Topwater prop baits

[UKCATSBASSER]

Don't have any currently in the box. Do you fish similar to a pop r/walk the dog or more like a rip/Jerkbait motion?

What brands and colors do you like?

[papajoe222]

I prefer to use them with a ripping motion.  The smaller the bait, the shorter the rip. I also only use the smaller ones when there is a slight ripple on the water.  The larger ones are for when there is more of a slight chop on the surface.  That is also when I use double prop baits.

Smaller baits would include Tiny Torpdos and Cordell Crazy Shads. Torpdos, WoodChoppers, BoyHowdys and DevilsHorse are larger profile baits. If there is a good chop on the water Mann's makes a bait called a TwoFer that has a buzzbait like prop on the one end that really kicks up a commotion.  All the baits mentioned are moderately priced.

One thing I should mention; when using baits with front props, use heavier mono to avoid the line getting caught in the prop.  

[ETX92]

I like the Heddon Tiny torpedos in the clear and frog colors. I'll typically rip it but  I've caught fish with different retrieves, just gotta see what they want that day. I'll fish the next size up or a devils horse if the water is rougher.

[Mike L]

After trying the Whopper Plooper that's all I use now. 

 

 

Mike

[Mumbly]

pappajoe222 has summed it up quite well

[primetime]

I love the bagley's tail spinner like I have in the pic...That is the dual prop rip bait that dives a foot, and it is a killer post spawn, summer bait...I also like all the baits mentioned but the tiny torpedo is a great topwater for action, if fishing clear or semi clear water...A clear torpedo or tiny torpedo is fantastic...

The Older wooden baits like Devils horse are popular but I have recently made the switch to the X Rap Prop and I like the colors and action but I also use the Cordell Crazy Shad, add tail spinners to long A's, Rapala minnows, and the Zara Spook prop bait is also really good....

I like to start out with a twitch twich pause...then rip it and kill it...then maybe try to walk it, or slowly swim like a buzz bait...Some days they want the prop bait moving fast, some days you barely move it...But if you find a group of Bluegill beds which in Florida you can smell and they will all spawn in a giant area...If you fish that area in the morning or evening with a prop bait you will do well and I don't think it matters what brand etc...I also use the Academy Slush which is fatter like a bluegill and has awesome colors for $6...I have never used expensive Prop baits like you see on TW for $30..Not sure why unless they are hand carved balsa and even then I am not sure they are better than an old vintage Luhr Jensen woodchopper or wooden lure made of cedar you can find on Ebay for nothing...and the color no paint is usually really good...Don't change the hooks for as long as possible and if you do, try to keep everything perfect..prop baits need to get broken in, some never do, but the blades need the perfect bend to get the right action.....You can also remove them from the bagleys and others and then you have a killer Rip bait...

[scaleface]

The Bomber Prop A is a Long A Minnow with a prop at the tail , like the propped Bagleys Bang O Lure ., great lures , especially post spawn , which is right now in  a lot of places . It can be retrieved a lot of ways but my most productive is to twitch it with short sharp jerks as fast as I can and still get that prop to spit . My biggest limit of all time was caught on it , on shallow points for post spawn females . Pqrop A's are no longer made but if you get some props they are easy to fashion . I still have about 6 new in box , thats how much I like them .

[primetime]

6 hours ago, scaleface said:

The Bomber Prop A is a Long A Minnow with a prop at the tail , like the propped Bagleys Bang O Lure ., great lures , especially post spawn , which is right now in  a lot of places . It can be retrieved a lot of ways but my most productive is to twitch it with short sharp jerks as fast as I can and still get that prop to spit . My biggest limit of all time was caught on it , on shallow points for post spawn females . Pqrop A's are no longer made but if you get some props they are easy to fashion . I still have about 6 new in box , thats how much I like them .

I usually only put the rear prop on the bomber long A, but I like it better than the Bagleys at times because they cast easier and also can be fished on heavier line which I need at times. Many of the big lakes where I use Prop Baits to fish the Post Spawn get windy with big waves, so I like the double prop, but I have never tried a prop in front of the Bomber. Have you ever tried 2 props on the Bomber, and is it worth it as I imagine it would take some tuning etc..

I like 2 props when really choppy and it's funny you mentioned that your best day was when you were working it with fast rips...I had one of my best days ever last year working a Bagley's with the one prop in back and the Fish wanted it moving at all times and they would rip the rod out of my hands right when it would surface since I only work them about 6-12" below the surface since grass is often right at that point...But for 2 hours is was awesome, never had a strike in that area again the last 2 times I visited the lake and I tried everything...That was the day I realized how strong P-Line Cxx Was since 10lb test was handling some nasty stuff, and the VMC trebles held up great....Just the regular inline short  shanks...Thanks....I would love to get anothe 10 feet on every cast and I like the Long A for all my casting rod hard bait/Topwater work....If you have not tried the Rapala X Rap yet, it is a well deigned bait with the props designed to work in opposite directions and it really seems to get more strikes than the Devils Horse, Boy Howdy etc...Plus they go on sale and for $7 it is money well spent. 

