TriStateBassin106

I would love to catch a 10lb+ Florida largemouth one day but I feel like catching a massive smallmouth like that guy did this past year on Lake Erie would be more rewarding.

I absolutely love the Rage Menace and KVD 1.5s. They're a staple in my tackle boxes. Also can never go wrong with some good old rage bugs.

Also picked up a few stunnas this past month to try them out in 2023, looking foward to throwing them up here in the Northeast, I have the sliver and yellow perch patterns.

I primarily fish for largemouth but I remember this one time a friend and me were fishing a creek and we asked this rude shady guy with long hair who was fishing it also what would be a good lure imitation for creek chubs and he got kinda hostile and passive agressive about it, he basically told us that it doesn't matter what color it is or we need to just put a black line on it, we ended up doing that and we caught no fish, next outing we got a hardbait with a similar color pattern to creek chubs and killed it. Friend caught a 2.3lb smallmouth in a deep pool.

Yozuri 3db 110 and the 90 size are great options, Rapala X rap is also good.

Mind me asking the lake? I live in Passaic County and probably fish it or know it. I fish most lakes/ponds in the Bergen/Passaic/Sussex. Also glad to see another Jersey guy on Here.

This season was definitely a slight regression from the amazing season I had last year. 2022 I started off hot with a great spring/spawn bite in April and May but as the summer began it got tough and I had to slow down/finesse them 70% of the time with worms jigs texas rigs etc, it was the same way heading into to the fall. One thing I can't complain about though is I caught a bunch of nice size fish this year, In my neck of the woods that's 3 to 5lbers. but yeah I just couldn't get on that good reaction bite like I always seem to do years before, especially during the spring and fall which was non existent this year. I probably only caught a handful of fish on moving baits this fall. New Jersey also suffered a pretty bad drought this summer which probably had some effect on the fish. I guess overall I had high expectations going into the season based on last year but one thing I learned over the years is that in bass fishing nothing ever really goes to plan and you have to fall back on what you know works. if I had to count I probably caught 35 fish less than my final number from last year, which was close to 180 bass, it's not a lot compared to some other anglers on here but I mostly fish public ponds and lakes that are extremely pressured. So I'll take it but I am glad the season is over, I also got better at new techniques like jerkbaits and drop shots. Plan on restocking my arsenal this winter for 2023!

I live in New Jersey so when it starts to get really cold out or the water temps reach the lower 50s upper 40s, which is right around now.. Based on the forecast we're supposed to get a very cold and possible heavy snow filled winter this year, so i wouldn't be surprised if the water freezes over soon.

Xzone lures muscle back craw 3.25.

This would never go down peacefully in a bass tournament, professional or local clubs. Those cheaters are lucky someone or a few didn't put their hands on them. Also this should be a felony, it's technically theft. A LOT of people got cheated out of money on that circuit!

In my neck of the woods these 4 have been pretty consistent this time of year. Crankbait (doesn't matter what kind) Spinnerbait Texas Rigged Soft Plastic or a Jig Ned Rig Jerkbait The bottom two I switch more to as November hits and the water cools into the 50s. But I also throw the ned rig year round. Had a restock of pitboss that came in today, A pond I frequent has a bunch of hydrilla patches along the bank and the bait with a pegged weight gets right into it. Fish love it!

On the boat fishing bigger lakes in my neck of the woods (New Jersey) -Pontoon boats -Docks -Steep bluffs/rocky bank. -Weed beds or as we call them up here cabbage fields. -Lilly pads -Overhanging trees. -submerged timber/stumps.

I usually don't care unless the fish is battered in dirt like it's about to be deep fried. Even then I'm not a confrontational person. Instead of bashing people I try to promote better fish handling. ?

War Eagle finesse spinnerbaits, only spinnerbait I throw when I'm fishing ponds/pressured lakes.

I'm more annoyed at the undersized fish on the stringer than the way she's holding a reel. I'm guessing she doesn't have a fishing license? Get Fish and Game on the phone lol.

I've caught fish on jerkbaits and dropshots in pea soup to 10inch water visibility. I like dark and bright colors. Nothing beats a black or junebug zoom finesse worm in 4inch.

Docks lilly pads, overhanging trees and parked boats. If I'm fishing the bank I like riprap, lilly pads trees etc.

Pretty good past two weeks, had a blast fishing my lake this labor day and got on some nice fish offshore, including a gorgeous smallmouth which is rare for my lake, (there's not a lot of them) also my lakes are finally beginning the fall turnover process and the fish are becoming a tad bit more mobile, we should be on a good fall bite here in New Jersey in the next few weeks. It's still very warm up here and the fish are probably still in some type of summer pattern (for now, until the coldfronts start.)

Tried and true with stuff I know works but also exploring is fun. For example: My home lake is 350 acres man made and shallow with an average depth of 5 to 7 feet. With the deepest being 13ft by the dam. There's a bunch of submerged weed beds mixed with flooded timber offshore i've recently been fishing. With the help of my Garmin Echomap i've been able to get on some fish. My usual approach on this lake is to just fish the back coves and pockets where all the homeowners have docks and pontoons. This pattern works pretty well in early to mid summer but once the fall transition starts (now) the fish are on the move and I struggled fishing those spots. So i've been exploring more and have had great results!

Not changing lures when I should, it's that gambler like mentality that the next cast will be the one I get a fish lol.

Bite detection, especially with slower moving baits, I don't even question if it's a fish, my brain and instincts kick in from doing it so many times..happens so fast I can't explain it, it's crazy lol.

They flat out work my man. I don't know what it is, I still use normal roboworms and would if I ran out. But I really like those new worms.

Hmm. well to start it off I have 2 finesse setups that I use for different things. My first one is a 7'0 ML from 13 fishing paired with a Ardent size 2500 reel. I use this for stuff like drop shotting, neds and wacky rigs. I use 15lb powerpro with a 8lb Flourocarbon leader. My second combo is a 7'1 M daiwa rod paired with a Pflueger reel in the 3000 size, this also has 15lb powerpro with an 8lb Flourocarbon leader. This is what I throw flukes/senkos/shakeyheads and lighter jigs on. IMO you can probably use that tatula ML you mentioned for ned rigs aswell. But if you're looking for a completely new combo you can probably pick out a good rod for that price range you're willing to spend, lews, daiwa and shimano all have great rods in that 100 to 200 dollar range. If you get the douglas rod any ideas of what reel you want to put on it?

I've stopped using normal roboworms and switched to the new missile baits magic worm, (made in collaboration with roboworm) my favorite colors are bruiser flash and green pumpkin.