Take advantage of the popper fishing before the streams get to cold. More large smallmouth bass are taken on Virginia’s Shenandoah River during the fall than throughout the rest of the season.
In September the specific tactics can be chosen to meet the whims of the angler since the bass will readily take nymphs, streamers and top water patterns. Many anglers choose poppers because they enjoy the enticing action they can impart to a surface bug and seeing the powerful strike of a nice bass as he hits on top.
Two of the most popular poppers are the Shenandoah Blue Popper size 4 and the Shenandoah Chartreuse Chugger size 4. Don’t hesitate to use a Murray’s Regular Hellgrammite size 8 or Rubber Nymph Nymph as a dropper below the popper.
Some other poppers you might be interested in:
Check out our Deluxe Bass Popper Assortment
When fishing surface bugs for smallmouth one should concentrate on areas where the bass are accustomed to feeding on top. You can hardly go wrong in working the banks and around islands if the water is two to four feet deep with a moderate current. If both river banks are about equal in cover, the shady side will usually give you the best action. This translates into fishing the east side of a river in the mornings and the west side in the evenings. If you have large trees along the banks shading the water you can take good bass on top all day.