Fishing reports
15423 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Oregon Coast water temps split as fall tide pattern sets in
Water conditions are splitting along the Oregon Coast this week. NOAA CO-OPS station 9439040 near the mouth of the Columbia logged 64.6°F overnight, while station 9435380 to the south read a noticeably cooler 58.5°F, a six-degree spread that reflects how fall's cool-down is settling in unevenly along this stretch of coastline. Both stations are tracking a similar tide cycle, an early-morning high building overnight and dropping toward a mid-morning low, the kind of push-pull that stacks bait against structure right as the sky lightens. With the moon in a waning gibbous phase, tidal swings are still running on the stronger side of the cycle.
Morning outgoing tide sets the pace across SF Bay and Bodega
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 9416841 read 53.4°F overnight, in line with the seasonal cool-down along the Bodega and greater Bay Area coastline. Both regional tide stations point to the same rhythm today: a pre-dawn high near 2:30-3 a.m. PDT rolling into a strong outgoing push through the morning, bottoming out between roughly 7 and 8 a.m. Offshore, Western Outdoor News reports a productive week along the Santa Cruz-Monterey stretch, with correspondent Allen Bushnell calling nearshore action very good and flagging a real shot at bigger open-water fish if the wind lays down. Further north, correspondent Kenny Priest reports a small Eureka fleet running 30 to 35 miles out into a spread-out push of larger-than-average fish along a hard temperature break near the 125-line.
Redfish stir along the Louisiana Gulf as delta waters stay summer-warm
Water temperatures at the Grand Isle and lower Mississippi River pass tide stations are still running full summer-warm, 85.8°F and 86.2°F this morning, even with fall underway on the calendar. Coastal Angler Magazine's latest reader catch reports include a solid Redfish, a 22-inch red drum boated in nearby Gulf waters, a sign the species is active and catchable heading into October. Southwest Louisiana's Calcasieu Estuary remains one of the region's marquee inshore fisheries year-round, per Sport Fishing Mag.
Outer Banks anglers dial in early fall tide swings
NOAA CO-OPS readings put water temperatures at 77.4°F off the southern gauge and 76.5°F further up the coast this morning, still firmly in a late-summer range for the last day of September. Tides are swinging from a predawn low near 4 a.m. to a late-morning high around 10:30-11 a.m., a window that's lining up with the sight-casting opportunities Fisherman's Post is flagging out of Hatteras and Ocracoke this week, where surf and bottom anglers working the Rodanthe-area beaches are staying busy as the pattern shifts toward fall.
Tautog and stripers hold as Delaware Bay settles post-storm
Delaware Bay's water temperature reads 66.9°F this morning per the NOAA tide station at the mouth of the bay, still mild enough to keep several species working as the fall transition gets underway. Per The Fisherman's Southern New Jersey report, Big Dave's Tackle says the bay and back bays have produced the week's best action, with a good tautog bite at the bridges and bay lighthouses on sandfleas and green crabs, and plenty of baitfish pushing up into the inlets. Hands Too Bait and Tackle, also filing for Southern New Jersey, reports striped bass to 30 inches holding along the sod banks and reef-site black sea bass stacked up on the local wrecks. Along the Delaware Bay surf, Hands Too Bait and Tackle's report for that stretch lists blackfish, weakfish, stripers, bluefish, croakers and kingfish all in the mix heading into this week's blow, and Old Inlet Bait and Tackle logged bluefish on metal lures during the incoming tide on the Delaware side. Fluke season has closed for the year, per Waterfront Marine's note on keeper flounder caught before the closure.
Striper push builds in Raritan Bay as fluke season winds down
Sandy Hook's NOAA tide station read 64.2°F this morning, and the fall transition anglers have been waiting for is arriving across Raritan Bay and the surrounding beaches. OTW Northern New Jersey's report, published Sept. 24, notes the recent nor'easter slowed early fall action but points to improving fall-run striped bass fishing alongside lingering bluefish and false albacore as conditions settle. Fishermans HQ LBI has been working false albacore on live peanut bunker, the same bait pushing out of the back bays and drawing fish to the surf. Fluke is closing out, though: OTW Northern New Jersey's Sept. 17 report flagged only a week left in the season, and Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ has been chasing the last of it on short rides to deeper water, with black sea bass rounding out the box as fluke slows. Blue Chip Sportfishing NJ reports sea bass charters getting enough for everyone on board this week.
Snook season fires up in Sarasota as tarpon push inside
Water temps sit near 83°F in Tampa Bay and Sarasota this week, per NOAA CO-OPS stations 8726520 and 8726724, right in line with the seasonal shift into fall snook season. Capt. Brandon Naeve of CB's Saltwater Outfitters says the Gulf Coast's fall snook season, which opened September 1, has fish at their most active in the warm water. Capt. Rick Grassett's September forecast from the same shop has snook holding strong in the surf and around ICW docks and bridges near passes, with live shrimp and pilchards producing bites. In Sarasota Bay, Capt. Kelly Kurtz reports an active inshore bite that includes snook and redfish, landing a redfish for a client this past week. Tarpon are shifting too: Grassett notes adult migratory tarpon are thinning out in the coastal Gulf as they move into inside waters around bridges and deep grass flats ahead of their fall migration.
