It was a brisk, mid-fall morning in southwest Connecticut, the place I met up with Bassmaster Elite Collection Professional Alex Wetherell and his absolutely rigged, tour-grade Caymas bass boat. Alex had simply completed his rookie season on the Bassmaster Elite Collection tour, representing the Northeast and making a reputation for himself with some nice finishes, together with a top-ten end at an occasion on the Sabine River in Texas.
Whereas the Northeast is dwelling to an unimaginable bass fishery, it isn’t identified for placing out Elite Collection tour anglers. Since Alex had reached that stage, I used to be excited to see how he approached a day of fishing in his dwelling state of Connecticut.
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Alex’s plan was to begin the day through the use of forward-facing sonar over deeper construction to seek for any indicators of life from perch and alewives to bass. He started the day with a 3/8-ounce Lunker Metropolis Titan jighead matched to a Lunker Metropolis Fin-S Fish, an ideal small baitfish presentation. He had this rigged up on a Shimano Expride spinning rod and Shimano Vanford reel spooled with 10-pound-test braid and completed with an 8-pound-test fluorocarbon chief. Alex defined {that a} 3/8-ounce jighead is the right measurement for fishing 10 to twenty ft of water. It helps preserve the bait close to the underside but in addition retains it shifting on the identical time.
Noting the water temperature of 52 levels, Alex started scanning alongside a rock wall with a receding drop-off in 20 ft of water. He situated a couple of particular person smallmouth, made correct casts, and watched them react to the Fin-S Fish on his Humminbird Megalive. The fish weren’t responding the way in which he needed, with only a few fish following however none committing. Alex wasn’t discouraged, nevertheless, and stated that even when the fish are usually not biting, the live-imaging expertise lets him see how they’re behaving and responding to his lure. Just some years in the past, he continued, anglers on Connecticut’s bigger lakes would see smallmouth breaking on bait in open water, with no strategy to goal them till forward-facing sonar meant they might hunt these smallies down.
After recognizing that the fish he was seeing didn’t appear serious about his presentation, he made a change to a smaller finesse swimbait that was 3 inches in measurement with a paddle tail and three/8-ounce jighead. He let the bait fall all the way in which to the underside and started a gradual, regular retrieve again to the boat. He used his electronics to maintain the boat positioned alongside a submerged part of the rock wall, which allowed him to maintain his bait within the strike zone—parallel to the wall—for the whole length of the retrieve. Just some casts after the change, Alex set the hook, and up out of the water got here a strong smallmouth, although it shook out of Alex’s grasp together with the boat. He then employed 360 Imaging, an electronics mode the place he might see all of the construction across the boat, and repositioned himself between the drop-off and the rock wall. A couple of casts later, he caught a second smallmouth.
After protecting the rock wall space, Alex pivoted to a different of his favourite fall strategies. He made a transfer to a rock bluff shoreline with deep water near the financial institution and considerable rocks. He picked up his go-to jig rod, with the plan to roll his jig down and round these rocks. His jig of alternative was a ¾-ounce soccer in a inexperienced pumpkin sample with a 4-inch Lunker Metropolis Karate Craw trailer on the again. He backed it up with a 7’3” medium-heavy Shimano baitcasting rod and a Shimano Bantam baitcasting reel spooled with 40-pound-test braid to 16-pound fluorocarbon chief.
This system and presentation was geared to focus on largemouth that hold off the bluff banks. Alex proceeded to flip his jig down the rocky banks utilizing a lift-and-drop presentation, then maintained contact with the underside. It didn’t take lengthy for him to get a couple of bites, however not one of the fish made it to the boat.
After giving the jig a great shot, the solar was getting larger and the impoundment’s dam started to maneuver water, so we moved again to the open water areas the place we had began the morning.
He picked up his 3/8-ounce finesse swimbait once more and went to work after recognizing some fish together with his electronics. There have been followers nearly instantly, and on the following solid, whereas utilizing a gradual retrieve, he acquired rocked by a big, acrobatic smallmouth. He scooped that one up with ease, snapped a couple of photographs, and acquired again up entrance to seek out one other. Simply two casts later, he linked once more, this time on the largest fish of the day. Regardless of competing at bass fishing’s highest stage, Alex’s pleasure over the large smallie throughout a day of enjoyable fishing jogged my memory why all of us, at each stage, love the pursuit of bass. We celebrated with excessive fives and photographs.
The subsequent transfer was to a brush pile the place Alex stated a whole lot of crappie hang around. As quickly as he put down the trolling motor and started scanning, a faculty of crappie appeared on the sonar. Alex picked up his jig and made a solid. He attached immediately, however to our shock, as a substitute of a crappie, a strong largemouth appeared subsequent to the boat. It’s common, he stated, for largemouth to hold across the crappie faculties.
We continued down that shoreline to the primary lake, fishing extra of the bluff banks with the jig. The boat was sitting in nearly 30 ft of water, simply 10 ft from the financial institution, the place largemouth slide up and down from shallow to deep water with ease.
Nonetheless, largemouth weren’t the one ones in these areas. Whereas looking the shoreline with the jig, Alex stored an eye fixed on his stay imaging, one thing he emphasised all the time being attentive to. He abruptly put down his jig rod, picked up his spinning rod, made a rapid pitch, after which stated, “Oh no, they’re going below the boat!” He had seen a faculty of fish within the deeper water column off the financial institution and had made a solid at them. He did a fast 180 with the trolling motor, relocated the fish, solid, and set the hook. One other strong smallmouth leapt out of the water. It turned out he’d come throughout a complete college of smallmouth that had scattered when he acquired shut, however then regrouped moments later. Alex was shocked that the college was so tight to the financial institution, however within the fall, fish may be anyplace. With out his stay imaging, he may need continued down the financial institution with no consequence.
We stored fishing by that stretch, and once more Alex noticed a fish on his electronics. He made the pitch and referred to as his shot. “Popping out for it,” he stated with pleasure. “Taking a look at it, nonetheless taking a look at it, GOT HIM!”
What stored Alex fishing with success by the day was his means to make adjustments and check out new strategies with out disregarding what had already labored. He knew he might catch smallmouth on a swimbait once we began within the morning, however acknowledged they weren’t but keen, so he made a transfer within the meantime. He was in a position to cross the jig sample off the checklist after which return to his preliminary method when he thought it was proper. This led to a number of strong fish and continued success by the day.
Staying versatile within the fall is the secret within the Northeast. The climate continuously adjustments and so do the fish. It is very important use all of the gear at your disposal, particularly electronics. Alex stated it finest: “Fall fishing within the Northeast? It’s like a residing puzzle. You’re continuously altering from each day, you get that chilly entrance coming in, the leaves are altering, the whole lot’s altering. You could adapt and alter too. Due to that, I feel it makes you a greater angler.”
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