The 5 September Lures All Work For The Same Hidden Reason

Every September the same five lures get named as the ones that always work. They do work — but not for the reason anyone tells you, and the real reason is something you can measure yourself for free.

This one digs into what largemouth bass are actually eating in late summer and early fall, using field diet data from thousands of real stomachs, and why “match the hatch” is often exactly the wrong instinct in September.

FREE COMPANION GUIDE — no email required
Size-band reference tables, shad-versus-bluegill profile conversions, a laminatable boat-side checklist, and the full source list with stated limitations:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QE3V7QBgEqBrqQIhQZU2sIg0wXCv8_Fg/view?usp=sharing

WHAT’S COVERED
Why “the lake turned over” gets blamed for weeks it does not explain. What field diet studies show about the size of prey bass most commonly eat versus what they are capable of eating. Why body depth matters more than length. Why the most visible bait in September is often the least relevant. How one rod, one bait family and a pair of scissors become a full size ladder. And the true story of a $25 rig built by an Alabama pipefitter that broke bass fishing wide open.

SOURCES

Gaeta, J. W., Ahrenstorff, T. D., Diana, J. S., Fetzer, W. W., Jones, T. S., Lawson, Z. J., McInerny, M. C., Santucci, V. J. Jr., and Vander Zanden, M. J. (2018). “Go big or … don’t? A field-based diet evaluation of freshwater piscivore and prey fish size relationships.” PLOS ONE 13(3). Lead author Dr. Jereme W. Gaeta, Dept. of Watershed Sciences and the Ecology Center, Utah State University; senior author Dr. M. Jake Vander Zanden, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin–Madison; co-authors include biologists with the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois DNRs. Funded via a U.S. Geological Survey climate science program.
LIMITATIONS: all compiled lakes are north-temperate (Alberta, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin) — southern reservoirs are not represented. The authors call their results “realized” prey lengths (what was eaten), not “preferred,” because prey size structure available in each lake was not measured alongside the diets.

Hambright, K. D. (1991). “Experimental Analysis of Prey Selection by Largemouth Bass: Role of Predator Mouth Width and Prey Body Depth.” Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 120.
LIMITATION: controlled tank trials, two prey species, three predator size classes; tanks do not reproduce wild encounter rates, cover or competition.

Garvey, J. E., and Stein, R. A. (1998) and related work from the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, on age-0 gizzard shad growth and vulnerability to predation in Ohio reservoirs.
LIMITATION: concerns age-0 largemouth bass as predators, not adult bass — it describes a forage year class outgrowing one predator’s gape, not what adult bass can eat.

Alabama rig history: Paul Elias’s October 2011 win at the FLW Tour Open on Lake Guntersville, Alabama (102 lb 8 oz over four days, $100,000), and the rig’s design and $25 pricing by Andy Poss of Muscle Shoals, Alabama — as reported at the time by FLW, Bassmaster, Wired2Fish and regional outdoor press.

Fall lake mixing: state natural resource agency public education material and standard limnology references. Whether and for how long a lake mixes depends on depth, shape and local weather; many shallow lakes and rivers never stratify strongly enough for it to matter.

INDEPENDENCE DISCLOSURE
Forbidden Lures takes no sponsorships, affiliate links, paid placements or free product. No brand named here paid to be here, and nothing in this video is a recommendation to buy anything. Manufacturer figures, where mentioned, are manufacturer-published and not independently verified.

LEGAL AND SAFETY
Regulations differ by state, county and often by individual body of water, and they change. Check your state and local regulations before you fish — rules on multiple-hook and umbrella-style rigs, line counts, seasons and limits vary widely. Do not transport live bait or live fish between bodies of water. Wash your hands after handling lead tackle.

TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS
1. What is the smallest bait you have ever gotten a genuinely big bass to eat, and what month was it?
2. I think a $5 three-inch swimbait beats most $25 “confidence baits” in September nine trips out of ten, and the price only bought permission to fish slower. Where am I wrong?

#BassFishing #SeptemberFishing #FallBassFishing #FishingScience #LargemouthBass