Gulf of Alaska tides swing wide as fall chill sets in
Water in the Gulf of Alaska continues its seasonal slide toward fall: the NOAA CO-OPS gauge at Seldovia (station 9455500) reads 48.9°F this morning, while the Juneau station (9452210) runs cooler at 46.6°F. Both stations are showing sharp overnight-to-morning tidal swings. Seldovia drops to a low near 11:05 p.m. tonight before building to a 5:27 a.m. high, and Juneau bottoms out around 9:43 p.m. ahead of a 4:00 a.m. high. That kind of swing, still amplified by the waning gibbous moon just past full, means current will be moving hard through the pre-dawn hours.
Tautog Bite Builds in Narragansett Bay as Fall Shift Continues
Water temperatures in Narragansett Bay are holding in the mid-60s, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8452660 reading 64.4°F and station 8452944 at 63.9°F early this morning. Saltwater Edge reports the tautog bite is picking up as the fall run gets underway, while striped bass action has stayed lackluster for most anglers through September. The shop expects stripers to improve once chilly nights and northerly winds move in this week, and notes the annual striper "bass rafts" are beginning to form along the coast.
Warm Island Water Sets Up a Predawn Bite Window
Water stayed warm across the islands this week, with NOAA CO-OPS station 1612340 off Honolulu reading 83.5°F and station 1615680 to the east at 80.2°F — a real spread for water separated by one island chain, and a sign trade-wind mixing has eased going into early autumn. The tide cycle is running low overnight into a predawn high at both gages, the kind of turn that typically stacks bait against nearshore structure right as light breaks. Hawaii Fishing News keeps the islands' tide and moon calendar current, and this stretch sits under a waning gibbous moon, trimming down toward the new moon over the coming week.
Fall Mullet Run Turns On Snook and Tarpon Along Florida's Atlantic Coast
Snook Nook in Stuart reports Snook, Tarpon, Jacks and sharks working bait schools as this fall's mullet run pushes through, per the shop's early-October report, though the full moon and higher king tides made late September tougher fishing. Water stayed summer-warm overnight, reading 85.6°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8722670 and 81.1°F at station 8720218, both consistent with the tail end of Florida's warm season on the Atlantic side.
Chicago's Lake Michigan turns toward the fall salmon push
Late September is the hinge point on Chicago's stretch of Lake Michigan, when summer's offshore patterns give way to the nearshore and harbor-mouth staging that defines the fall run. The Wisconsin DNR's Lake Michigan Fishing Report frames a lake coming off a strong recent cycle: 2024 anglers logged more than 210,000 coho salmon, a record, and over 160,000 Chinook salmon, the best Chinook year since 2012, with an improved alewife forage base credited for stronger survival of stocked fish lakewide.
Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline enters the fall staging window
Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline is sliding into its early fall transition this week, the stretch when cooling surface water starts pushing baitfish tight to breakwalls, piers, and river mouths and pulls staging fish within casting range of shore anglers. The Waning Gibbous moon favors the low-light dawn and dusk windows along those same structure lines.
Redfish stir in Panhandle backwaters as Gulf holds near 85°F
NOAA CO-OPS stations at Pensacola, Panama City and Apalachicola all read between 84°F and 85°F early this morning, holding the Panhandle in full late-summer warmth heading into October. Coastal Angler Magazine's latest reader roundup carried an early seasonal signal: an 8-year-old angler landed a 22-inch red drum near Coden, just across the Alabama line from Pensacola's Panhandle waters, her first redfish. It's the only redfish report on the board this week, but it lines up with the window that typically opens as inshore water starts its slow fall cool-down.
Redfish stay active as Gulf Coast eases toward fall
Gulf water held in the low-to-mid 80s this morning, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8725520 reading 83.1°F and station 8727520 reading 82.6°F, still solidly summer-like as September closes out. Florida Sea Grant flagged a bloom worth watching for anglers working Charlotte Harbor: researchers recently detected the alga Margalefidinium polykrikoides there, a species that causes rust tide and is rarely seen in Southwest Florida. It's a different organism than the more familiar red tide, but any bloom is worth checking against local advisories before fishing that stretch. On the redfish side, Coastal Angler Magazine's reader photos this week included a solid catch off the Alabama Gulf coast, a sign that redfish continue moving through inshore Gulf waters as the season turns. Tide swings stayed typical for a waning gibbous moon, with highs before 6 AM and lows spread from late morning into early afternoon at both stations today.
