Maximizing September Bass Fishing: Techniques and Tips for Grass Lakes
By Dave Miller
I can’t believe it’s September already. I’m kinda happy as boat traffic has slowed down quite a bit making time on the water more enjoyable. August was tough for me on the tournament scene, with limited to no practice for a few events and some very bad weather leading to poor decision making as well as event cancellations. However, guiding has been extraordinary on my home waters. Let’s dive in.
Grass lakes! Milfoil and Hydrilla for whatever reason I’ve noticed hasn’t been up as high as it normally is in August. Where the grass is now capped out on many lakes creating some juicy mat, it’s usually that way by the second week of August here in the Northeast.
Where there’s grass there are bass.
Weed line fishing is probably my favorite way to fish and has been excellent for my clients. With a lot of guys now fishing out in deep water chasing suspended fish, these fish have been touched so chances are you’ll probably the place to yourself.
What to look for.
Those rocky banks and also contours near deeper drop offs that now have grass are your priority. Areas with more sandy or muddy bottoms may still hold fish depending on the lake, but for me that would be the last grass I target. There’s 2 scenarios of how bass will be staged for forage here. First is the outside edge. Bass will congregate or even school up around all the intricate points and pockets along a weed line. School after school of baitfish hang out along the edges while bass lurk around the grass waiting to ambush those balls of bait. Second is throughout the grass. For most of the country the Bluegill have completed their spawn and hang out in these grass areas to feast on bugs. Grass also makes great feeding grounds for crawfish. Both Bluegill and Crawfish are mega protein sources for big Bass. If the grass is all the way to the top creating a canopy or even see some lily pads mixed in, you can almost guarantee frogs will be around as well.
This leaves us with 3 techniques that will catch them, and if you’re on a tidal body of water it will make your fishing even easier.
Frog
Who doesn’t love a Topwater bite, seriously! This is going to be your starting point regardless of time of day. When grass fishing and covering lots of water this will help you find bass. Even if they don’t commit and take the frog they will certainly blow up on it for a closer inspection, by doing so they are giving away their position. You could then follow up with different baits. With hollow body frogs there really is no wrong way to work them. Let the bass tell you the cadence that they want to trigger a bite. Start off casting around the outside edges before casting deep into weeded areas. Paddle tail style frogs are also great as you can move them quicker and cover more water in less time. As for color some guys go white or black depending on the sky. I start with a yellow bellied frog, always. It’s a great inbetween color and works in all conditions.
Recommended equipment: 7’3” Heavy Fast action rod, 8:1 speed reel, 50lb braid.
*Pro Tip – On hollow body frogs you’ll notice right out of the pack the hooks are pointing inward. With a pair of pliers, bend the hooks outward and upward so the hook points are barely touching the frog and straight in line with the body. Your hook up ratio will skyrocket doing this.
Pitching and Flipping
This technique is where you’ll be imitating crawfish and bluegill. I love beaver style baits and brush hogs in green pumpkin or black and blue. When targeting the outside edges I typically start with a pegged 5/8oz weight and move up accordingly. My rule of thumb is that I want to get away with the lightest weight I can. Even in punching scenarios. The bigger weights have a tendency to pop the bass’ mouth open too much during the hook set which results in the hook missing. If you used the frog to locate the bass go straight to them. If not start out by making pitches to the pockets around the outside weed edges and scattered clumps. As you work your way in to thicker grass go up in weight as necessary. 5/8oz up through 1.25oz covers a lot so make sure you bring a few weights with you. As far as hooks go, a 4/0 straight shank is the only flipping hook I use, period. I’ve never felt I needed a bigger or smaller hook or ewg for that matter. The vast majority of brands have great hooks and all of them come with some type of bait keeper attached, find what you like and stick with it.
Recommended equipment: 7’6” Heavy Fast action rod, 8:1 speed reel, 60lb braid.
Swim Jig or Bladed Jig
This will play more in tidal water than lakes. Depending on the depth of the area, as the tide moves out so will bass. I’ve found schools hanging out as far as 50 yards off a weed line at lower tides. With maybe just a couple random strands of grass or an occasional clump. Also it’s smart to keep an eye on your sonar here for depth changes and other hard structure. For swim jigs I like to stay at 1/4oz in white with a small paddle tail swimbait as a trailer. The lighter weight will help you keep the bait higher in the water column while working it slower. You’re goal here is to get the bass that are targeting minnows. For the crawfish and bluegill eating bass this is where your profile size is going to increase by going to a bladed jig. Any green pumpkin variant will do with a matching trailer. Now unlike the swim jig I’m going heavier here with either a 3/8oz or 1/2oz weight. I want to keep the bait lower in the water column while also keeping a larger profile. With either, if you hit a random patch of grass, rip the bait from it violently to trigger reaction bites from the bass.
Recommended equipment: 7’3” Heavy fast action rod, 7:1 speed reel, 20lb fluorocarbon.
Well there ya have it guys. Get out there and get fishing! I’ll see y’all back here in October for the final installment of the year. If you would like to talk tackle or pick my brain on another technique feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @davemillerfishing.
Tight lines!
- Dave