[scaleface]

29 minutes ago, primetime said:

 Have you ever tried 2 props on the Bomber, and is it worth it as I imagine it would take some tuning etc..

 

No , I've never even thought about it , but now ...

[smalljaw67]

I found that just about every prop bait made has a way to fish it that draws more strikes than any other way. My favorite bait up until a year and a half ago was a Heddon Dying Flutter, it is discontinued but I got a bunch as they really worked for me. Anyway, after using that bait a long time I found that the best way to fish it that gave me the best results was to keep my rod pointed downward toward the bait and with my line tight I'd give it a quick pull, not straight down but off to the side like some guys fish a jerkbait with a long rod. That method seemed to produce the best sound and you would just have to adjust the length of the pull to the mood of the fish, if they were on a short quick pull had them, if they needed to be coaxed, you had to slow the pull down and make it longer. The Heddon Baby Torpedo worked best with short quick jerks, you'd have a little slack in the line and give it a quick downward jerk but only a short one, if you moved the rod too far it would be too much and you'd pull the bait underwater without making the sound it is known for. The body shape didn't make it good for pulling, you had to give it a downward jerk to get the body in the water enough for the prop to throw water and make sound, if you get that right with the Torpedo it can be a super deadly bait. My current favorite is the Yo-Zuri 3DB Prop, unlike the others it has a polycarbonate prop which is a type of plastic, it is UV treated so it looks like it is purple in the sunlight. That prop bait works all different ways but we found that it works best fished almost like the Baby Torpedo, a single sharp, downward rip on slack line as if you are fishing a jerkbait, you rip and wait a second and rip again. That bait has a different sound because of the plastic prop but it throws a good bit of water and it is pretty loud. We found that quick pulls work well too like the Dying Flutter but it really seems to call big fish when ripped, we get not only more hits on it but also bigger fish when using it in that fashion.

[avidone1]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 4:26 PM, papajoe222 said:

I prefer to use them with a ripping motion.  The smaller the bait, the shorter the rip. I also only use the smaller ones when there is a slight ripple on the water.  The larger ones are for when there is more of a slight chop on the surface.  That is also when I use double prop baits.

Smaller baits would include Tiny Torpdos and Cordell Crazy Shads. Torpdos, WoodChoppers, BoyHowdys and DevilsHorse are larger profile baits. If there is a good chop on the water Mann's makes a bait called a TwoFer that has a buzzbait like prop on the one end that really kicks up a commotion.  All the baits mentioned are moderately priced.

One thing I should mention; when using baits with front props, use heavier mono to avoid the line getting caught in the prop.  

rippin' em is how I do it.....mostly     A heddon dying flutter was my all time greatest lure.  Bass, and chain pickerel would jump all over it.   I lost it inside a big pickerel.  I bought another to replace it and it wasn't nearly as good.  Tried several others and nope.  that one particular bait had a certain something that the fish couldn't resist.  I bent the props all different ways on any number of similar lures but it never worked.   RIP dying flutter, you are forever in my heart.

[jdw174]

I'm particularly fond of a Devil's Horse, especially if there's a chop on the water.  They make quite a racket when ripped.  I'll make hard snaps of the rod, jerking it 2-3'.  I'll do that a couple of times then pause.

[tander]

3 minutes ago, jdw174 said:

I'm particularly fond of a Devil's Horse, especially if there's a chop on the water.  They make quite a racket when ripped.  I'll make hard snaps of the rod, jerking it 2-3'.  I'll do that a couple of times then pause.

Devil's Horse has been around for a long time, hard to beat.

[primetime]

I think alot of what makes a prop bait effective is the sound, kind of how guys tune a buzzbait to sound the way they prefer...I have a box full of prop baits and I have a few that seem to always work well, and then a few that no matter how I bend the props or adjust them they just do not produce fish..I have a few old Skitter Props I found years ago for only a few bucks and I thought they would be great since it is Rapala, and I like the profile...For some reason I can't get them to catch fish and have put them in the Hoarding box at home..

I need to find one of these Heddon Flutters which sounds familiar and hopefully I get lucky and find one at a tackle shop we have in our area that sells used tackle. 

I had a lure that was wood, I don't know who made it and it was all scuffed up so you couldn't see any markings except sandpaper from all the fish it had caught. It was an awesome lure and it was about 4" long, thinner than a Devils Horse, 2 props, and the nose was not a popping mouth but had a cut in the middle which gave it a diving action & it was really good. I get lazy with changing leaders and I tied a lazy knot and lost it...Nothing worse than seeing you lost a fish because it was the knot, especially when you are telling your fishing partner it was not the knot...And then as you both look at it...It was the knot...

[Bluebasser86]

I recently purchased the Yo-Zurich that @smalljaw67 is talking about and it is a really nice bait that I've caught several nice fish on already. It has a really unique sound.

[speed craw]

I like using the ima Helips in the regular size and the Grande size . Both are compact baits and make a loud racket with short pulls of the rod tip or small twitches . You can tie a loop knot to enhance the action and tweak the blade tips to gurgle more water with little movement . Especially deadly around bedding bass and blue gill beds. You can keep the bait in there face for longer periods .