2 questions for y'all

[JAZZ]

1st off, would you throw a crankbait or a top water this time of year? 2nd, do you folks have a problem with rip off baits or do you only fish the originals? I used to exclusively throw Yamamoto baits but he priced himself out of my wallet. Other similar baits work just as well.I throw a lot of Zoom baits. I looked for the new swim sticks and they don't have any at store 44 here. I ended up getting a very similar bait @ Wally's and caught a couple this morning on them. Just wondering

[514F-1]

Well, I dont fish crankbaits lipless or otherwise at all, not even a little bit lol. I would definately fish a topwater, I try one most every trip, especially first thing. I dont mind fishing any brand of plastics, all I care is that they work, and arent crazy expensive.

[TampaJim]

Lipless cranks, hard jerk baits, frogs ... those tend to be my favorite fall lures.

[Spanky06]

Rattle-Traps, Senkos, Chatter-Baits this time of year.....

Spanky

[BassCatBrad]

I throw a lipped crank bait once every 2 years..lol. traps I throw in the fall and winter. As for cheaper baits I use Yum Dingers instead of Senkos. I also use a wide variety of Bitter's Baits. I like their Naked Swimmers over Skinny Dippers. I also use Bitter's ribbon tail worms, trick worms and beaver. They make an awesome 8" paddle tail worm as well.. if you are not close to Sanford Florida you can order them off their Internet site.

[JohnnyO]

Cannot beat Zoom for plastics and there price point. You can find crank baits at Academy Sports at an excellent price point

Throw a lot of shad rap style baits this time of year.

[Orion922]

If you have the cover around you don't forget about punching dying veggies this time of year. Holds heat. Depending where I am at I work the water column from top to bottom depending on conditions. Rattle trap, buzz bait, walking bait at the ready for schooling.

[Ladr6]

BOTH! And all forms! Knock offs arent bad depending. I am the complete opposite as some above... i hardly ever throw soft plastics anymore. H2O baits are getting better. Certain ones anyway. As far as knock off senkos, big bites makes a good one. Cheap. Yamamoto baits are really good, but i am not paying $8 a bag for plastics that get me one fish per.

[Orion922]

Baits companies do matter IMO but not the end all be all. Active feeding fish matter more IMO. I have worked myself down to several baits instead of 100 different kinds of plastics that I never use. If I am warming up for a TX, I will use knock offs to get bite then switch over. I have found if you stick with TW, BPS, site sponsors here when there are major sales you can save a lot a coin and stock up. For example: if you love trick worms when there is a Labor Day sale I will buy dozens for the discounted price.

I did the mystery tackle box for a year (140) bucks to try new stuff I might never but. Found a couple baits I like but not enough to keep doing it. If you love senkos I have found the strike king version is pretty legit for 2 bucks and change on TW.

[Spanky06]

Yes, the Senko knock offs are getting better. Gander's Senko is pretty good, but I have used some that were not.

Spanky

[GTB]

Top water

[Whiteboat]

I use whatever works for me. I use quite a few Bitter's knock offs because I like them and they make the colors I want. But I also use a lot of the Originals such as Zoom, Bass Assassin, Missile, and Gambler.

I use the Bitter Senko knockoff because of the poor durability of the Yamamoto Senko and lack of colors for my area.

[reelman]

Bitter Swimmer in 1 color & Skinny Dipper 3 colors...8.58# last Dec was Trophy Catch...6.85# last Feb...
not a bite this week though due to water temp crash plus front winds moved in...

Jerk bait, shallow Flatt Max, custom made spinnerbaits and chatter baits are my general deal the cooler months.
One color of Dinger is always in the box.

It always depends upon the cover, water temp, wind and sun...the usual puzzle...LOL