The recently past Labor Day weekend is a reminder that fall is near.

There are several peak periods for catching river smallmouth bass, big ones especially. Late fall is one of them.

When the air is crisp, the leaves down off the trees, and every trip is viewed as a blessed extension into the overtime period of a fishing season, soft swimbaits excel.

A generic description of a soft swimbait would portray a soft-bodied, minnow/shad shaped profile created in such a way as to have great inherent swimming motion without any added manipulation by the angler. Typically, such action is generated by either a boot-tail or twister-tail design. A deeply ribbed body — which accents the swimming action — is a common soft swimbait feature also.

Soft swimbaits can be rigged in a variety of ways, including wide gap, belly-weighted hooks. I’ve found, however, for consistent hook-ups of smallmouth bass, the compactness of an open jighead is tops.

Mushroom-shaped jigheads, which typically have a flat back, work particularly well with swimbaits, as the head of the bait can be glued to the flat surface of the jig. Gluing the bait to the jighead helps economize baits, preventing them from tearing on every hooked fish.

Quarter-ounce jigheads are appropriate for most late fall situations on free-flowing Pennsylvania rivers. Swimbaits in the four-inch range, give or take a half-inch, are well-suited for river smallmouth bass.

Be diligent in rigging the jighead straight within the bait. Insert the point of the hook in the center of the bait’s head, keep the hook well-centered as you run it through the bait, and pop the hook point back out of the bait at such a point that it lays straight and true, not bunched up, curved, or offset in any way.

If the initial rigging is not straight, take the time to redo it. Twister tail bodies can be rigged with either the tail up or down, though I prefer tail up. Such baits often have a subtle crease, from the molding process, that can be used as a centerline guide for rigging the lure.

Much of what makes soft swimbaits so effective for late fall smallmouth bass is the variety of ways they can be used to match the type of water the fish utilize at this time of year.

Once the water temperature drops down into the 50-degree range and lower, I find that bass have moved into areas with reduced current, in many cases larger pools that feature some degree of depth.

When in a more dormant mood, bass hold in the deeper water. They are still catchable, but aren’t actively seeking food. When in a feeding mode, they move shallower, sometimes toward the bank, or perhaps to a shallower flat located upriver or downriver of the pool. Though each situation is unique, quality late fall spots have a blend of protective slack water as well as shallower feeding zones.

While most of my experience has been on the middle portion of the Allegheny River, occasional trips to the Susquehanna verify a similar situation. I suspect the same is true on other free-flowing rivers in the region.

Keeping in mind the types of habitat smallmouth bass use at this time, consider how a soft swimbait can be used to effectively fish these areas. When targeting the shallow “feeding” zone, a slow, steady retrieve that keeps the bait moving typically works best.

Nothing fancy. Simply keep the bait moving with just enough speed to prevent consistent snags, though an occasional hang-up indicates you’re working it properly, near the bottom. The water’s cold, so you don’t want much speed. If you feel you’re swimming the bait too fast to keep it from snagging, and need to slow down to get bit, go to a lighter jighead.

At times, smallmouth bass will strike a swimbait from behind, and then simply continue to swim along with it. You’ll feel an odd weight. When this happens, reel quickly to tighten things up, and then set the hook. Most times, though, they’ll eat the lure and then turn away, which results in a better hook-up percentage.

Even in 40-degree water, I’ve had smallmouth bass inhale a soft swimbait, with the hook buried well down the roof of the mouth.

Now let’s look at those deeper fish, the ones less likely to move for a lure. Here you can work the swimbait more like a jig, imparting a subtle lift-and-drop motion that sees the rod tip move from around 9 to 11 o’clock, with the slack taken in as you lower the rod tip. A jigging retrieve is often more effective on inactive bass than a swimming one.

Naturally, you can mix and match these methods. For instance, use a swimming retrieve for the first 10 feet or so off a bank, and then transition into a jigging one closer to the boat in deeper water.

Perhaps mix in a little stop-and-go (just stop reeling for a second or two) before going from steady swimming to jigging. Such subtle changes can trigger bites, and tell you what they’re in the mood for on a particular day.

While soft swimbaits excel for late fall smallmouth bass, don’t be surprised if other species show up on the end of your line. Walleye, northern pike, muskellunge, whatever gamefish that swims in your river fattens up on minnows at this time of year, and all will eat soft swimbaits.

It’s just another aspect of late fall river fishing that makes it so special.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle