Every year in September I struggle catching fish in the river.  Mostly I'm after small mouth, the ones I do manage to get are a foot long at best. I was wondering if this is a tough month for most or do I need to change my approach. I fish all depths of water, seams, and flats.  Any of you out there successful in September?

Its a great month to fish, as the water gets colder, the fish feed more. There may be long areas of no fish that may normally hold some, as they are lookin for winter over areas. Find those places and its golden. As the baitfish start hiding and get scarce, the fish get anxious and become super aggressive...WF..usually deeper, protected water and on the edges of those places is where they feed.

all things being equal, no, i don,t fish  rivers in sept. sept. is for clearing the decks ,so to speak, then comes oct. , dropping temps (water &air) , dropping leaves , ,n, dropping rapala minnows in the rivers ( Alleg., Clarion) ,n, creeks (Redbank , Mahoning) . a good couple days ,n, you can have TRIPLE digit hits ,n, catches .  please, please , please , only C&R , as  these fish are too valuable to catch only once. will NOT tell you where to fish these creeks ,n, ririvers , but , if you fish smallies ,you,ll know smallie water when you see it. ( don,t be surprised if you get a BIG OL, trout on now ,n, then, these waters hold some AMAZING fish. luck to ya . wire

Nothing like fishing the rivers and creeks of PA. during late summer/early fall. French Creek is my go to water for this time of the year but, the Allegheny is never out of the question. Regardless of the water, I target the tailout of the slower moving eddies especially where a narrow trough exist. The trough is where I want my bait to end up no matter what the bait. I work the area from different angles throwing surface baits, spinners, and jigs. Rapalas (of course) are my surface lures followed by CP Swings (a fantastic all around spinner) and then the jigs (tipped with 'twister tails').

Water clarity will dictate my choice in spinner flash as well as my choice in twister tails (the clearer the water; the darker the bait). The surface baits are chosen by both the water clarity and color of the sky. ie. Clear water under a sky having white clouds will call for a smaller bait having a white (or light colored) belly.

I also consider the time of day when choosing which bait to try first and how long I spend at a given area.

However, given the choice of having only one bait, that choice will be the jig and twister tail. A quarter ounce tipped with a black two and half inch 'tail'. You can swim it at various depths, you can bounce it on the bottom (risky) or, you can drag it (even riskier). Short of having the exact bait, the 'tails' mimic leeches and/or helgramites.

Plan on losing some jigs but, thats the price to pay.

One other thing, I fish using no more then eight pound test line.

Hope you find something here useful and happy fishing. Remember, a bad day fishing still beats a great day at work.

da*n BTDT, now you got me drooling like the steelie guys on the erie thread. sposed to be cool nites ,n, highs in low 70,s for few days, that will help cool the h2o. maybe just me , but, i swear my leaves are changing already. anyone else notice that? wire

Even nicer; you are not fishing shoulder to shoulder and, landing some nice walleye certainly is not out of the question.

I've noticed the leaves becoming darker for a couple of weeks now. Sumac in my north field is beginning to glow red and my neighbors chestnut trees are showing signs of the approaching fall. Cherry leaves in the windrow along my southern boundary are fast becoming yellow and dropping with the slightest breeze. Won't be too much longer; Mother Nature will lighting up the maples, followed by the oaks, in Penns Woods. Hope there's no early freeze this year so we can enjoy the leaves longer.

Funny, just the other day I was wondering why I liked late season fishing so much. Maybe someday I'll figure it out. :-P

Never forget; Safety First!!

PS. Nut, by chance, is there a electrician in the family??

BTDT; yes ,me. and the 45 is both b,date ,n, no. yrs. as master ,trician. thanks for askin. wire

I caught a few little smallies in the yough yesterday. Didn't start hitting til dusk when we were getting ready to leave.

I have to say, I'm surprised of these replies.   I guess I need to get out there and figure it out.  

KJN
I have to say, I'm surprised of these replies.   I guess I need to get out there and figure it out.  

Surprised?? What's to figure?