Fishing reports
15498 reports across all 50 states — current conditions and what's biting.
Mullet run keeps Stuart snook and tarpon fired up
Water off Florida's Atlantic coast is running warm, with NOAA's Lake Worth tide station reading 85.5°F this week, a clear sign the fall mullet run is in full swing. Snook Nook in Stuart reports snook, tarpon, jacks and sharks all keying on the bait schools moving through, though a full moon and higher king tides made the bite trickier late in the month per their October report. Anglers fishing early mornings and evenings have stayed the most consistent, and the shop expects things to pick back up as more mullet push through in the coming weeks.
Fall bite building on CT ponds as trout stocking nears
Cooling water is doing what it does every fall: waking up largemouth bass activity across New England ponds, per The Fisherman's New England Freshwater report, which noted better shore action on shiners as temperatures slide and slab crappies stacking up on worms around deeper structure. Yellow perch are running heavy for shore anglers working shiners close to bottom. Brown trout holdovers are showing signs of the fall spawn, with some fish thinning down as they stage near dam structure, and shops across the region are already fielding steady questions about when autumn trout stocking begins.
Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island ease into fall turnover
Smith Mountain Lake and Buggs Island Reservoir are moving through the classic fall transition this week. Shortening days and cooling surface water are pushing baitfish out of the shallows and predator fish toward main-lake points, humps, and creek-channel edges. That structural shift, more than any single day's weather, is what will decide where fish stack up through October.
Cooling Water Sets Up the Fall Bite on Potomac and Shenandoah Waters
Late September marks the start of the fall transition on Virginia's Potomac and Shenandoah systems, the stretch when cooling water pushes smallmouth bass and walleye off summer haunts and onto baitfish. Wired 2 Fish's October outlook notes bass shifting toward shad-pattern baits as water temperatures ease down, a shift that tracks with what typically plays out on these rivers this time of year. Tactical Bassin's early-fall coverage points to the same baitfish-driven aggression showing up as summer structure gives way to more mobile feeding fish.
Fall striper window opens as Chesapeake mouth cools toward peak season
Water at the Chesapeake Bay mouth is running 69.8°F to 70.7°F across the two NOAA CO-OPS stations this afternoon, comfortably inside the range that starts pulling striped bass south into Virginia water as the fall migration builds. Low tide lands in early evening, between 5:56 and 6:09 PM local, with the moon waning gibbous on its way toward next quarter.
Tautog bite builds on the Eastern Shore as striper run stages
Water temperatures along the Eastern Shore are holding at 65.8°F and 67.6°F on this morning's NOAA CO-OPS readings, comfortably in the range that keeps the fall transition moving without a hard drop yet. Saltwater Edge Blog reports the tautog bite picking up this week, a pattern that tracks with cooling shoulder-season water on this stretch of coast. Striped bass remain the tougher target for now, with the same shop calling the bass bite lackluster for most anglers, though it expects that to change once nights turn colder and northerly winds set up.
Striped bass and albies build as a nor'easter reshapes the Sound
Long Island Sound sits at 64.6-64.8°F across the New London, New Haven, and Bridgeport CO-OPS stations, holding steady heading into this weekend's nor'easter. J&B Tackle in Connecticut reports striped bass, bluefish and false albacore fishing was heating up for a strong fall run right before the storm arrived, and they're hoping the blow pushes more bait and fish into the area. AW Marina saw shore anglers land slot-sized striped bass off the beach, while Black Hawk's charter mix included keeper bluefish with a few slot stripers on Tuesday, plus black sea bass and fluke on their bottom-fishing trip. Tartan II is still grinding out a strong black sea bass bite on the bottom.
Walleye, Lake Trout Bite Holds Strong Ahead of NY's Fall Run
Walleye and lake trout are the story on New York's big water right now. Brookdog Fishing Co., fishing out of Buffalo on Lake Erie and the Lower Niagara, reports the walleye bite has stayed strong for weeks running, with the captain increasingly leaning on a jigging program that's produced some of the season's most consistent fish. Lake trout have been just as good working the deep water out of Barcelona, including several clients' first taste of deep-water jigging for lakers. Smallmouth bass action is also picking up as the water transitions toward fall, though recent reports note rough Lake Erie waves and a few weather-related disruptions, including small craft advisories, that have forced some improvising on where and when to fish. Meanwhile, the NY DEC's Fishing Line newsletter is flagging the start of the fall run: anglers heading to Lake Ontario tributaries are gearing up for the fall trout push, and DEC has posted a temporary closure on the Salmon River's Lower Fly Fishing Section worth checking before a trip that direction.
