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Late September Bass Fishing on the Columbia River

Updated: Sep 30


Bill Matthews Outdoors Smallmouth Bas Fishing in September on the Columbia River, topwater bite.

September Smallmouth Fishing on the Columbia River.


While most anglers are out chasing king and coho salmon in September, I am still fishing for smallmouth bass. My fall salmon fishing usually does not kick in until October because the bass fishing is just so good and I have the river all to myself. This week I put my Hobie PA 360 12' kayak in near the mouth of the John Day River for a quick 2 hour fishing opportunity.


As expected the topwater bite was electric. I started out with a Whopper Plopper and actually had one blow up on it on my 2nd cast - that's when I knew it was on! I hit my Plopper against a rock and cracked it so I had to switch to a Tiny Torpedo in frog color.


As I worked down the edge of the river, I had so many blow-ups on the Torpedo that I quit counting. Many missed it and came back to hit it again, sometimes two at a time smacked at it and a few swirriled on it and never came back. It was text book September on the Columbia River topwater bite. I did not catch anything big, but lots of 11" to 13" fish with a couple around 15 inches.


Bill Matthews Outdoors Smallmouth Bass fishing on the Columbia River in September coyote watching me.

Mr. Coyote watching me fish.


As the sun cam up and hit the water, the topwater bite died off, so I switched off to soft plastics. I started dragging a Z-Man TRD BugZ that looks like a young crawdad in about 10 to 15 feet of water. At one point I was 7 fish for 7 casts on this set up - they just loved it. It was a gorgeous September day and I hated to leave but I only had two hours to fish so I had to head back to the truck. As I paddled back, I noticed a coyote on the bluff above me watching me fish. Just another spectacular day in the Pacific Northwest!


Thanks for reading


Bill

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