Topwater Chasers???

[Eric J]

I have become addicted to Topwater. There is nothing like that explosion on the surface for me. Last night I got a spectacular hit on a Popper the second it hit the water, literally... I cast out and the second it touched water, WHAM!. The fish smoked the lure, exploding through the surface. I was stunned. Almost didn't react which in retrospect was probably the best thing as it helped the set.

 

Who else is addicted to Topwater??

 

 

[Dens228]

Hello, my name is Dennis, and I'm a topwater addict.............

[NHBull]

I always have a top water lure on deck and it is often the first thing I throw until I figure out the pattern.  Lately, morning have been a top water fiest

[scaleface]

I'm a buzzbait addict . 

[DSTN]

Uh yeah...had a good evening with a whopper plopper and then a good morning with a buzzbait...next thing you know I'm picking up some new frogs and window shopping poppers. Couldn't stop with the topwater this morning to my own detriment.

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Dens228 said:

Hello, my name is Dennis, and I'm a topwater addict.............

I could stop splishing poppers anytime if I wanted...

[Jar11591]

My favorite way to fish, and one of my most effective.

[starkeer]

Definitely a topwater addict, spooks and whopper ploppers are my drug of choice. I've been trying really hard this year to not let my love of topwater keep me from catching fish. It's regularly the first thing I grab but I've gotten pretty good at putting it down if I don't get any hits. 

[Black Hawk Basser]

Topwaters first!  Whopper Plopper, Chug Bug, Sammy, frogs, flukes...a few of my favorites.

[38 Super Fan]

Buzzbaits for me too. Though when a bass misses a walking bait 3 or 4 times before he finally gets it...that's hard to beat.

[Bluebasser86]

I'd rather fish a jig for largemouth, but smallies on top is a blast, literally and figuratively. 

[Eric J]

17 hours ago, DSTN said:

Uh yeah...had a good evening with a whopper plopper and then a good morning with a buzzbait...next thing you know I'm picking up some new frogs and window shopping poppers. Couldn't stop with the topwater this morning to my own detriment.

Yup... I've had that issue. Ain't no stop till they hit that Top!

[papajoe222]

I’ve been known to throw a spook mid-day under bluebird skies, but I deny that I’m addicted. 

[thinkingredneck]

Love fishing a horny toad!  Don't forget a Salad Spoon, (bottom two baits in pic).  

[the reel ess]

I'd rather catch one 2 pounder on top than two 3 pounders on bottom. As my dad would say, I'm "plumb eat up" with topwater fishing. The frog, popper and walking baits are my standby's followed by buzzbaits, prop baits and critters like the SPRO Rat. I've gone to my buddy's pond with 5 topwaters tied on, intent upon catching bass only on topwaters that trip. I have a couple of dedicated combos for topwaters. I've found that topwater action is better for longer periods of the day if the average depth of a body of water is shallower. ie: Pond fish are more apt to go for the topwater. I guess that's because they spend their life looking up. They can't choose to get in a very deep habitat.

 

That might be why I prefer to catch a few bass over a lot of panfish, which is possible at my favorite fishing hole. I time my trips around the topwater bite (very early or late). My buddy will send me a pic of a cooler full of crappie and bream and say the bass weren't biting. But then I'll go anyway and bass fish and do whatever it takes to catch a few, hopefully on top. Even when i do fish for panfish, I do it the bass fishing way: cast and retrieve, repeat.

[MrFrost]

Definitely a top water addict.  But I have to learn to throw something else sooner when the bite isn't great.  I fished for two hours last night, only catching two fish, because I refused to stop throwing the frog, lol.  I basically would listen for them to pop out of the surface then I would find the ripples in the water and cast over that area.  Exactly how I got my two last night.  The "hunt" was fun, lol.

[Troy85]

On 7/7/2018 at 10:24 AM, Eric J said:

 

 

Who else is addicted to Topwater??

 

 

This is like asking, who needs air to breath? ?

 

I love a good top water bite, nothing better than working a ribbit frog over some grass only to hear the slurp and watch it disappear.............now I wish I was on the water........

[the reel ess]

3 minutes ago, MrFrost said:

Definitely a top water addict.  But I have to learn to throw something else sooner when the bite isn't great.  I fished for two hours last night, only catching two fish, because I refused to stop throwing the frog, lol.  I basically would listen for them to pop out of the surface then I would find the ripples in the water and cast over that area.  Exactly how I got my two last night.  The "hunt" was fun, lol.

I'll sometimes have a buzzbait tied on and when they either stop biting it or won't, I'll switch to a spinnerbait. On my topwater/crankbaits rod, I'll use a (good quality) snap to be able to quickly switch to a lipless crank or other subsurface lure on that rod. I take the baits I might want to switch to in the kayak with me. At my buddy's place, I just leave them on his dock and after an unsuccessful trip around his 4 acre pond, I'll just switch out baits without getting out of the water.

[BassNJake]

You can add me to the addict list.

My topwater of choice is a buzz-n toad of some sort.

 

One Saturday I spent my morning trying to figure out where the fish would be based on seasonal patterns, water temp and current conditions. I managed 4 fish in the 4 hours I was out. One was about 3.5 lbs on got on a jig. On my way to the boat ramp I got the idea to skip a horny toad around the docks. I had a 14 inch fish absolutely crush that toad and give me quite the aerial display on the way to the boat.

 

Later, all I could think about was the topwater fish.

 

So the next day, I spent my 4 hours throwing that horny toad down the shore and past every piece of cover I came across. I only caught 4 fish but they were all glorious topwater smashings. I haven't looked back since.

 

 

[thinkingredneck]

   Sometime you should try a popper on a fly rod.  It can be a blast.  Here are some simple flies I tie.

 

[the reel ess]

32 minutes ago, thinkingredneck said:

   Sometime you should try a popper on a fly rod.  It can be a blast.  Here are some simple flies I tie.

 

Something I keep meaning to do but just never seem to get around to it. I have a good assortment of bream and bass poppers.

[tcbass]

3 hours ago, thinkingredneck said:

Love fishing a horny toad!  Don't forget a Salad Spoon, (bottom two baits in pic).  

 

 

Ragetail Toad was one of my most successful lures. But like the horny Toad they get tore up pretty quick and need to be replaced. 

 

Started using homemade Teckel frogs and those not only work better but last a lot longer too. 

 

 

I’ll sacrifice many fish to just catch 1 topwater. 

[greentrout]

I'm a worm man but thoroughly enjoy a bass annihilating a topwater...when conditions are right...my favorite...

 

good fishing...

[prodgalson]

Just signed up to this forum. I have been away from bass fishing for over 30 years. To busy being a Blacksmith/Armorer. I have spent a lot of time on ebay, for I found my favorite Smithwick Lures where no longer available. I sure missed my box that got stolen several years ago. But I'm getting them back in a costly way. OUCH! to my wallet. 

I was raised around fishing for my Dad was Jack K Smithwick's pro rep in the 50s and 60s and I even had a hand in designing a few lures that Mr. Smithwick made for me to try. Yes, not replaceable unless I make them again myself. 

Looking forward to this fall to go fishing again, my armor season doesn't slow till then. I am in need of some practice. But I think I'll get back fairly quick. 

 

Alan B

 

 

[FishDewd]

Topwater is usually the first thing I toss in the morning... popper, then whopper plopper, then maybe a skitterwalk or similar, until I'm convinced it isn't going to happen on topwater. Then I consider other baits, like middle-column and bottom. That topwater explosion is addictive. I've gotten it a few times and I secretly want more of it... MUCH MOAR!!!!