Finesse Topwater

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I've been throwing a whopper plopper 90 a lot lately (too much, probably), but today I threw a Tiny Torpedo. I haven't thrown one since last season. My first reaction was, what's wrong with this thing? Is the blade spinning? It took me a while to realize I was just spoiled from all the commotion the WP makes. After a while I got my technique back, but it got me to wondering if there's anything as small as the Tiny Torpedo but with more churning/agitation/commotion? Maybe a different type of prop? I'm just wondering if there's anything new out there like the size of the TT with a WP type prop on it.

 

I've got several double prop lures. They're a little bit too big/noisy for what I'm talking about. I'm looking for the insect that fell in, or the tiny frog swimming look.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

How small are we talking? 

 

I throw a popping bug on ultralights during the summer when rivers are low. We usually catch Bass, bream, warmouth etc..

 

 

[Bankbeater]

I like to fish with a 1/8 oz. pop-r.  Last spring the crappie were tearing it up.

[Black Hawk Basser]

The first thing that comes to mind when you mention finesse topwater, I think of the Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm.  That's one of the finest finesse topwater baits I've ever used.  Soft plastic buzz toads are awesome, too.

 

There are a lot of really small topwater hardbaits, but none I can think of that are like the WP.  Rebel makes quite a few little poppers; they have a really accurate looking grasshopper popper.

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1 hour ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

How small are we talking?

Like the size of a Tiny Torpedo (2"), maybe just a little larger. Propeller baits only (I guess you can call a Whopper Plopper a propeller bait). Something with more churning power than that little propellor the TT has.

 

Sorry my question wasn't worded more simple and to the point. I've got plenty of topwater stuff, small to large, I'm just asking about small propeller baits specifically. Is there anything new?

[Munkin]

Finesse topwater to me is the LC Bevy Pop or the TD popper that are both about 3/16oz. They do make a torpedo smaller than the tiny but I have caught everything form a 3" sunfish to a 45" tiger musky on that bait so I never bought anything smaller.

 

Allen

[WRB]

MegaBass Grand Siglett @ 1.6"  and 1/4 oz is top water bug should work, pricey.

Rapala Skitter pop prop bait with rear prop is 1/4 oz and very popular.

Tom

[GreenPig]

Whopper Plopper 75 is pretty small.

[michaelsrex]

1 hour ago, GreenPig said:

Whopper Plopper 75 is pretty small.

And you can still toss it a mile on casting gear! At least with the mgl reels 

[waymont]

Not a prop bait but makes a great commotion. The smallest spook, the zara puppy is a bass killer. Use it on 8-10lb mono.

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9 hours ago, Munkin said:

They do make a torpedo smaller than the tiny

I've got a couple of those. If the blades turn on those, it's really hard to tell. It's too small for my taste.

 

9 hours ago, Munkin said:

I have caught everything form a 3" sunfish to a 45" tiger musky on that bait

Wow. That must have been a heart attack when that musky hit. I've caught some nice fish on the Torpedo, nothing like that though.

 

9 hours ago, WRB said:

MegaBass Grand Siglett @ 1.6"  and 1/4 oz is top water bug should work, pricey.

Looks awesome, but I can't imagine it would survive a good hit.

 

9 hours ago, WRB said:

Rapala Skitter pop prop bait with rear prop is 1/4 oz and very popular.

I don't know why I've never seen one of those. I've got a couple skitter pops. I looked at Rapala's video and it didn't look like it churned water very much, not even close to a whopper plopper.

 

8 hours ago, GreenPig said:

Whopper Plopper 75 is pretty small.

I've got several 90's and a couple 130's, but no 75's. It's only a half inch shorter than the 90, but I guess that's the closest thing out there to what I'm looking for. I'm surprised nobody is making anything smaller. It looks like Berkley doesn't even make anything smaller than the 90.

[fin]

6 hours ago, waymont said:

Not a prop bait but makes a great commotion. The smallest spook, the zara puppy is a bass killer. Use it on 8-10lb mono.

I've got several. Love 'em. I tried to put a prop on the back of one of them years ago, but it didn't work well.

[NittyGrittyBoy]

What about a small buzzbait?

 

I've got a tiny one, I'll take picture when I get off work. 

[the reel ess]

Take the back hook off, turn the blade around and replace the hook. Give that a try and see if it doesn't make a better commotion. It will also allow you to keep it in the strike zone longer. Hopefully, it won't cause the bait to spin. I had a 50+ bass day on a Tiny Torpedo once. Awesome bait.

