Elite

Mueller’s northeastern tacklebox

See the baits that Bassmaster Elite Series pro Paul Mueller relies on when fishing in his home state of Connecticut.

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Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Captions by
Kyle Jessie
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Paul Mueller has found success fishing across the country, but he suggests the northeast part of the country is often overlooked for bass fishing. As a Connecticut native, Mueller has a variety of baits he relies on heavily when fishing his home lake, Candlewood Lake, and other bodies of water that are in the same general region. While Mueller chose these baits specifically for fishing the prespawn period in the Northeast, he mentioned that all the baits mentioned are effective all year around. The baits that Mueller chose cover all depth ranges.
Do-It Molds Freestyle Jig paired with a Do-It Molds Crappie Fluke
“This is a bait that I’ll go with when targeting suspended fish or even fish that are near the bottom that are eating Alewife,” he said. “You can pretty much always count on there being a population of fish being deep on Candlewood Lake when there’s bait present. This is a bait that I’ll often use when targeting fish on forward-facing sonar, but it’s a surprisingly good bait for fishing shallow with a lighter jighead.”
Do-It Molds Round Head Jig paired with a Do-It Molds Ripper Swimbait (2-inch)
“The smaller profile of the 2-inch Ripper Swimbait is key when the water is cold because a lot of the primary bait the bass are feeding on are small,” Mueller said. “I like the Round Head Jig because it deflects off the bottom really well when fishing the bait super slow on the bottom.”
Do-It Molds Midwest Finesse Jig paired with a Do-It Molds Midwest Finesse Worm
“The Midwest Finesse Jig and the Midwest Finesse Worm are made to work in tandem,” he said. “This is simply a bite-getter. When it’s tough to trigger a bite on other baits, I’ll typically go to this rig.”
Ima Pinjack 200 Crankbait
“While all of these baits will catch both smallmouth and largemouth, the first three baits are primarily smallmouth baits, and the next few are mainly largemouth baits,” said Mueller. “This is a crankbait that has a tighter action and works really well in cold water. We fish a lot of rock and grass transitions in that part of the country and this bait deflects off of that cover really well. Typically these fish are feeding on perch, so that’s what I try to match the colors up with.”
Deps Evoke 1.8 Squarebill Crankbait
“The Evoke 1.8 is really unique because it’s ultimately a deep-diving squarebill crankbait,” he said. “This bait has a wider action, so I like it more when the water is warmer.”
Do-It Molds Sparky Jig paired with chunk trailer
“The water rarely gets dirty, so a natural-colored jig is a standby for fishing in the Northeast,” Mueller said. “This particular jig is an all-purpose jig that does well around rocks, wood and even skips well under boat docks.”
Mueller’s six bait cover all different depth ranges and can catch both largemouth and smallmouth.
Thanks, Paul!

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