Jar11591

Pop tarts and Gatorade, but I usually forget to eat the pop tarts.

Can’t tell you about Northstar or Dirty but I use Siebert Jigs exclusively. Since I’ve started using them, I have had no reason to think about changing. The hooks, band and heads are all great quality, and there are a ton of color options. The couple times I’ve emailed Siebert about custom colors or a question about my order, I’ve always heard back quickly, the shipping is fast and track-able. You wouldn’t have to worry about customer service.

Jigs: Siebert Brush, flipping and football jigs. Trailers: NetBait Paca Craws and Chunks, RageTail Menace and Structure Bug.

Good post. When I think of the thousands of dollars I spend on rods, reels, baits, boat & gas and fishing trips, never do I feel like that money was wasted. All my disposable income goes to fishing related things because its my favorite thing in the world and I can't think of a better thing to do or spend money on.

Don’t give up yet! Take it from a fellow NYer, there are still fish to be caught. Went out today when the air temperature was in the mid 30s and the water temp wasn’t even 50 degrees and I still had a good day. They were hitting jigs, spinnerbaits, and guess what? I even caught a half dozen on top water. Get some cold weather gear, and keep fishing! If you can tolerate the cold, there is still fishing to be done! I won’t stop for the year until my first skunk, which I haven’t even sniffed in the last few weeks.

The last couple times I’ve been out the water temps have been in the low 50s in the morning and mid to upper 50s by midday.

This fall the fishing has been on fire for me. The bite has definitely changed a little though. I’m catching zero bass off of laydowns, when that was a big producer all summer. The fish I have been catching have either been super shallow, like less than 2’ or deep in any green weeds that still exist. The topwater bite has been incredible, even as the water has cooled down a lot. I’ve caught bass in water so shallow this fall that I would have usually ignored it. Sometimes you have to make minor tweaks in location to stay on them. Top water super shallow or over any remaining submergent weeds has been the key for me.

I use Frogg Toggs for all my rain gear. Their stuff is very affordable and after a few years, it seems to be quality.

Yep, we’re having an unseasonably warm fall here in the northeast. I’m loving it. It’s kepts the fishing hot and the topwater bite is still going.

x2. My second favorite brand of frog behind LT. I prefer the Crasher Jr.

When I hear "pond" I think small, shallow and vegetated. When I am pond fishing, a Texas rig and a weedless frog do the most damage.

This ^ I often fish a spinnerbait by "ripping" it through grass. I toss it out, let it fall for a second or two and start slow rolling it. When I feel it start to get bogged down in the grass, I "rip" it as hard as I can and this will usually pull it free of the weeds and it will also draw a lot of strikes.

@Angealy looks to be a fall fish.

I love fishing this time of year. The bite is usually good, the humidity and 80-90 degree days are done. The scenery is also great in the fall too. I keep fishing right until the fish stop biting, or the water freezes. But it is in the back of my mind that the season is winding down. Cold weather doesn’t stop me from fishing, but hard water does. I’m like you, ice fishing doesn’t seem appealing to me. I’ve toyed with the idea of a guided ice trip this year just to cure the cabin fever, but I just can’t get myself excited for it.

I've seen these washed up on the bank before, at a lake exactly like you're describing, a clear trout lake. It's obviously not a bass or sunfish, definitely not an Esox, doesn't look like a juvenile trout. I agree with @webertime, must be a bait-fish species.

Some loon shots from this year. I am lucky enough to encounter loons on most lakes I fish, minus the urban lakes. There is nothing quite like fishing a mountain lake on a calm foggy morning and hearing their calls pierce the silence. The lake I frequent the most has a family of 4 loons living there. The mother and father had two chicks back in early summer. The chicks are now adult size, but don't have their adult colors yet. Yesterday I got to witness the chicks practicing their call, but they still have some work to do. It's not quite there yet. The family should be preparing to migrate soon, hopefully I'll see them once more this year before they fly off to wherever they winter.

I use the Buff UV mask. http://buffusa.com/shop-buff/men/masks-category/mask-family.html I use these mainly because they have small holes where your mouth goes so you can pull it over your nose without fogging up your sunglasses.

The bite is still going strong here in upstate NY. Yes, that is a Chug Bug stuck to my jeans. And they're still hitting on top. Caught one with a gnarly scar. All fish caught had bellies like this.

I've never weighed a rock bass, but I have caught some big ones. They hit hard and fight like a decent bass for the first couple seconds. I've had them slam topwater baits, spinnerbaits and jigs, and earlier this year I caught one after it blew up on a frog through some lily pads. Aggressive little fish.

More than 3, less than 4. Solid fish.

Can you walk the dog with a spook type lure? If not, its easier to learn on them first. Walking a frog requires a more subtle twitch of the rod, and some brands do it better than others. Your swivel idea may help with walking the frog, but may not be great for when a fish takes your frog and buries in the slop. Practicing in open water, it shouldn't take long to get it down.

The stuff you have looks like some seriously thick stuff. What pound test is that? With monofilament, the thicker it is, the more memory it has. A thin diameter monofilament like Trilene XL should never look like this. I assume you're using a spinning reel? If so, I recommend Trilene XL in 6-8lb test. The stuff is limp, has very little memory and is plenty strong. When I am using casting gear with monofilament, line memory is a non-factor.

Rage Tail Menace. Texas-rigged or as a jig trailer.

Correct.

Just returned from a week in Denver and the surrounding Rocky Mountains. The landscape and scenery are incredible. This shot is from Rocky Mountain National Park.