After a broiling summer, September brings a wide range of pleasant choices for outdoor enthusiasts.

Just being outside is more enjoyable now with plenty of excellent activities to participate in. For hunters, squirrel season opens this weekend, and of course, the early goose and dove seasons are already underway.

Fishing no longer needs to be a crack of dawn affair in order to beat the heat. While the fishing for most species of gamefish tends to be good during fall, trout fishing especially tends to make an upswing as the weather turns cooler.

South-central Pennsylvania has ample numbers of trout streams that harbor excellent populations of wild trout or stocked streams that maintain good numbers of holdover fish. The extended trout season is now in effect, so the daily limit of trout is reduced from five to three and only applies to stocked trout waters.

Catch-and-release trout fishing is permitted on wild trout streams and other waters not managed as stocked trout waters during the extended season. For complete information about specific regulations on various waterways, consult the Pennsylvania Fishing Summary booklet.

One great attraction of fall trout fishing compared to springtime is you will usually have long sections of stream all to yourself. But fall can also present a special set of challenges. Unless we have recently experienced a major rainfall event, low and clear water conditions are typical for this time of year.

Also keep in mind that all those trout have spent the spring and summer becoming educated at evading anglers and their offerings, so treat them with an extra measure of respect and stealth. On smaller streams, stay out of the water as much as possible.

On larger streams, wade carefully and slowly to create minimal disturbance. Scaring away your quarry before you have the chance to make your first cast will guarantee failure.

While any method of trout fishing will be productive this time of year, I have long been partial to fly fishing in general, and dry-fly fishing in particular.

Caddisflies tend to be among the most important bugs on our local streams during the fall. A tan or brown Elk-Hair Caddis in size 14 or 16 will cover most of the caddis activity and are also good choices for prospecting when nothing is hatching. Another important dry to carry would be some Blue-Winged Olives in sizes 18 to 22.

These tiny mayflies tend to hatch on overcast days on most trout streams, and trout will methodically pick them from the surface of large, flat pools. A Parachute Adams is an effective all-around dry fly any time of year, so if there are no caddis about or fish sipping olives, I often try fishing the water with one of those in size 12 to 16.

On days when trout aren’t taking dry flies, fishing subsurface with nymphs and wet flies will almost always take some fish. One important tip is smaller nymphs generally work better now. Many species of nymphs in the fall are often barely half the size they will be next spring when they’re nearly fully grown and ready to hatch.

General purpose nymph patterns such as the Pheasant Tail, Walt’s Worm, Hare’s Ear or Prince Nymph in sizes 14 to 18 will make a good assortment.

Woolly Buggers and other streamer flies are a great choice to tempt larger trout. These flies tend to work best in high, off-colored water when bigger fish are more likely to chase down such a meal but can also be useful in skinny flows as well.

In low or clear water, a trout will often follow or chase a large streamer or Bugger for some distance and return to its lie without striking the fly. Such behavior is somewhat disconcerting, but knowledgeable anglers will often use it to their advantage to locate a big fish and then resort to more subtle techniques to catch it.

Egg patterns are also useful favorite fall flies. Both brook trout and brown trout are fall spawners. Trout lay their eggs in small depressions dug in the gravel at the tail of a pool or in a shallow riffle. During the act of spawning some of the eggs released by the female trout will be swept out of the spawning bed and drift in the stream currents until they are eagerly consumed by other trout.

Glo Bugs and other single-egg patterns or the popular Sucker Spawn in various colors are all good attractor patterns this time of year.

In clear water, try lighter eggs, such as cream, light pink or pale yellow, while orange, dark pink or bright yellow usually work well in stained water. Egg patterns in hook sizes 12 and 14 are usually the best for fall trout.

A trout stream is a wonderful place to be anytime of the year, but the scenery and the solitude of autumn make trout fishing a special experience. Be sure to take advantage of this fleeting opportunity.