September Fishing Report
September…the intro to the best season of the year.
This September has followed suit with the last several. Although we had a cool start to the month with fall-like temperatures, ultimately we had a hot, dry finish to the month, with rainfall totals in Tennessee and Pennsylvania coming in under average for September. As I type this report, it looks like we will be ending the month with a few inches of rain this final week in both places. This should kick the fall season into gear, and hopefully, we can continue on this path for October.
Although we have had below-average rainfall totals, the tailwater fisheries we operate on in Tennessee and Pennsylvania have had good flows. We spent half of September finishing out smallmouth bass season in Pennsylvania and the other half transitioning into our fall season on the South Holston River with a mixed bag of smallies and trout here as well.
“Jerry with an early morning water bass!”
Pennsylvania Report:
Clarion River: When I left PA in mid-September, the Clarion was only getting water from the East Branch Dam. All of its tributaries were running dry from lack of rainwater, which makes up a good chunk of its typical water flow. It was, and still is, flowing at 200 CFS in Ridgway, which is a bit below average. Despite low flows, the smallmouth bass were extremely happy and ready to eat topwater flies daily. We had some of the best days of the summer in September!
I continued to leave the trout alone…the early AM water temps were 59 in Jburg, but once you get into the afternoon, the water was touching 68 with temps even warmer the further you get from the dam. The smart thing to do is just rest them altogether until you’re out of the stress zone. There are plenty of other fishing opportunities that don’t involve risk.
“Jay with one of many on an action packed top water day”
These trout will begin to spawn in the coming months, so be mindful of wading on, anchoring, or fishing over redds. You can fish during the spawn, but it’s unethical to target fish that you can observe actively spawning. Keep in mind not all fish will spawn at exactly the same time. This will go on for a couple of months.
Once water levels get a bump, we can have incredible streamer fishing from October to March, fishing for these fish pre- and post-spawn!
Steelhead Tributaries: All of the major steelhead tribs in the Lake Erie drainage are extremely low. I have heard reports of guys catching steelhead along the lakeshore and a few fish moving into select rivers, but as of right now, there is no significant run to report. This could change quickly with this week’s rain!
If we follow the pattern of the last five or so years, I would say that we should have good, consistent steelhead fishing by the middle of November that will go on until it gets too cold and the rivers freeze over.
We’re looking forward to chasing these amazing acrobatic fish!
Musky: We are also headed toward the start of musky season in Pennsylvania. As water temps drop with cool night temps, these fish will kick into feed mode to fatten up for the winter. This is one of the most exciting gamefish you can target on a fly.
“Ron with the best fish of the day coming on the very first cast”
“Bill all smiles after landing a respectable smallmouth on a crayfish pattern”
Tennessee Report:
South Holston River: The Soho has been fishing very well. Most days we are seeing low flow in the AM followed by 1400 CFS in the afternoon. The low water fishing is challenging as always but can be the most rewarding. We have hooked several big fish sight fishing on low water, and the numbers fishing on the 1400 flow have been insane. We have had several days where we landed 70+ fish on the 1400 flow. Even my 4-year-old son got in on the action and caught a load of fish!!
“Holston putting fish in the net. One of many browns for the day.”
Watauga: The Watauga has had an interesting year. I personally don’t think it’s fishing as well as it did before Helene. I’ve had some decent days, but it feels to me like the brown trout numbers don’t seem to be quite as good as they were, and they are overshadowed by the constant stocking of small rainbows. You can catch plenty of stocked rainbows, but the quality brown trout are proving to be difficult this year, with only a few in the bag for me. I’ve been focusing 90% of my efforts on the Soho.
“Holston getting his rowing lesson”
Holston River: The Proper is fishing well. I’ve spent several days chasing smallies down there. When the water is low, I have had good luck on Mr. Wigglys and small streamers. When it is up, I’ve had better luck if I can avoid areas where there isn’t a ton of loose grass floating down from the fluctuating flows.
All in all, with these incoming rains and cooling temps, it’s shaping up to be a great fall. I have very limited availability for the final part of the year, but there are a few last-minute squeeze slots if you would like to get on the water!
“Matt fighting a fish against a beautiful backdrop on the upper SoHo”
October SoHo:
9-10, 24
Pennsylvania Fall Trout/Musky/Steelhead:
October: 30
November: 1-2, 6, 11, 16, 19, 25, 28-30
December: 11, 26, 29-30