[WRB]

You think Megabass is going to market a lure that can't survive a bass strike!

The lure uses folding winds like a Crazy Crawler that fold back during the cast and in a basses mouth.

Top water prop lures require action provided by the angler unlike the Whopper Plopper that is a wind in lure without added angler skill. Learn to rip the prop bait along with dog walking to produce more prop spray.

Tom

[MIbassyaker]

Have a look at the Lucky Craft T-splash 55. It is about the size you're looking for, and has both a popper/chugger mouth, and prop on the tail.

[evilcatfish]

Duo Realis does a couple of small cicada topwaters, 1/5 and 1/8 oz I believe. They are a lot of fun to fish, and as mentioned above the siglett is also a nice option. Also from Megabass, I really like the baby pop x, it’s a big bluegill catching machine 

[Paul Roberts]

Ditto the little buzzbait. I like the 1/8oz Strike Kind Buzz King triple. Simply killer.

Also, the Heddon Crazy Crawler.

 

I think of "finesse" as being quiet as well as down-sized. One of my favorites for high vis conditions is the Zara Puppy. Another killer.

[greentrout]

 

use in ponds & creeks... catches bass too ... very subtle ...

 

[The Bassman]

16 hours ago, waymont said:

Not a prop bait but makes a great commotion. The smallest spook, the zara puppy is a bass killer. Use it on 8-10lb mono.

I have fished this a lot over the years with great success. Heddon used to make an even smaller one but you couldn't get it to walk.

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9 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

What about a small buzzbait?

I've got a couple that are about 3" long. I kind of forgot about them, never used them much. I need to dust them off.

 

7 hours ago, the reel ess said:

Take the back hook off, turn the blade around and replace the hook. Give that a try and see if it doesn't make a better commotion. It will also allow you to keep it in the strike zone longer. Hopefully, it won't cause the bait to spin. I had a 50+ bass day on a Tiny Torpedo once. Awesome bait.

I've been playing around with one, trying to modify it. I put a smaller hook on the tail trying to get the blade up closer to the surface, but having tried turning it around backwards. I'll definitely give it a try. I nail polished this one in greenish gold, without eyes or any pattern, so if it spins a little it doesn't matter visually.

 

6 hours ago, WRB said:

You think Megabass is going to market a lure that can't survive a bass strike!

Yes? ?  After my recent experience with a Lunkerhunt frog losing its leg on the first strike.

 

6 hours ago, WRB said:

Top water prop lures require action provided by the angler unlike the Whopper Plopper that is a wind in lure without added angler skill. Learn to rip the prop bait along with dog walking to produce more prop spray.

That's the way I always felt about buzzbaits - you just retrieve them in and there's no skill involved, but that's not really true. The tiny prop bait does require more skill and style. I've done a lot of different stuff with the tiny torpedo, but never tried to walk it.

 

5 hours ago, evilcatfish said:

Duo Realis does a couple of small cicada topwaters

Looks like it's a little cheaper than the Megabass. Do they hold up?

 

5 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

I think of "finesse" as being quiet as well as down-sized.

Yeah, this was a stupid title for this thread. I should have titled it, "Is there a smaller whopper plopper style bait?" I guess maybe if you tried to make a smaller whopper plopper it would roll.

[MountainMan83]

LC Kelly J floating prop bait. 

Maybe not exactly what you're asking about, but I picked one up on sale for a buddy of mine and got to throw it a few times. I liked to slight pause near cover and then rip it a few times. Will make more commotion than the tt and weighs about 3/16. 

[NYWayfarer]

Take a look at Tackle Warehouse: baits,hard baits,topwater,prop baits. They have a ton of choices there. 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, MountainMan83 said:

LC Kelly J floating prop bait. 

Maybe not exactly what you're asking about, but I picked one up on sale for a buddy of mine and got to throw it a few times. I liked to slight pause near cover and then rip it a few times. Will make more commotion than the tt and weighs about 3/16. 

Academy makes one, I've got a few of them and I was actually throwing one this morning. Good lure, I've caught a bunch with it. I tried taking off the front propeller just to see what happened, and it rolled. I guess the front spin counteracts the back spin.

[fin]

40 minutes ago, NYWayfarer said:

Take a look at Tackle Warehouse: baits,hard baits,topwater,prop baits. They have a ton of choices there.

All those pretty pictures are nothing compared to the collection of decades of knowledge gathered here.

 

I did see something different there though - a "Ploppin' P" by PH Custom. It uses a single metal blade. Looks interesting, but I couldn't find a video of it in action.