Hey, Keith here. For the last three months I've been married to urchins, jigs, and hollow-body frogs.

Summer bass wanted them, and I wasn't arguing.

But last week I fished a private pond in Bush, Louisiana, and felt something different in the air: a light north wind.

The cooler morning had shad getting nervous near the bank.

September had shown up right on schedule, and I knew it was time to change my lineup.

Today, I break down what I threw and the exact lures and patterns you should be tying on right now.

I regularly fish a private pond in Bush, Louisiana, that runs about four acres.

For about three months now, I've been throwing the same reliable summertime baits. Urchins, jigs, and hollow-body frogs got the job done all season long.

But I know from years of doing this that September flips a switch, and this day was no different. A light north wind was blowing, and the morning air actually felt pleasant for a change.

The slightly cooler air of late summer and early autumn gets both the bass and the baitfish moving, and I could tell right away this trip was going to be different.

As I approached the bank, I could clearly see bass blowing up on shad out in open water. 

That was all the confirmation I needed. I tied on a 2.7-inch Rapala Jointed Minnow, a bait I've thrown for almost five years now.

It's a classic for a reason, and I had a feeling it was about to prove it again.

My plan was to start on the eastern shoreline and fish the shade line before the sun climbed too high.

But the explosions from bass crashing shad near the bank pulled me in like a moth to a flame. I couldn't help myself.

I made a cast down the shoreline right where I'd seen the commotion. A bass came up and chased the lure before I could blink.

I swung too early and missed it. My crankbait came flying back at my head and I ducked just in time to avoid taking a treble hook to the face.

I reeled in the slack and made another cast to the same spot.

This time there was an immediate boil on the bait.

I gave it a second or two, let the fish turn with it, and set the hook. I was connected.

The bass made a hard run for deeper water, but it was no match.

I worked it back toward the bank, guided it past a patch of lily pads, and dragged it up onto the grass.

It topped four pounds, my first bass of September, and one of the better fish I've caught off that pond all year.

I got a good look at it and sent it back to fight another day.

I walked the rest of the shoreline after that and picked up a two-pounder that put up just as good a fight as the four did.

By nine o'clock the temperature had climbed, I was dripping sweat, and the bite had shut off almost as fast as it turned on.

I headed back to the truck hot and tired, but I already knew the truth.

The fall bite had officially begun, and that Rapala Jointed Minnow was about to become my most-used bait for the next few weeks.

That four-pounder didn't happen because I got lucky.

It happened because I paid attention to what the pond was telling me before I ever made a cast, and you can do the same thing on your own water this month.

Look for surface activity first. Bass blowing up on shad near the bank is the clearest sign September has arrived, so if you see it, fish it before you do anything else.

Favor wind-blown banks too. A light north wind pushes baitfish and warmer surface water against the shore, and bass will set up to ambush right along that line.

And don't ignore shade. Early in the morning, the shaded side of a pond or creek holds fish longer once the sun climbs, so it's still worth checking even after the open-water bite slows.

The best September bite is usually a short one. My pond turned on at daylight and shut off by nine, and that's a pattern worth planning around.

Get out early and fish the reaction baits, topwater, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits hard while the shad are active and visible.

Once the sun gets high and things go quiet, don't leave.

Slow down, move to shade or deeper water nearby, and pick up a worm or a jig to squeeze a few more bites out of fish that have stopped chasing.