Topwater Dreams

[HawnSalt]

You're the first one on the water at your favorite lake. The dog days of summer are behind us and the weather has begun to cool. There's a slight breeze and the sky is overcast. The surface of the water is still as the mist begins to drift off the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

I went walking stick bait and here's why  . . . . 

A-Jay

 

[Black Hawk Basser]

I'm partial to a soft plastic buzz toad.  They work everywhere I fish!  I can't say the same about other topwaters.  A popper would be a close 2nd.

[keagbassr]

Easy answer for me.  The buzzbait is the first horse out of the gate 99% of the time from the end of april til the end of october.

[Deleted account]

popper, buzzbait (not the favorite one here), spook or sammy, if I can't get bit with one of those, I'll try a wakebait. If I still can't get anything going, I'm tying on some plastic, a spinnerbait and a crank. But it really depends on the cues from the fish.

[Bluebasser86]

Buzzbait for largemouth, plopped for smallmouth. 

[looking45]

A Deps Buzzjet wake bait is my #1 choice. It's been the best producer for me over the years. When the water is flat, I crawl it just fast enough so it makes a commotion. When there's a ripple, I speed up the retrieve to make a lot of noise.

 

 

[HawnSalt]

Hey Guys, thanks for all of the great responses!

 

I ended up throwing the Spook Jr. first this morning, unfortunately... zilch

Then the Popper, nada

Then the Plopper, no dice

Buzzbait, no takers

Soft Jerkbait, nobody home

 

I thought about waking a propbait but decided to go "Other" AKA the Spinnerbait

Started getting bites and picked up a few small ones

Air was 68 degrees, but the water was still 77 with a lot of fry around

Things are starting to cool, but it seems that the dog days are still around

 

 

[HawnSalt]

A-Jay, that Top Water Smallie was insane, congrats!

A 6.4 Smallie on a Sexy Dawg, wow.

 

I saw your video a few weeks back when that pike wrecked your strikeback.

It probably heavily influenced me to put up this poll.

 

Love the videos, looking forward to the Fall!

 

[NYWayfarer]

For river Smallmouth I throw the Plopper first. It’s more versatile than you think. If a Smallie doesn’t hit it upon landing I pop it once hard or start a steady retrieve. Most Bass hit on one or the other styles.

[HawnSalt]

I just recently started fishing the Plopper and I have to say I like it alot better than I thought I would. There's something really practical about a topwater that floats. Being able to just let it hang there at a dead stop really expands the types of retrieves you can do versus something like a buzzbait or toad. If only there were a way to make it weedless.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Bobby's perfect frog.... Always first.

[tcbass]

5 hours ago, HawnSalt said:

I just recently started fishing the Plopper and I have to say I like it alot better than I thought I would. There's something really practical about a topwater that floats. Being able to just let it hang there at a dead stop really expands the types of retrieves you can do versus something like a buzzbait or toad. If only there were a way to make it weedless.

 

 

There is. Homemade Whopper Frog. 

[PNW LipRipper]

Old school heldon tiny torpedo Jr  clear 

[HawnSalt]

22 hours ago, tcbass said:

 

 

There is. Homemade Whopper Frog. 

How do you make a Whopper Frog? 

Is that something like a Teckel Sprinker Frog?

 

I've heard good things about it, but have yet to catch anything on a frog.

If I can figure out how to catch one, I'll have to check it out.

[tcbass]

50 minutes ago, HawnSalt said:

How do you make a Whopper Frog? 

Is that something like a Teckel Sprinker Frog?

 

I've heard good things about it, but have yet to catch anything on a frog.

If I can figure out how to catch one, I'll have to check it out.

 

Here you go.

 

 

[HawnSalt]

On 9/3/2018 at 1:09 AM, tcbass said:

 

Here you go.

 

 

 

Thanks, I appreciate the link.

I'm gonna pick up a couple of those tails and give it a try.

Time to dust off the old pad crasher!

 

On 9/1/2018 at 12:21 PM, looking45 said:

A Deps Buzzjet wake bait is my #1 choice. It's been the best producer for me over the years. When the water is flat, I crawl it just fast enough so it makes a commotion. When there's a ripple, I speed up the retrieve to make a lot of noise.

 

 

 

I watched a couple of videos on this bait over the weekend.

I have to say, this bait looks pretty interesting given that it does so much at the same time. The only downer is the price. I'll definitely have to add this to my list for down the line, when I can find a spare $30 lying around! 

[HawnSalt]

Seeing all of these responses and the poll results inspired me to try inverting the position of the props on my Baby Torpedo and fish it in reverse. To me, the action when walked looked similar to the BuzzJet and would dive a bit on each jerk and push the props to the surface.

 

By the time I tried it, it was way to hot to catch anything. So no go at this point. I may just put the back hook on and fish it like a small spook and try the same thing with one of my Tiny Torpedos. I've done pretty decent waking Torpedos in the Fall and I wonder if I can get an equal or better response with a Tiny "Spook".

 

If anyone seeing this has experience with these types of "mods", please chime in.

[tcbass]

57 minutes ago, HawnSalt said:

 

Thanks, I appreciate the link.

I'm gonna pick up a couple of those tails and give it a try.

Time to dust off the old pad crasher!

 

 

I watched a couple of videos on this bait over the weekend.

I have to say, this bait looks pretty interesting given that it does so much at the same time. The only downer is the price. I'll definitely have to add this to my list for down the line, when I can find a spare $30 lying around! 

 

 

Good luck! 
 

Tell us how it goes.

[Bankbeater]

Black Jitterbug.

[HawnSalt]

I finally replaced the cavitrons I lost last Fall.

I lucked out and scored the last cavitron at my local DSG.

This time I got  a 1/4 oz. white one with a gold blade.

Its been so long that I forgot how good of a lure it actually is.

 

It lands with a lot less splash than a spook or plopper.

Can be fished both faster and slower than other buzzbaits.

Hardly picks up any floating debris because of the single hook.

Rides lower than most buzzbaits because of the oxbow bend.

 

And man, oh man, it produces that piercing squeak/squeal right out of the box. It really sucks that DSG isn't carrying them anymore, huge mistake in my opinion.I think now that I have a cavitron back in my line up, it may have to bat first. Does anyone know if it matters which if we throw noisy topwaters first?

 

I know that some people like to throw quieter finesse baits first to avoid spooking fish. But, my understanding is that top water is predominantly for aggressive active fish. So it seems like it would make sense to start noisy to pick off the most aggressive first. Then try to elict strikes from lethargic fish with slower, more reaction types of lures like poppers.