Chicago's Lake Michigan Enters Its Fall Transition
Late September marks the start of Chicago's early-fall transition on Lake Michigan. Surface waters begin cooling and baitfish push toward harbor mouths, breakwalls, and nearshore structure, pulling predator fish shoreward with them. This week's window sits under a waning gibbous moon, heading toward the last quarter, which typically firms up low-light bite windows around dawn and dusk over the days ahead.
Fall transition settles onto Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline
Indiana's Lake Michigan shoreline is sliding into its early-fall rhythm as the calendar turns toward October, with cooling surface water pushing baitfish and gamefish into tighter, structure-oriented feeding margins along the coast. Wisconsin's DNR Lake Michigan Fishing Report continues to track basin-wide fishery management this month, including a temporary closure at the Rowley's Bay boat launch up in Door County — a reminder that anglers here fish one connected system even when the week's official headlines sit hundreds of miles north. The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is already looking toward the season's close, with its 2026 State of Lake Michigan Meeting set for Michigan City this November, keeping the basin's research and management attention anchored to this exact stretch of shoreline.
Lake of the Ozarks eases into the fall creek-arm shift
Late September marks the seasonal transition on Lake of the Ozarks and the Osage River: shortening days and cooling nights are pushing shad schools out of open water and into creek arms and secondary points, the shift that sets up the fall bite across Missouri reservoirs. Regional walleye specialists are adjusting on schedule — Fishing the Midwest's Mike Frisch notes that as summer weed growth dies back, gamefish relocate to the remaining live, oxygen-rich vegetation, a pattern consistent across Midwest reservoir systems this time of year.
Walleyes shift shallow as weed die-off hits the Mississippi pools
Water is cooling across the Prescott-to-La Crosse pools as late September settles into its typical fall pattern, and that shift is starting to move fish. Live weed beds hold gamefish through summer, but as vegetation dies back with the cooldown, walleye relocate to whatever green weeds remain healthiest, the classic late-season signal per Fishing the Midwest's Mike Frisch. Anglers working weed edges and adjacent breaks this week should find concentrated fish rather than the spread-out summer pattern that's been in place for months.
Fall Transition Stirs Potomac & Patapsco Freshwater Bite
The Potomac and Patapsco freshwater stretches are moving into the early-fall transition, the stretch when Mid-Atlantic waters begin shedding summer's warmth and shifting baitfish and gamefish alike toward staging areas along channel edges and current breaks. Under this waning gibbous moon, expect the strongest windows to fall around dawn and dusk as fish key on temperature swings rather than full-sun midday warmth.
Ozark trout parks ease into their favorite fall stretch
Missouri's Ozark trout parks are moving through their classic late-September turn, with the Current and Niangua corridors settling into the cooler, calmer stretch of fall as summer heat breaks. These are spring-fed systems, so flows and temperatures stay comparatively stable against runoff-driven rivers, which keeps trout feeding steadily through the transition rather than shutting down. Early fall on Ozark spring branches typically means clearer water, lighter crowds, and fish holding in the same predictable lies they favor through the cooler months.
NH Panfish and Bass Hold Steady Ahead of Fall Trout Stocking
Freshwater fishing across New England is settling into its early fall rhythm, and while this week's reports skew toward southern New England ponds, the pattern they describe is the one moving north into New Hampshire waters like Winnipesaukee and the Merrimack. Per The Fisherman's New England Freshwater column, Red Top Sporting Goods says largemouth bass have turned on in cooling water, with Senkos producing well as fish push shallower to chase baitfish. Jerry's Bait and Tackle reports young anglers pulling big yellow perch and slab crappie from area ponds, a sign panfish are schooling up as water cools. Anglers in Methuen note holdover brown trout thinning out, a signal that fall trout stocking is close.
Lake Mead stripers transition as fall cooling takes hold
Late September marks the seasonal turn on Lake Mead and the lower Colorado River. Surface heat is easing off summer highs, and striped bass are shifting into their fall feeding pattern, moving off deep summer haunts and regrouping around main-lake points and channel edges as shad begin schooling tighter.
Eastern Sierra trout switch to small fly patterns as fall settles in
Reno Fly Shop's late-September report on the Truckee River describes the water transitioning into fall conditions, with trout keying on Blue-Winged Olives, midges, and a few remaining caddis as things cool down. The shop's suggested patterns for the stretch, including Baetis and BWO imitations, Zebra Midges, and a Griffith's Gnat, reflect how selective fish have gotten as the bigger summer bugs fade. That matches the broader pattern across Eastern Sierra tailwaters and freestones right now: the big hatches are winding down, and fish are shifting to smaller, subtler offerings.
