This is the time of year when the sweltering summer heat finally starts to break. For some of us down south, there’s the slightest indication of this by way of a few cooler mornings and evenings. Further north, there’s a more obvious shift, as hoodies become appropriate outerwear again — at least until the sun gets high in the sky.
Fall is fast approaching, and the fish are starting to pick up on these changes. As water temps start to drop and baitfish begin to migrate, the techniques necessary to catch them will change, as well. So here’s what we’re throwing in September.
Urchins
While almost everyone has one of these baits tied on at this point, the bass are still biting urchins. And we’re collectively figuring out these baits on the fly, as each new month is one that most of us have never fished with anything like it before.
Take these baits and present them to bass in the same places you’re used to finding bass in September: around docks, vegetation, rocks, and other cover. Use the smaller shad color baits on drop shots when targeting bass relating to shad, and switch over to a 20mm bait in green pumpkin or another dark color when the bass are on bream.
And be sure to take advantage of the ever-expanding assortment of terminal tackle being specifically built for these baits. For instance, there’s an awesome weedless Cradlehead made by Picasso now that works better around cover than open, treble, and quad hooks.
Topwaters
Buzzbaits, poppers, Ploppers, Spooks, frogs, and toads all work really well in September. Whether the bass are busting on shad out in the middle of the lake or crushing bream along the bank, all of them are susceptible to some sort of topwater. When selecting your bait from this assortment, look for the best topwater that suits your needs.
If the bass are schooling in open water, you’ll have a hard time getting close enough to them to catch them on a popper. Instead, use a Spook, Sammy, or pencil popper that can be casted father. If they’re in water willow along the bank, ditch the treble hook baits for a frog, toad, or buzzbait. If the bass are targeting particularly small baitfish, match the hatch as best you can with the size of your offering.
Keep your eyes peeled for activity along the surface, whether that’s bass actually breaking the surface or just nervous water and minnows jumping. As Dad always says, they aren’t jumping for exercise.
Spinnerbait
The spinnerbait is the GOAT of fall fishing. While bass traditionally eat a topwater really well this time of year (and the urchins are sure to come into play now), the spinnerbait still reigns supreme, primarily due to its versatility.
If bass are on shad near the surface, there’s a spinnerbait blade combo for that: double willow. If bass are hunkering down along the bank in stalky vegetation, there’s a spinnerbait blade combo for that: tandem Colorado/willow. And if the bass are in shallow muddy water — you guessed it, there’s a spinnerbait blade combo for that: double Colorado. You can even continue catching bass on a spinnerbait at night through September.
In any instance, there’s a good chance that bass are biting a spinnerbait somewhere around you in September. Look for baitfish activity when trying to find bass to target with a spinnerbait. Pay attention to the wind and clouds when deciding when to throw one, as overcast days and a good chop on the water make this bait even better. And pump your bait on the retrieve: The blades’ irregular burst and flutter trigger bass to bite even better than a straight retrieve.
Berkley Chop Block
September is a great month for throwing glide baits in the south. The bites may be few and far between, but they can be really big. Targeting fish shallow around docks, laydowns, and other cover with a glide bait — as opposed to a more traditional spinnerbait or topwater — allows you to present a less common bait to big bass, which can grow cantankerous with pressure and conditioned to the regular fare.
The Berkley Chop Block is my favorite for this style of fishing. Unlike most glide baits that are rigid, the Chop Block is made of a reinforced soft plastic material. The result is an uber-realistic action and a glide bait that can be skipped better than any other on the market. Skipping this glide under the shade of docks, bushes, and pontoons is a great way to sneak up on a giant.
What Chris Johnston is Throwing Up North
The biggest thing right now anywhere in the country — but up north especially, because it’s probably a little later catching on — is the Coike craze. They’re going to be eating that up north, whether it’s smallmouth or largemouth. For smallmouth, probably use a little bit smaller size. But that’s going to be a big player up north.
Depending on the size of the Coike, they’ll be rigged very differently. For largemouth, I really like the Fullcast to try and get the bigger bites. I’m using a frog hook for that now from Gamakatsu. And I’m rigging it with a split ring and the weight at the back with a teardrop 1/8th ounce weight on that split ring. And then for the smallmouth, I rig it on a single Gamakatsu Bead Hook on the smaller baits, with a nail weight in the Coike. Depending on the size you go with, I vary the size of the hook.
One of my other favorite techniques to catch them in my area — not the Great Lakes but more so in grass and rock-related lakes — is a topwater bite. The SPRO E Pop gets really good in September before it gets cold. The bream, bluegills, and perch are typically relating to deeper grass, or a lot of the bream actually suspend close to the surface. Throw your topwater over them and that can get you some of the biggest fish.
What Brandon Cobb is Throwing South Carolina
Around my house in September, there are kind of two populations of targetable fish. You have the ones that are starting to go shallow for the fall, where you’re looking at creeks and river-type fish. That’s when you’re going to go shallow and fish around wood and docks and cover a lot of water. You don’t get a lot of bites, but they can be big ones.
That’s where I would pitch a Zoom Brush Hog or some type of creature bait around, or I would be throwing a buzzbait and covering a lot of water. This time of year, I always use the Greenfish Toad Toter buzzbait that I designed. I put a Horny Toad on it, and I generally use Gray Ghost because it’s an intermediate time where some are eating bluegills and some are eating shad.
Or you could stay in the middle to lower-end of the lake where there are a lot of fish that suspend and follow bait around in September. You can catch those live-scoping with a minnow or jerkbait. But those fish may be over any depth of water just following bait balls around. You can look for bait just idling around at first. There are areas where, especially in the afternoons and mornings, the bait will actually be on top. The fish might not be blowing up, but you can see areas with bait. Start by looking for that first.
