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5 Lures To Help You Catch Big Bass – September 2025
Labor Day has come and gone and we’re officially turning the corner on the fishing season. After months of hot weather, we’re finally starting to see cooler temperatures, at least up here in Wisconsin right now. But even throughout the rest of the country, you’re gonna start to see them drop as the weeks go on. September is a transitional month for bass fishing and can be one of the trickiest all year. Summer heat starts giving way to cooler […] The post 5 Lures To Help You Catch Big Bass – September 2025 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
Labor Day has come and gone and we’re officially turning the corner on the fishing season.
After months of hot weather, we’re finally starting to see cooler temperatures, at least up here in Wisconsin right now. But even throughout the rest of the country, you’re gonna start to see them drop as the weeks go on. September is a transitional month for bass fishing and can be one of the trickiest all year. Summer heat starts giving way to cooler fall patterns and bass behavior shifts a lot this time of year, so knowing what to throw and where can make all the difference. Some fish with stay deep, some will move shallow… they can be tough to find, or in a finnicky mood, but with a few key baits and locations, you can still catch a ton of fish.
Truth is, because the fish can be so spread out and in different moods, a lot of lures will work. But here’s a few of my favorites. So without further ado, here’s 5 bass baits for the month of September, that should play across a majority of the country.
1. Topwater
Topwater is still a great player in the month of September, especially in the cool and calm mornings. Tough to go wrong with bone or black, especially in low light situations. But if you got some matted vegetation, lily pads, or my favorite, duckweed, a hollow body frog is tough to beat. A buzzbait will work great too, and can get you some bigger fish on average.
Berkley J-Walker Walking Bait – $11.99
Colors: Bone, Maverick, CJ Shad
Rapala PXR Jowler 127 – $21.79
Colors: Broken Bone, Pure Chrome, Ayu
Toad Thumper Swamper Frog – $9.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Black, Bad Gill
2. Drop Shot
A drop shot is one of the most versatile and one of the most effective techniques that you can honestly probably use every month of the year. I have one tied on pretty much year around, and it’s really become a confidence bait for me over the years. When I need a bite, pick up the drop shot. If you’re on the bank, it’s great. If you’re fishing around shallow flats or near docks, it’s great. If you’re fishing deep rock way offshore… still great.
If you’re not fishing around any grass or wood, you can nose hook your soft plastic on a drop shot hook, but if so, opt for a finesse Neko hook and you can tex-pose that hook point so it’ll come through that cover without hanging up. One thing I’ve been trying this summer is using a ned rig as the weight, and essentially fishing two hooks at once (it’s not legal everywhere). It’s kinda silly, but seems to up the odds of catching fish… sometimes they want it on the bottom, sometimes they want it off.
Roboworm Straight Tail Worm – $3.97 – $4.99
Colors: Aaron’s Magic, Margarita Mutilator, Morning Dawn
Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm – $4.98 – $9.99
Colors: Goby, Smelt, Gobyashi
Great Lakes Finesse Drop Worm – $6.99
Colors: Morning Dawn, Green Pumpkin Purple, Matte Black
3. Spybait
Don’t sleep on the spybait folks. A bait that most anglers don’t throw, a spybait might be something new for the fish on your lake who have been seeing all kinds of lures on all summer. Imitating a smaller baitfish, a spybait offers a subtle presentation that also has a decent amount of drawing power. Smallmouth and spots love them, but big largemouth will hammer them too.
Duo Realis Spinbait Spybait 80 – $16.98
Colors: Ghost Minnow, River Bait, Ghost Gill
4. Underspin/Paddle Tail
In September, I like to cover a lot of water and see what I can find, and for me, some kind of paddle tail or minnow-style bait does the trick. Of course, you can’t go wrong with an old fashioned Keitech, but I’ve had a ton of success this year with the Great Lakes Finesse dropkick shad (the minnow too). Pair it up with the sneaky underspin and it’s deadly for smallmouth, but largemouth will hit it too. If you want to shake a minnow and stare at the graph (more on that from me coming soon) tough to beat the Mooch Minnow.
Rapala Crush City Mooch Minnow
Colors: Green Pumpkin Disco, Electric Shad, Perch
Size: 3/16, 1/4 oz
Great Lakes Finesse Sneaky Underspin
Size: 3/14
Great Lakes Finesse Dropkick Shad
Colors: Green Pumpkin Shad, Gizzard Shad, Watermelon Pearl
5. Texas/Punch Rig
For me, flipping and pitching around shallow cover is always gonna play, doesn’t matter what time of year it is. It’s just the way I love to fish and it will catch you fish year around. Fish will generally go deep in the summer months, and you can definitely flip deeper grass lines and weed edges too, but there’s always a population that stays shallow too. As the grass starts to top out or mat up, throw on a heavier weight (3/4 ounce – 2 ounce, use the lightest that will work) and punch right through there. Heavy rod, heavy lines, heavy weights… it’s a fun way to fish.
If you haven’t found a favorite yet, here’s a few I really have had a lot of success with, especially the Bronco Bug… it just gets bit, but in thicker grass, try flipping that Stank Bug. Flipping a tube is also an VERY underrated option, especially up in northern grass. I like to use a ring hook for that.
Rapala Crush City Bronco Bug – $6.99
Colors: Black & Blue Flake, Green Pumpkin Blue, Candy Bug
Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Stank Bug – $8.99
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Black Blue Fleck, Green Pumpkin Blue
Big Bite Baits Craw Tube – $4.99
Colors: Tilapia, 1099, Confusion
And for a more detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor. Just input your ZIP code or share your location, and Bass Forecast will give you 5 bait recommendations, a bite rating, and suggestions for peak feeding times.
Bass Forecast Bait Advisor
What is Bass Bait AI – Powered by Bass Forecast
Our advanced bass fishing algorithms analyze over 11,000 factors, including weather shifts and bass behavior, to predict what baits will give you the best chance at success for any GPS location. Just enter your location, and it does the calculating for you. Giving you the complete bait breakdown for major and minor Bass feeding times in any bass fishing location. Click HERE to learn more.The post 5 Lures To Help You Catch Big Bass – September 2025 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
