Is it wrong to think top water has small window of opportunity?

[detroithiker]

I guess I just need to fish them at the right time, they have a purpose, and a very specific time they work, I would really like to learn to use them and develop some confidence that throwing them actually going to get some bites, so far when I throw them I spend an hour at a time trying to make them work and the whole time in the back of my mind I am thinking I could be throwing something else and actually catching fish, I think my lack of faith in the lure could be hampering my ability to use them correctly. 

[jr231]

Ironically . I usually catch hogs or total dinks on top water. 

[DrMarlboro92]

I think it's more of an issue of where the fish are and how they are feeding that determines how well you will do with top water; or any other bait for that matter. The body of water seems to have a lot to do with it as well.

If I'm fishing the Chickahominy (limited experience here) or the tidal James, all I'm going to use is top water with the occasional shallow jerk bait thrown in. The reason is that I'm usually fishing creeks with 6 inches to 6 feet of water; these bass are always feeding on the blueback herring that are feeding on things that have washed out of the grass with the tide, so top water will always be effective only needing a change in cadence based on the time of year. In the winter I will slow down and only use poppers, walking baits, or wake baits with quite a bit of hesitation in their retrieve. In the spring/fall I will use faster retrieves and burn buzzbaits, where as in the summer I will burn wake baits. And in the late fall as the hydrilla beds die frogs become really productive. I've also noticed that wake baits do better on pressured water where other top water just doesn't work.

Now, does that mean I will do the same thing on Smith Mountain, claytor, lake anna, or the south holston? No, simply because the conditions aren't the same. I know in smith mountain that in the summer I follow the shad deep and dropshot, or Carolina rig, and in the fall/spring I follow the shad into shallow coves, mimicking them with jerks, spinnerbaits, lipless, or square bill crankbaits. In claytor I'm more likely to search for rock bottoms and fish jigs with massive craw trailers, and in Lake Anna I'm more likely to be productive with senkos on grass beds and cover. 

All baits are tools, and it's about learning to use those tools to your advantage. Figuring out the conditions they will work, and what the bass are feeding on is the first step in figuring out if top water will work. At least this is what I've found to be true.

 

 

[Swamp Rat]

I have been bass fishing for 50 years, and will say that I love catching bass on whatever. But, keep in mind that bass are ambush predators, and that they love to attack from below. I ALWAYS have a hollow body frog on a rod, if not 2, and always have a buzzbait tied on as well. Depending on weather, I might also have a topwater treble-hooked hardbait tied on, but not always. A hollow body frog and a buzzbait will always work, especially on days ending in "y". Detroit, just fish them exclusively a couple of trips, do not take anything else with you. Fish topwater, look for patterns, and you will have very reliable tools and techniques to add to your repertoire.

[bigbill]

Topwater? All day long like the McDonald's breakfast menu. Rebel pop R, spooks, prop baits. I like casting along side the Lilly pads , past them then walking my bait past the pads. I can draw fish out of hiding in the pads. I do not cast into the pads so I don't disturb multiple bass.  I pick them off one at a time. Walk the dog with a 1-2-3 pause presentation. It's skill that catches fish. Go out and make it happen.

[Ratherbfishing]

It is wrong to say "small window of opportunity" but not so incorrect to say "smaller window of opportunity."  Conditions (angle of the sun, weather, water clarity, etc) and where the fish are in the water column (time of year, etc) will influence if/when a topwater bait is most appropriate.  There will always (or almost always) be some shallow bass but would you rather spend all day catching one or two topwater bass (when it is not suitable) or go deeper (when it's more suitable) to catch 10 or 20 or 30 bass?  A friend of mine would toss a jitterbug out in open water at noon on a bright August day and while I didn't argue with him, I was not the least bit surprised when he didn't get bit, either.

Oh, the ONE clear exception (I can think of) is fishing through the moss at noon in the summer.  That is the one time I can think of where topwater (frogs, mice) can actually do better than other methods.

[detroithiker]

On 9/17/2016 at 6:51 PM, Bankbeater said:

Last year I caught bass on topwater on every outing in the spring, summer, and fall.  It didn't matter if the sun was out, cloudy, night, or day.  This year I could count the topwater bites I've had on one hand.

I have picked up so many topwater lures and get nothing, I know I am doing something wrong, I just can't figure out what it is.

On 10/6/2016 at 0:05 PM, Ratherbfishing said:

It is wrong to say "small window of opportunity" but not so incorrect to say "smaller window of opportunity."  Conditions (angle of the sun, weather, water clarity, etc) and where the fish are in the water column (time of year, etc) will influence if/when a topwater bait is most appropriate.  There will always (or almost always) be some shallow bass but would you rather spend all day catching one or two topwater bass (when it is not suitable) or go deeper (when it's more suitable) to catch 10 or 20 or 30 bass?  A friend of mine would toss a jitterbug out in open water at noon on a bright August day and while I didn't argue with him, I was not the least bit surprised when he didn't get bit, either.

Oh, the ONE clear exception (I can think of) is fishing through the moss at noon in the summer.  That is the one time I can think of where topwater (frogs, mice) can actually do better than other methods.

I just want to learn to use that type of lure.

[Bluebasser86]

2 hours ago, detroithiker said:

I have picked up so many topwater lures and get nothing, I know I am doing something wrong, I just can't figure out what it is.

Some lakes just don't produce well on top. I know of a lake that is loaded with fish that are easy to catch on jigs and plastics, but it's a very rare day they'll come to the surface for a bait. If you're catching fish with other baits, I wouldn't get too stressed about it. 

[Master Bait'r]

Topwater is a million different things.  Some have a very narrow window while others seem to slay 24/7/365, and results vary from person to person, lake to lake, etc...  Basically what I'm saying is get out there and fish a ton.  Only you can figure that out for yourself with your baits and on your waters.  We are just a bunch of idiots on the internet swinging wildly in the dark  

[the reel ess]

No, but's it's wrong to keep throwing them when there are no takers. I usually have one or two different ones tied on though. A couple times this summer I had fish take a Spook in the middle of the day. It would only happen when there was cloud cover. 

Frogs are a totally different thing. They'll hit the frog on a mat all day sometimes. 

[standman]

I fish mostly residential ponds..... Without top water, I would have to give up fishing for most of the summer.

This is an old carp infested canal that happens to have some nice  bass in it.