Norfork Lake Bass Bite Peaks as White River Eyes Fall Transition
Bass fishing on the White River system is showing well this week: B.A.S.S. News reported that Kaden Buchmann of Troutman, N.C. went wire-to-wire to win the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Norfork Lake, closing out a three-day, 42-pound, 7-ounce total after setting the pace on Day 1. B.A.S.S. News also detailed competitor Colby Bryant's turnaround, who followed a sub-10-pound opening day with a 19-pound, 11-ounce comeback on a deep-diving crankbait fished around 25 feet. That kind of mid-event pattern shift is typical as White River system reservoirs head into the early-fall transition, when baitfish start pulling toward creek backs and bass follow.
Fall Chill Signals Prime Window on Smokies Tailwaters
Late September marks the seasonal pivot on Tennessee's Smokies tailwaters, where dam-regulated releases on rivers like the Hiwassee and Caney Fork begin shifting away from peak-summer generation patterns and into the steadier fall schedule tailwater anglers plan around. Cooling overnight air temperatures are starting to pull surface conditions down from summer highs, which typically reinvigorates feeding activity in these cold, spring-fed release fisheries after months of warm, high-generation flows.
Pamlico Sound eases into fall transition on a long outgoing tide
Water conditions across Pamlico Sound and Cape Lookout are holding in the low 70s, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8652587 at Oregon Inlet reading 71.6°F and station 8654467 off Hatteras at 73°F as of this morning. That's squarely fall-transition territory for this stretch of coast. Along the Rodanthe-area beaches, Eric of Hatteras Jack tells Fisherman's Post that bottom fishing has stayed steady, with a good run of sight-casting opportunity showing up in the shallows this week, a pattern typical as water cools and fish push onto skinnier water to feed.
Oregon Coast waters split as fall tide swings take hold
NOAA's South Beach gauge on the central Oregon Coast is reading 56.5°F this morning, while the Astoria station near the Columbia River mouth sits at a notably warmer 63°F. That six-and-a-half-degree spread is typical of the difference between open-coast water and a river-mouth estuary as the region moves deeper into fall.
Outer Banks Waters Stay Warm as Fall Albacore Push Approaches
Water temperatures along the Outer Banks corridor are holding in the mid-70s as September closes out, with NOAA CO-OPS station 8658163 reading 76.8°F and station 8656483 at 73.9°F this morning. That's still summer-range warmth this late in the month, a sign the seasonal cooldown that usually kicks off the fall push hasn't fully arrived. The northern station's next high tide lands at 9:41 a.m. Eastern with the low at 4:11 p.m.; the southern station runs slightly later, high at 10:16 a.m. and low at 4:36 p.m. On the beach, Eric of Hatteras Jack, via Fisherman's Post (NC), reports steady bottom-fishing action off the Rodanthe-area beaches along with sight-casting windows opening in the surf. Sport Fishing Mag's fall migration roundup flags surface activity building as baitfish push closer to shore, an early signal for the false albacore run this stretch of coast typically sees this time of year.
Delaware Bay tog and blues turn on as nor'easter clears out
NOAA's Delaware Bay station (8537121) read 66.7°F this morning, with high tide at 12:13 PM and low at 7:05 PM local time. That reading comes after a soaking, wind-driven nor'easter — Eric Burnley reported over three inches of rain and gusts near 50 knots that shut down fishing across the Delaware, Maryland and Chesapeake region for most of last week, and Smith's Bait Shop said boats couldn't clear the bay in the rough seas. Where anglers did get out, Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reported bluefish on metal lures during incoming water despite the blow, and Big Dave's Tackle noted a good tautog bite on sandfleas and green crabs at the back-bay bridges and lighthouses, with baitfish pushed into the inlets ahead of the storm. Hands Too Bait and Tackle, working the Cape May side of the bay, had striped bass, weakfish and bluefish mixed in with tautog before conditions turned.
Black sea bass surges as fluke season closes in Raritan Bay
Water temps at Sandy Hook read 62.4°F this morning, holding onto late-summer numbers even as the fall run tries to get going. NJ's fluke season closed Friday, September 25, per The Fisherman — New Jersey edition, and Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ describes the final days of the season going out "with a bang," full-boat limits of fluke and black sea bass before the shutdown. That boat is shifting to straight bottom fishing for black sea bass this week. Black sea bass itself has been a bright spot regionally: Blue Chip Sportfishing (NJ) calls the bite "very good," with most trips filling out, while Grumpys Tackle (NJ) reports "Blues Are In" for bluefish and is stocking bucktails ahead of the fall striper run. OTW Northern New Jersey's report from September 24 says the nor'easter that soaked the coast this past week slowed early fall action, but points to improving striped bass fishing plus lingering bluefish and false albacore as conditions settle.