Joel W

My style changes by the season. If something has been working for me then I tend to stick with it untill it no longer produces. This year I've become a Drop Shot junkie. If there is fish in the area, I'm convinced that I can catch them with my DS rig. Shallow or deep doesn't really matter. Even today with water temps in the low 60's I caught LM's with both Rattle Traps and a Drop Shot rig.

I don't use braid anymore on my spinning setups, but I do on all 4 of my baitcasters. My crankbait and wt'd plastic setups use 30 lb Power Pro with a 12 inch leader. The leader has only purpose, and that's to keep the braid from being cut while being bounced and or dragged on a rocky bottom. I use to get cut off from time to time a few inches before the lure. The 12 inch leader has solved that problem. I've tried leaders as long a 6 ft and just don't like the feeling of the knot going through the tip guide. I use a black permanent marker on the last 4 or 5 feet on all my braid, so it's just about invisible in the water.

THis year by far my most productive bait has been a Yum 5 inch finesse worm in Green Pumpkin and a Watermellon with black flakes on a drop shot rig. 2nd most productive bait has been the almighty 4 inch Yumdinger in Pumpkin followed by watermellon with black flake.

I'll be hitting a NYC reservoir on Sunday, and like you this is the 1st weekend where we have real fall temps. I'm starting in 10-15 FOW fishing outside weedlines with cranks, spinnerbaits, Drop Shot, jigs, and even a finesse jig on the bottom, then over the weeds with reaction lures. Next step is any rocks or structure I can find and work those with the same presentations. Hopefully, I'll find schools of baitfish and target them.

Welcome to the world of freshwater Bass fishing. There is a steep learning curve, but each step has it's own rewards. As already suggested, read everything in the beginners section, then ask questions. One piece of advice is to use the KISS system. Don't go crazy with lures or a ton of plastics where you're constantly changing. When you find the Bass, there are a multitude of lures or plastics that will get the job done.

I've found that Sufix Elite #6 & #8 lb test has little to no memory, is nick resistant, and holds knots extremely well. I've had absolutely no issues with it.

I use to use Power Pro with a leader on all my baitcaster and spinning reel setups. Slowly over the last few years I've switched to Sufix Elite 8 lb test for all my spinning setups except for my finesse jigs and plastics setup which is spooled with #6 test. 3 baitcasters are spooled with 30 lb Power Pro and 2 have a 12-18 inch leader so I don't get cut off dragging cranks and wt'd plastics over rocks. My spinnerbait setup doesn't need nor use a leader. The 4th baitcaster setup which is dedicated for jigging is spooled with 50 lb Power Pro and no leader.

Once I tried the Paca chunks, I was sold. That's the only trailer I've used this year.

I mostly use a Rapala DT16 for cranking down to 12-14 ft so I know that I'm bouncing it off of literally all the rocks etc on the bottom. I use a Team Daiwa Advantage 150-A with a 5.2 to 1 coupled with a 7 ft All Star Med/Med action tip rod. For fishing deeper then 14 ft I usually drop shot, pitch jigs, of wt'd plastics.

This summer I've spent the vast amount of my time drop shotting over any other presentation. I usually pitch my DS rig past the point that I want to fish, then as I bring the rod up to twitch it, the rig moves right where I want it. I use a small swivel about 18 inches above my hook and tie off to my main line (#6 or #8 Sufix Elite) with a improved clinch knot. I also have 6 premade rigs made up with swivels ready to go just in case I need them, but without any wts attached. Line Twists come from the fact that the your plastic bait is off centered from the line and will rotate (twist) as it is retrieved even if you bring it up vertically. Unless you use braid (which I've tried and removed) you're going to get some twist issues through out the day. Manually closing your bail will greatly reduce the bird nest issues, but won't do a thing for the twisted line. When and if I get line twist issues that I need to deal with on the water, I just cut off my rig at the swivel then row to my next spot while letting the line out. I usually let out a min of 1/2 the spool, then rewind the spool and the twists are gone. I've tried Reel Magic but it didn't seem to decrease the twisting issues.

I've played a few fishing games and nearly all of them are just terrible. The only one that comes close to keeping my interest up during the winter is In-Fisherman Trophy Fishing. Not the greatest graphics as it's a older game.

Fishing is number 1 on my list. When I'm not fishing I'm a devoted New York Yankee baseball fan. I've enjoyed for years computer gaming both on and off line.

I gotta agree with my buddy Dodge, if the humidity brings overcast skies, then the bite is usually a lot more consistent, and the bass are usually up.

It's been a weird year on the NYC reservoirs. My average for LM's are between 1/2-2 lbs.

As long at it still rattles, it will catch fish. One thing I do with my Rattle Traps is take off the rear treble hook. It rips through the weeds a lot better as it tends not to get hung up as easily. Also, nearly all of my hooks ups have been on the bottom hook.

I also use Megastrike but not as a fish attractant, as I've never seen any real difference in the number of hits using any attractant vs not using them. But I honestly feel that the Megastrike does cause the fish to hold onto the lure for a longer period of time.

I only use white 5 inch Yum Dingers and white 4 inch Black Widow tubes during the spawn. Once the spawn is over my go to colors and the only two colors I use for soft plastics are green pumpkin and watermellon with black flake. The only exception is red shad for my 7 & 10 inch Culprit worms.

For me at least, there just isn't anyone best search bait. Season, water conditions, cover, and structure all play a vital part in what I'll use. Ice out: hair jigs, finesse jigs, and jigs. You never know what they want on any given day. Prespawn: Hard Jerkbaits, & Spinnerbaits Spawn: 5 inch Stickbaits, Mann's 1minus Crankbaits Post spawn: Spinnerbaits slow rolled, & Finess jigs Summer Shallow and over weeds: Spinnerbaits, and Topwater (Spooks) Summer Deep: Jigs, tx rigged wt'd plastic worms & Creature baits Early fall: Spinnerbaits, & Rattle Traps Fall: Jerkbaits, Spinnerbaits, & Rattle Traps Early Winter: Jigs

I have a dedicated setup for Spinnerbaits as they're my favorite search bait these days. They're also a consistant producer over and along weedbeds. I carry 6 white and 6 chartreuse spinners, all with red hooks. 5 of each 6 are 3/8 oz and one is a 1/2 oz. All have a combination of a willow and colorado blades. In addition in my spinnerbait box is 2 3/8 oz white spinners with a big single colorado blade. I've given up on buzzbaits as I just don't have any confidence in them, but rather prefering to throw a Spook for topwater