Smallmouth bass are active and hungry
September cools the waters of western North Carolina, which provides a big wakeup call to the area’s smallmouth bass, according to Matt Evans with The Catawba Angler (828-460-2390).
“This is one of my favorite months to guide, because it is a transition month. The beginning of September can still be hot, but we start to experience those cooler fronts that remind us that fall is near, and once those cold fronts come in, it triggers the smallmouth into feeding aggressively,” said Evans.
The fish begin to gather up in the deeper holes they’ll inhabit throughout winter, so anglers will find multiple fish in each hole.
During the first week or so of this month, Evans said crayfish lures and patterns will work well. But once those cooler temperatures begin taking over, he said the smallmouth will begin eating mostly shiners, chubs and minnows.
“It’s always fun casting big flies or throwing big plugs to aggressive smallmouth,” he said. “Normally you see some of your biggest smallmouth landed in the months of September and October.”
Evans said September is a great month for numbers of smallmouth, as well as bigger smallmouth.
The French Broad River is one of the top producing waters in western NC this month.
“The French Broad is a smallmouth angler’s dream. It provides the perfect habitat for these fish,” said Evans. “It is full of smallmouth, and you always have an opportunity at catching your personal best here.”
One of his favorite things about this river is that it constantly changes.
“This river never fishes the same two days in a row. So we enjoy the challenge of figuring out what the fish are keying in on. A variety of methods will work. We can jig soft plastics, or throw topwater lures,” he said.
Many mornings start out with some hot topwater action, then as the sun gets up, Evans and his clients continue catching fish on the soft plastics.
His best stretch of the French Broad is from downtown Asheville all the way to Hot Springs, NC.
“All along this stretch, the river presents ledges, eddys, and boulders that create the perfect habitat for big bass,” he said. “And we customize our float trips to your preferences.”
For anglers craving some trout action, Evans said that isn’t a problem this month.
“Towards mid-September, when the first real cold front comes through, we will target native brook trout for a brief time before they go into the annual spawn, which happens the beginning of October,” he said.
The guided brook trout trips are pretty physical, so anglers need to be prepared for such a trip.
“Like any challenge, the rewards are worth it. Our brook trout trips involve 4 to 6 miles of hiking. Some of our favorite brook trout streams are located in roadless areas that are truly wild,” he said.
Find out more at thecatawbaangler.com.
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