dusk for anglers working the shoreline.
Fall transition arrives for UP trout streams and Lake Superior
The Wisconsin DNR has scheduled an Oct. 15 public meeting in Ashland to discuss the Lake Superior lake trout quota for the WI-2 management zone, per WI DNR Lake Superior Fishing, a sign that trout management for the western basin is actively in motion as the region settles into its fall fishing stretch. Across the Upper Peninsula, that same fall transition is underway: cooling water typically pulls stream trout into steadier feeding windows and starts nudging lake trout toward shallower structure ahead of the late-fall spawn.
Wisconsin walleye dial in as fall weed die-off begins
Fishing the Midwest's fall dispatches point to two specific plays working right now on Wisconsin's inland walleye water. Guide Mike Frisch describes a bottom-bouncer plain rig, a simple snell-and-crawler setup, holding up through the cooling water of fall after producing all summer on typical Midwest walleye structure. He also flags the bladed swim jig as a dependable multi-species option worked over weed edges, drawing walleye along with other predators as flats hold fish before vegetation fully dies back. The mechanism behind both plays, per the same source's fall-pattern note: as weeds die off with cooling water, oxygen drops in those beds, baitfish push toward the remaining healthy green weeds, and predators follow. On Lake Superior, the WI DNR's Lake Superior Fishing program is focused on management rather than day-to-day reports this week: a public meeting is set for Oct. 15 in Ashland to discuss the recommended lake trout quota for the WI-2 zone. The walleye pattern above is the clearest read on where fish are relocating on Wisconsin water right now.
Fall transition takes hold on North Texas lakes as bass turn on
Texas lake anglers are hitting the seasonal sweet spot. Per Tactical Bassin (blog), the early-fall transition has largemouth bass keying hard on baitfish, with the topwater bite improving and anglers working chatterbaits, swimbaits and crankbaits to cover water fast and locate schools before committing to a slower presentation. The blog notes subtle differences in size, cadence and retrieve style are making an outsized difference on topwater right now, which is typical once fish start feeding aggressively but selectively. On Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth, North Texas Catfish Guide reports the tail end of the summer grind giving way to the first real signs of fall, with cooling water and fading weekend boat traffic starting to spread fish out and firm up feeding windows across the lake. Read the bite itself this week: aggressive reaction strikes are the clearest tell that the transition has arrived.
Kennebec and Penobscot ease into the fall turnover
Late September marks the seasonal turn for Kennebec and Penobscot anglers, with Maine's inland rivers moving into the early fall transition. Cooling water typically pushes brown trout and smallmouth bass into more consistent feeding windows as summer's slower, shade-seeking pattern gives way to a more active pre-winter bite.
Fall Turnover Sets Up Multi-Species Bite on PA Rivers
Pennsylvania's Susquehanna and Allegheny systems are entering the fall transition that typically resets river fishing for the year, as cooling water pushes baitfish and gamefish out of summer haunts and onto staging structure. Fishing the Midwest's latest fall reports single out dying weed edges as the key trigger this time of year: as healthy green growth thins, oxygen drops in the thickest cover and baitfish shift to what remains, pulling walleye and other predators with them. That shallow-to-structure movement is the seasonal signal worth watching on Pennsylvania's freshwater systems right now.
North Coast bite heats up as Bay Area waters ease into fall
NOAA's CO-OPS station 9416841 clocked the Bay Area's saltwater at 54.9°F as of this morning, a cooling read that lines up with the calendar's turn into fall. Western Outdoor News — Saltwater's weekly coastal roundup described some of the strongest offshore action of the season farther up the North Coast this week, with boats logging steady counts, and also noted solid inshore numbers out of Monterey Bay. Neither report sits squarely inside the SF Bay/Bodega corridor, but both point to a coastwide push of activity as water temperatures settle into their autumn range.
Tautog bite holds up as Delaware Bay eyes post-storm push
Delaware Bay's NJ side is holding at 67.3°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8537121, still warm enough to keep the tautog bite rolling before the fall shift takes full hold. The Fisherman's Southern New Jersey report has Big Dave's Tackle describing a good tautog bite around the back-bay bridges and lighthouse structure on sandfleas and green crabs, with baitfish pushing up the bay and into the inlets all week. In the same report, Hands Too Bait and Tackle says the wrecks and reefs off Cape May have black sea bass stacked up, with anglers anticipating quick limits once this week's wind dies down, and the striped bass bite along the sod banks has been holding, with fish to 30 inches landed before the blow. The Fisherman's NJ/DE Surf report, also from Hands Too, had tautog, weakfish, striped bass and bluefish all keeping anglers busy on most tides right up until the storm chopped up the beaches and bayside flats. Next low tide at this station lands around 7:58 p.m. local.
Sea bass bite carries Sandy Hook as NJ fluke season winds down
Water off Sandy Hook is holding at 67 degrees this morning, per NOAA CO-OPS station 8531680, still mild for the turn into October. Black sea bass are the story right now. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands worked a 55-foot drop this week and found a strong keeper-and-short bite that ran steady until the tide change, and Blue Chip Sportfishing says sea bass charters are "doing very good," with most trips putting enough fish in the cooler for everyone aboard. Fluke added to the bay mix too. Capt Ron's called one recent outing close to a season finale, with shorts, keepers, and quality sea bass biting all day on a deeper drift, but New Jersey's summer flounder season is closing out, so check the exact date before keeping any. Grumpys Tackle reports blues in and has a bucktail sale timed to the fall run, a sign shop owners expect striped bass activity to build as the water keeps cooling.
Fall mullet run keeps snook and tarpon feeding on FL's Atlantic coast
Water temperatures are running warm across Florida's Atlantic coast, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 84.7°F and 82.2°F this week, right in line with the tail end of the fall mullet run. Snook Nook in Stuart reports snook, tarpon, jacks and sharks still feeding hard on schools of mullet moving down the beaches, with the better action coming early morning and evening as the full moon and higher king tides made midday timing tougher. Coastal Angler Magazine noted a redfish win for Fish Face Charters this week, worked in between afternoon showers.
Warm Gulf Water Persists as Statewide Redfish Bite Builds
Water temperature at NOAA CO-OPS station 8729840 read 84.4°F this morning, with station 8729108 at 84.7°F and station 8728690 at 84.9°F, all still full summer warmth as September closes out. Coastal Angler Magazine reports redfish action this week for Florida anglers, an early marker of the fall shift building along the Gulf coast, though that report is out of other Florida waters rather than the immediate Destin-Pensacola stretch. Closer to home, anglers on the Pensacola Fishing Forum describe an active bait-gathering trip near Ft. Morgan, working diving birds and structure between rain squalls, a sign baitfish are stacking up as the season turns.