Top waters and when to throw

[DrePac3000]

I have thrown all kinds of top waters including poppers, spooks, frogs, buzz baits and jitterbugs but have had no luck. I have only ever caught one top water bass and that was off a jitterbug. I have read many times that mornings and evenings are the best times to use top waters. What time of day do you guys have the best luck and what type of lure are you using, and can you catch them mid day. 

 

[smitty3160]

Hollow-body frogs work great any time and  you can walk it, skip it under docks, it will stay in the strike longer than most baits. Check out some videos on how to properly fish them and practice, practice, practice. Have fun and good luck

[Sam]

Dre, first, if you take too many topwaters with you it can be confusing as to which ones to use and for how long.

So I take Cavitron buzzbaits and RICO poppers with me unless I want to change out to a Whooper Plooper, toad, buzz frog, and of course, the famous frog. but only one at a time. Otherwise, it can get frustrating and you change your baits too fast.

Most of us start out in the early morning and also fish topwaters as the sun sets. No specific reason why, we just do it. Maybe to get it out of the way and go to our confidence baits.

If there is "chop" on the water during the day or I just feel like throwing Cavitron I will do so no matter what time of the day it is. There are no "in stone" rules about what to throw and when so experiment. And I like throwing the Cavitron around Cyprus trees and laydowns. You will be surprised at the number of strikes I get during the day with my Cavitron.

So you are not doing anything wrong. The bass may be in deeper water; just finished eating; in a holding pattern in a lake or pond after a cold front has passed, or they just don't like you.

The most fun I have with topwaters is hitting my Double Secret Pond with Cavitron's and frogs as the sun comes up. Then switching to a Whooper Plooper after a half hour of buzzbaits and frogs. They will hit the Whooper Plooper until the sun rises above the horizon. Then it is to spinnerbaits, crankbaits, wake baits, finesse plastics, brush hogs, plastics, etc.

Now with all that said, you need to hit YouTube to see and listen to what the guys say about topwaters. So go to YouTube and search for Cavitrons, topwater frogs, wake baits, RICO's, etc. and then come back to this Forum and add to your knowledge base.

Always add a trailer hook to your topwater buzzbaits.

More guys will chime in and give you their input so get ready for the onslaught.

And think Cavitron for buzzbaits and get a white one and a black one and start casting all over the place!!!!

[the reel ess]

It seems to me the shallower, weedier and smaller the body of water, the more likely it is to produce more topwater strikes. Pond bass may not have an endless supply of food like those in bigger lakes. And they live their  entire lives closer to the surface.

I like the quieter topwaters for slick water and noisier ones for when there's a chop. My current favorites in order are: Frog, Spook Jr., Chug'n Spook Jr., Chug Bug, Pop R, buzzbait. Use darker colors during lower light and lighter colors during daylight. I have caught more bass on one Strike King black/blue buzzbait than any other in my bag. I just keep putting skirts on that thing. 

Morning and evening is the best time, but I can often get some strikes during the day when there's some cloud cover. If it's raining, throw one all day.

[snake95]

1 hour ago, DrePac3000 said:

What time of day do you guys have the best luck and what type of lure are you using, and can you catch them mid day. 

I fish mostly ponds and small lakes in GA.  I have the most luck early to mid morning, and late evening.  In my experience there is also a seasonal consideration: I have the most luck from post-spawn through late fall. I have only noticed much better topwater bite in the past 2-3 weeks.  HOWEVER, one of the biggest bass I caught last year was on a buzzbait at 3 pm on a downright hot early September day, bluebird skies.  I also had bass hit prop baits and buzzbaits in the time between Christmas and New Years in really shallow water.

In the past week: 9 pm (dusk): 1/2 oz chartreuse Banshee buzzbait, moving at a good clip on "glass top" water (my second biggest yet); 6:30 am: YUM migthty craw buzzed near some submerged brush so the craws churned the water; 7:30 am (2 hours past twilight) two hit a Strike King sexy dawg walked on smooth water under clear skies.  Others recently include on a Pop-R at 7:30 on a clear evening and on a Booyah poppin frog on a cloudy afternoon worked near cover.  

