Fishing reports
15313 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
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.
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.