Septembers of the Past

Since 2011, we have written 58,434 words about how, when, and where Midwest finesse anglers have caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass in September.

And since April 1, 2015, we have been publishing a short Midwest Finesse column at the beginning of each month that is a bibliographic essay that focuses on the many words that we have published about our piscatorial undertakings of that particular month. In these columns, we also provide Internet links to these words in hopes that it will help readers and anglers to access them quickly.

We noted in our 2015 "Septembers of the Past" column that my wife, Patty, spawned my initial interest in writing angling logs years ago when she gave me a copy of "Muriel Foster's Fishing Diary," which was published by Penguin Studio in 1980. Foster penned her first log about her angling adventures in Scotland and England on Sept. 16, 1913 and her final one on June 1, 1949, and she ultimately created a splendid look into the history of angling. Then my interests in logging were further accentuated when we crossed paths with Rick Clunn of Ava, Missouri, and saw his logs and notes about the tournaments he fished. Clunn explained how, when, and where the winners of those events accomplished their deeds. And when the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society began peddling log books for everyday anglers to keep, they planted the seed that eventually materialized into our monthly guides to Midwest finesse fishing. Back in those days, I asked the folks at "Bassmaster Magazine" if they would be interested in publishing a regular column that focused on the logs of several of the professional anglers who competed on the Bassmaster circuit. We thought such a column would be a useful tool for professional and recreational anglers. We never received a response from Bassmaster, and no other magazine expressed an interest in that proposal.

In 2012, we came to the realization that the Internet was an ideal place to publish all the words that are needed to compile these collections of monthly logs that members of the Finesse News Network contribute.  And we write, compile, and publish these monthly guides with hopes that  they will help scores of recreational anglers to discover how, when, and where they can employ Midwest finesse tactics and inveigle scores of black bass on each outing.

Here are the links to our September monthly guides for the years of 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and two other links to information about September tactics that might enlighten readers about Midwest finesse. And below these links are some photographs of a few of the largemouth bass and smallmouth bass that Midwest finesse anglers have caught in Septembers of the past.

(1) During September of 2012, I and an occasional colleague fished 14 times, which encompassed a total of 44 3/4 hours of fishing, and we caught a combination of 414 largemouth and smallmouth bass or 9.2 black bass an hour. In addition to those 14 logs, this guide includes the logs and Finesse News Network reports from Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas; Brent Frazee of Parkville, Missouri; Brian Waldman of Coatesville, Indiana; Casey Kidder of Topeka, Kansas; Chris Rohr of Overland Park, Kansas; Clyde Holscher of Topeka, Kansas; Darryl Brown of Toronto, Ontario; John Kehde of Sedalia, Missouri; Terry Claudell of Overland Park, Kansas; and Terry Bivins of Lebo, Kansas. Here is the link to this guide: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/an-addendum-to-the-month-by-month-guide-to-midwest-finesseseptember/.  It contains 12,261 words.

(2) I fished 12 times, which encompassed 46 hours of Midwest finesse fishing, in September of 2013. On six of those outings, I was joined by another angler, and on one of the outings, there were three of us fishing. And with the help of those seven anglers, we inveigled 344 largemouth bass, 209 smallmouth bass and two spotted bass. This guide also focuses on how, when, and where these anglers fished: Burton Bosley of Sutton, West Virginia; Terry Claudell of Overland Park, Kansas; Charlie Croom of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Brent Frazee of Parkville, Missouri; Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas; Clyde Holscher of Topeka, Kansas; Mike Poe of Siler City, North Carolina; Steve Reideler of Lewisville, Texas; Brian Waldman of Coatesville, Indiana; and Dave Weroha of Kansas City, Kansas. Here is the link to this guide: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/midwest-finesse-fishing-september-2013/. It contains 17,642 words.

(3) During September of 2014, I fished 11 times. This guide features 11 logs that focus on how, when, and where I and an occasional colleague caught a combination of 286 largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. It also features an array of insights of Rick Allen of Dallas, Texas; Donald Baldridge of Springfield, Missouri; Terry Claudell of Overland Park, Kansas; Charlie Croom of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Ethan Dhuyvetter of Manhattan, Kansas; Brent Frazee of Parkville, Missouri; Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas; Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas; Pat Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas; Pok-Chi Lau of Lawrence, Kansas; Greg Monahan of Lee's Summit, Missouri;; Drew Reese of Rantoul, Kansas, and Sioux Narrows, Ontario Dave Weroha of Kansas City, Kansas; and Steve Reideler of Lewisville, Texas. Here is the link to this guide http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish/midwest-finesse-fishing-september-2014/. Here is a link to an update of the September 2014 guide that features Mike Poe of Siler City, North Carolina: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/midwest-finesse-fishing-september-2014-update/. This guide contains 19,642 words, and Poe's update contains 412 words.

(4) Our September of 2015 guide features 30 logs and 26,545 words that feature the Midwest finesse endeavors and observations of Rick Allen of Dallas, Texas; Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas; Steve Desch of Topeka, Kansas; Brent Frazee of Parkville, Missouri; Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas; Travis Myers of Paw Paw, West Virginia; Mike Poe of Siler City, North Carolina; Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas; John Thomas of Denton, Texas; and Andrew Trembath of Kansas City, Kansas. It also includes my outings in northeastern Kansas, where I and an occasional colleague fished 10 times, encompassing 29 hours, and we caught 155 largemouth bass and 64 smallmouth bass. In 2015, several Midwest finesse anglers who reside in northeastern Kansas began to notice that the largemouth bass fishing was not as fruitful as it was in years past, and it was especially evident in September of 2015. What's more, I began to suspect that the combination of my old age, which constituted more than 75 years in September of 2015, and increased angler predation at the flatland reservoirs that I ply seems to have adversely affected my abilities to catch largemouth bass at several of these waterways. Here is a link to this guide: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/midwest-finesse-fishing-september-2015/.

---

(4) Here is the link to "A Month-by-Month Guide to Midwest Finesse for Bass: http://www.in-fisherman.com/midwest-finesse/a-month-by-month-guide-to-midwest-finesse-for-bass/. It contains 730 words about how and where we fished before 2012.

(5)  Here is the link to the 2015 "Septembers of the Past" column: http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/septembers-of-the-past/.  It contains 1,256 words.

Photographs of some of smallmouth bass that were caught in Septembers of the past with Midwest finesse tactics in northeastern Kansas.