In short, later and earlier are best for me, and they have only become much more active on topwater in the past 2-3 weeks for me.

 

[papajoe222]

Without a doubt, I catch more bass on topwater at night. I catch bigger fish during mid-day, but the bites are few. 

For someone just starting out with them, I'd recommend low light conditions. Dusk, dawn and overcast or rainy days. Surface conditions dictate the type of bait I choose. The more ripple or chop there is on the water, the more commotion I want the bait to make. It doesn't have to move quickly, just get their attention.

More so than most baits, IMO, you need to determine the speed which the fish prefer the bait. Some anglers will  fish a bait one way and put it down if it isn't producing. Always try speeding up, slowing down and pausing the bait occasionally before switching to something else.

Lastly, pick areas that have a high probability of holding fish.  Some topwaters will draw fish from a good distance under prime conditions, but that is rarely the case.  Switch to topwater after you've caught a few on something else, regardless of the time of day. You've eliminated finding fish, it's just a matter of catching them on something different. 

[Balshy Fishing]

Everybody raves about Cavitrons but I've only caught two bass on them. Granted, I'm obviously not in the right spots and I still think super high of them because they're beautiful coming across the surface.

I've had luck with the Strike King Sugar Buzz and a Whopper Plopper. Currently, I"m trying out the Pompadour Jr. by Jackall. 

There's really no rule as to when you should throw topwaters, HOWEVER--you can get better results in the AM and the PM. Also, if the surface is choppy, as others have mentioned. 

Get out there and experiment as much as you can! 

[ErikmonBillsfon]

I have a friend that will only throw ribbit frogs after may/june untill winter. Legit 95% of the time. Im in central Connecticut and always use topwater up on the bank in the shallows. Throwing under trees and lay downs. He catches alot but you will also get missed fish. Last year I learned the hollow body and love it. My favorite is the Livetarget mouse in the smallest size. Bass and pIke just need to attack it and it walks super easy. I also will use spooks but I almost always throw into the nastiest vegetation there is and need to go weedless most of the time. This year I learned poppers and my second day caught 7 on a pressured MA lake when my buddy got 1 on senkos. I would tell you pick something you enjoy to throw and learn it and then move on to the next. 

Every top water has its own cadence and speed. They are hard to learn but so fun it's worth it.

[juicebass]

i just killed it with a hollowed body frog on my outing today, right as the sun was setting the bass smoked it.. make sure you feel the weight of the fish on ur line before you set the hook. I had 5 blow ups and caught 3 in 1hr.

 

if youre getting blow ups and missing fish, thats a little different that not getting blowups.. if your not getting blowups it might mean the fish arent there or arent interested in that moment. for top water try and stick with morning or sunset.. you may get the odd one during the day but you wont get the same numbers as when the suns low

[scaleface]

Low light conditions are usually the best . Keep your eyes open for opportunity to throw them at other times . I like to throw a large Popper/chugger in the heat of the summer , mid day in deep standing timber . This has been  a numbers game not a very good technique for large fish .

[Mark888]

Usually low light conditions; morning and evening. I have also caught bass in the middle of the day under lilies with a frog. If you see fish busting on the surface, throw some topwater! I have had tremendous with luck smallies, trowing poppers in 3-8 feet of water, over rocky points right as the sun is setting. Good luck! 

[Foxyshazzam]

Try looking for weedy/padded/grassy openings with a current and you will catch topwater all day long and have a blast. Similar to the painting on the wall at your dentists office. Z-man pop frog is amazing, it does it all. Super easy to hook, swims, pops, stalls and attracts. They are expensive but they last a long time(around 20-30 fish). Any soft plastic can be fished top water and I recommend starting there since it is just so easy and the lures can be dipped in JJ's or any other scented dye. My favorite to fish is a Zoom Super Fluke, sinks slow and naturally pulls straight up. Fish it like a weedless spook and absolutely hammer the bass all day everyday. I use a 7ft medium/heavy with 6:6:2 baitcaster on 50-65lb braid, 4/0 EWG with double palomar knot.