Key West captains welcome first signs of fall relief
Water temperatures across the Florida Keys are holding in the mid-80s, 85.5°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8724580 and 84.4°F at station 8723970, still squarely in late-summer range even as the calendar turns. Charter reports out of Key West back that up: ALL IN Key West notes the heat of summer is finally letting up a little after taking September off for boat upgrades, and trips are ramping back up heading into fall and winter.
Fall Transition Takes Hold on Okeechobee and the St. Johns
Late September marks the seasonal turn for Lake Okeechobee and the St. Johns River, as shortening days and easing heat begin the slow slide from summer's patterns toward a cooler, more active fall setup. On Florida's big natural lakes, this stretch typically finds fish starting to relate tighter to structure edges and current breaks as baitfish shift position with the changing light and temperature cues.
Coden angler's redfish catch signals Mobile Bay's fall shift
Water temperatures are holding in the mid-80s across Mobile Bay, with both NOAA CO-OPS stations in the bay reading right around 85°F this morning. Closer to shore, per Coastal Angler Magazine, an 8-year-old angler landed a 22-inch red drum in Coden this week, a good sign that redfish are working the shallow bay water as the calendar turns toward fall.
Fall run building on Chincoteague waters as stripers stir
Water temperatures on Virginia's Eastern Shore held at 68°F off Wachapreague (NOAA CO-OPS station 8631044) and 67.1°F off Kiptopeke (station 8632200) as of this evening, comfortably in early-fall range but easing toward the threshold that typically kicks off the Mid-Atlantic striper run. To the north, Saltwater Edge's Rhode Island shop report this week called the tautog bite picking up, while striped bass have been pretty lackluster, expected to improve with the season's first cold nights and northerly winds. That's the leading edge of the same migratory push that eventually works down the coast toward Chincoteague.
Nearshore bite holds strong as Cape Lookout eases into fall transition
NOAA CO-OPS readings show water at 72.9°F off Oregon Inlet (station 8652587) and 75.4°F near Hatteras (station 8654467) this morning, holding in a range that keeps nearshore action lively through Pamlico Sound and Cape Lookout heading into early fall. Fisherman's Post reports steady trolling success along the beaches from Morehead City to Atlantic Beach per Chasin' Tails, while bottom anglers working the Rodanthe-area beaches near Hatteras are putting good numbers in the box per Hatteras Jack, who also notes sight-casting opportunities showing up as the water clears.
Oregon Coast Enters Fall Transition as Waters Split Sharply
Water temperatures along the Oregon Coast are splitting sharply this week: NOAA CO-OPS station 9435380 read 56.1°F this afternoon, while station 9439040 read 62.2°F, a spread of roughly six degrees. A gap that size is a clear marker of the fall transition taking hold along this stretch of coast, with open-water readings cooling ahead of the warmer pockets that estuaries and river-mouth areas tend to hold onto longer into the season. The moon is waning gibbous this week, running down from last week's full phase toward the last quarter.
Northern California coast eases into its fall cool-down
The Northern California coast off SF Bay and Bodega checked in at 54.5°F this morning per NOAA's CO-OPS station 9416841, holding in the range typical for the back half of September as the region eases toward its fall pattern. With the moon waning past full, tidal swings are staying moderate this week, favoring anglers who plan trips around the moving water rather than chasing a single peak.
Delaware River smallmouth, Pine Barrens crappie wake up post-storm
The nor'easter that soaked New Jersey this week is clearing out, and freshwater reports from the Delaware River corridor are turning positive. Dave's Sport Shop in Doylestown, quoted in The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, says catfish and smallmouth bass gave anglers decent fishing on the Delaware this past week, with improved water levels opening up good access for both boat fishermen and waders. The same shop logged decent bass and crappie action in nearby lakes. Down in Cape May, Hands Too Bait and Tackle reported bass and crappies on the bite in local lakes and ponds ahead of the storm, with the region's cedar-colored Pine Barrens waters already showing the first signs of a fall turnover before the blow rolled through and shut the action down for a stretch.
Stripers and sea bass fire up as Jersey Shore boats wait out nor'easter
NOAA CO-OPS readings show 64.6°F at station 8534720 and 65.5°F at station 8536110, water still holding onto late-summer warmth as the fall run gets underway. The bigger story this week is the nor'easter that pinned Jersey Shore boats to the dock: captains reporting through The Fisherman — Northern NJ and The Fisherman — Central NJ described record street flooding at Belmar and Beach Haven, with charters like the Golden Eagle and Skylarker tied up all week. Before the blow, the bite was strong. The Fisherman — Southern NJ reports very good nighttime striped bass action on the back-bay sod banks during flood tide, fish running 16 to 29 inches on bucktails and Mag Darters. Blackfish, weakfish, striped bass, bluefish, croakers and kingfish kept anglers busy on most tides per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ put anglers on all-day black sea bass action on the last clear days before the storm, and Blue Chip Sportfishing NJ calls sea bass charters very good, with full-boat limits on half- and full-day trips. False albacore and bonito are still working the beaches too, per OTW Northern New Jersey and Fishermans HQ LBI's live-bunker trip.