By John Merwin

Tomorrow is September 1, and a good thing, too. After the summer doldrums, we’re getting back into a prime fishing interval just about everywhere.

There will be wonderful blue-winged olive hatches on local trout rivers where brown and brook trout are chowing down before late-fall spawning. Equinoctial line storms will stir the lakes, where bass, pickerel, and pike will feed more aggressively as waters begin to cool. Along the coast, striped bass are stirring, and I’m reminded of past fall blitzes when schools of stripers were feeding so hard they were bumping into the side of my boat. Just dapping a lure over the side almost guaranteed a fish.

Another good thing this month is less competition. Many of those who were fishing in the spring are hunting instead during the fall. There will be a few days when I’ll grab a rifle or a shotgun, but for the most part I’ll be on the water somewhere. The fishing is just too good to miss.

Perhaps September is best described as a month of tough choices. Hunting or fishing? And if fishing, bass or trout? Salmon or stripers? It’s all good, and it’s all going to be happening very soon. What’s your game plan this fall?

Comments (10)

from tourneyking734 wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

i'll be float tubing remote trout ponds for brook trout and fishing streamers for landlocked salmon on the penobscot river

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from buckhunter wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

Let's see...
September is brook trout in WV and smallmouth on dries in local rivers.

October will be NY browns and muskie moving to the shallows

November will be offshore fishing out of San Diego and the start of the steelhead run in the Great Lakes.

December steelhead fish until the rivers freeze.

January is when I fill my freezer with deer meat.

God willing I'll have the big buck I've been watching on the ground opening day September 27th.

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from shane wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

Above 55 - fishing. Below 55 - Hunting.

This is going on personal preference as well as advice from Charlie Alsheimer along with other deer researchers. There are exceptions, of course. This means a lot of fishing in any case. It won't be very cold at all when deer archery opens here, I won't hunt hard until we get into October.

This time of year I have Esox on the brain. If I lived back east still I'd be on the trout. I'm bored with bass this year. Won't last, though.

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from Alex Pernice th... wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

For me, Steelhead, and carp stay on the rise as well as smallies around here.

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from steve182 wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

I'll be bowhunting mostly, but i'll hit the pond with my 4 y.o. for bass occasionally, and the bridges for stripers once or twice around all-hallows eve.

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from Ethan3 wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

I might hunt a few times, but I will definately continue to fish for largemouth.

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from Douglas wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

Floating in a jon boat on a local river with a pole for bass and a shotgun for wood ducks that might fly by.
Sure hope it quits raining.

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from ggmack wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

School tues-fri
trolling around offshore Sat-Mon til Oct 15
hunting Sat Mon in season
fishing when seasons are closed

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from madtrapper wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

rap up fly fishing in september, start chasing big pike till october,take out the .444 for early bear season..then join the thousands of other yahoos on NY's salmon river. then hunt/trap my brains out till ice fishing :)

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from FloridaHunter1226 wrote 2 years 22 weeks ago

I am one of those who will be hunting.

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from tourneyking734 wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

i'll be float tubing remote trout ponds for brook trout and fishing streamers for landlocked salmon on the penobscot river

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from buckhunter wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

Let's see...
September is brook trout in WV and smallmouth on dries in local rivers.

October will be NY browns and muskie moving to the shallows

November will be offshore fishing out of San Diego and the start of the steelhead run in the Great Lakes.

December steelhead fish until the rivers freeze.

January is when I fill my freezer with deer meat.

God willing I'll have the big buck I've been watching on the ground opening day September 27th.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from shane wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

Above 55 - fishing. Below 55 - Hunting.

This is going on personal preference as well as advice from Charlie Alsheimer along with other deer researchers. There are exceptions, of course. This means a lot of fishing in any case. It won't be very cold at all when deer archery opens here, I won't hunt hard until we get into October.

This time of year I have Esox on the brain. If I lived back east still I'd be on the trout. I'm bored with bass this year. Won't last, though.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Alex Pernice th... wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

For me, Steelhead, and carp stay on the rise as well as smallies around here.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from steve182 wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

I'll be bowhunting mostly, but i'll hit the pond with my 4 y.o. for bass occasionally, and the bridges for stripers once or twice around all-hallows eve.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Ethan3 wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

I might hunt a few times, but I will definately continue to fish for largemouth.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Douglas wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

Floating in a jon boat on a local river with a pole for bass and a shotgun for wood ducks that might fly by.
Sure hope it quits raining.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ggmack wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

School tues-fri
trolling around offshore Sat-Mon til Oct 15
hunting Sat Mon in season
fishing when seasons are closed

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from madtrapper wrote 2 years 38 weeks ago

rap up fly fishing in september, start chasing big pike till october,take out the .444 for early bear season..then join the thousands of other yahoos on NY's salmon river. then hunt/trap my brains out till ice fishing :)

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from FloridaHunter1226 wrote 2 years 22 weeks ago

I am one of those who will be hunting.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.