September. The first taste of fall. Football is back, the temps are cooling, and the bass are starting to gang up. There’s a rough winter ahead for many of us, but, before that gets here, there’s still lots of great fishing to be had. From the Southeast to the Northeast all the way out to the West Coast, the bass feed heavily this time of year, often chasing schools of bait fish.
I’ll take us through a few baits that will be working here in the Southeast, and we’ll grab a few recommendations from a couple of other anglers around the country as well. Then Joe will wrap things up with some recommendations for the Northeast.
Southeast
September can be a little moody in the South. Some days, you’re greeted by a nice cool morning with a heavy dew on the ground when you step out the door. Other days, it still hits 90 around lunchtime. But those first couple of cool snaps are indicative of the weather that will inevitably settle in towards the end of the month. And, for where most of us are fishing down here, it’s all about baitfish this time of year.
Topwater
From a Whopper Plopper to a Spook to a hollow-body frog, topwaters are primo in September. If you’re on a fishery with a lot of bluegill up near the bank, you can put a buzzbait, Plopper, or Choppo in your hand and cover water til you run into a few. If your fishery has shallow or matted vegetation, nothing beats a hollow-body frog. And then for those tighter targets, like stumps, rock piles, and laydowns, a Spook walked slowly over the bass’s head works great.
Swim Jig
September is a great time of year to throw a swim jig. A lot of fisheries are packed with vegetation in September, since it’s been able to grow throughout the whole spring and summer. Fishing a swim jig over top of, through and along the edge of this vegetation is a great way to draw strikes this time of year. These areas of vegetation often line the river and creek channels where migrating bass will be chasing migrating bait. The swim jig is the perfect bait for pecking these off.
Spinnerbait
Though fall is only just getting started, you can’t leave out what is perhaps the best fall bait of all time — the spinnerbait. Anything from a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait to a 1/2-ounce will work. Pick the size and color based on the forage in the area. The bass will have lots of options this time of year, so picking something close in size and color will help your bait blend in, while the twirling blades and pulsing action will help it appear injured, and this will make it stand out.
Crankbait
A wide range of crankbaits work well in September. The bass are moving from deep summer spots up to shallow flats and ditches. Along the way, you can catch them on mid-depth crankbaits around primary and secondary points leading back into bays and creeks. Squarebills also work really well around shallow rock and wood along the 45-degree transition banks that lead back into these areas. And then when you get to the flats and channels where the bass are trying to corral the bait, a lipless crankbait excels at targeting them, whether they’re up on the flat in inches of water or off the drop in 10 feet.
Chad Pipkens Michigan Playbook
“The smallmouth are getting real active on shad. The shad start migrating, especially into the river, and really get going on Lake St Clair. It’s hard to beat a Damiki DC 300, my favorite crankbait. It’s just the time of year where it really starts to shine both on St Clair and on Erie; it lets you cover water and find groups of fish. And it’s just a great way to catch big ones, as well as catch a lot of fish and have fun.
“This time of year, you’re looking for fish in short perch grass. Those big schools of big ones, they’re around that shorter grass often. You’re trying to find clean spots within that. They love sand around the grass. So you might be graphing a little bit, but a lot of times you’re just picking it up and covering water, which is a lot of fun.
“On Lake Erie, the cover they’re using is a little bit of a mix, but the big thing is you’re really trying to find that broken up rock. If there’s a big boulder around gravel, the big boulder will definitely hold fish. It’s a great place to run a crankbait around and get some good bites. But that broken up rock is the deal usually.
“And then I’ll clean everything up by throwing a dropshot with a Perfection Pipkens Drop Shot Bait that I’ve had out for a couple of years. It’s a mix between an Erie Darter, a Flatworm and a Cross Tail Shad; I’ve caught a lot of good fish on it. My favorite color is Smallmouth Snot, kind of like a motor oily green color. It looks kind of goby-ish.
“For the largemouth, it’s hard to beat throwing a jerkbait around. The grass starts to die off a little bit, and getting on the outer edge with a jerkbait is one of my favorite ways to catch them when it starts to get a little lower. It could be a shallow diving jerkbait or a deep diving jerkbait, depending on how deep the grass edge is. You’re looking for little points in the grass or little thin spots, anything that’s different, to hold fish.” — Chad Pipkens
Luke Palmer’s Keys to Success in Oklahoma
“The main lure I go to in September is always a topwater, you know a Zara Spook is hard to beat. It’s just got that big profile and you can cover tons of water with it, but you can also draw those fish up that are sitting deeper. It works great with schooling fish too. Make long bomb casts to them and work that bait through them really fast. The bone color is just kind of a staple. I like the bigger one. The smaller Boyo size can be good at certain times, but the big Spook is hard to beat.
“A Texas rigged worm, you know it just catches fish, all across the country, not just here. A lot of times in September we’re fishing brushpiles. You can get that worm through them. I like a 7.5-incher a lot of times, but I will bump up to like a 10.5-inch worm from Yum. In a plum or red shad color, seems like that gets the job done
“I stay pretty consistent on my weight. I throw a quarter ounce probably 80% of the time. A quarter ounce falls pretty darn fast. If I’ve got some windy conditions or I am fishing in 15 to 20 feet of water and I really need to get down to them quick, I’ll bump up to 3/8 of an ounce. I peg my weight all the time. I never throw mine without a bobber stopper.” — Luke Palmer
Joe Albanese’ Northeast Go-Tos
“Here in the Northeast, we’re starting to see some changes in our weather patterns. Mornings are cool, but afternoons can still touch the 80 degree temps. Being ready to adjust with these changes is the key to success.
“It’s a great time to hit the creeks. Look for deep pools and target smallies there. Tube baits like Great Lakes Finesse Juvy Craw are an excellent choice. Insect baits, like Rebel’s Liveflex Creek Creature Insect, can also produce in terms of both numbers and size of fish. Though the lures are small, I’ve taken smallies to over five pounds on one.
“The lakes are getting weedy, so look to baits that can sneak through the thick stuff. Texas rigs, swim jigs, and even the old standby Senko are all hot right now. If you’re looking for smallies in the stillwater, better go deep. Target structure in 15 to 20 feet with jigs, or even a drop shot if you must.” — Joe Albanese
