Topwater Bite

[BoatSquirrel]

Am I the only one that cant get bit on a topwater this year?  2018 was the exact same.  I throw topwater first, third and again in between cathching fish on other baits until the end of the day.  Soft plastic bite making up for it but I am DUE on the frog, spook, plopper...Yall?

[TnRiver46]

I know you are somewhere in my state but I don’t know where. I’ve caught some with it but not many, the water in downtown Knoxville is still at 66 degrees and a lot of fish are prespawn. Luckily they will hit top water into november so there’s still time 

[GreenPig]

Catching few on wake baits, walking a Chug bug, and alot of frogs. Lost a big girl the other day on my Wake Bull, at the boat.

[soflabasser]

Maybe you can experiment and try a different topwater and see if they like it where you are fishing. Sometimes showing them something different convinces them to bite. Have caught a bunch of bass this year on topwater since it is my favorite way to catch a bass.

[DitchPanda]

1 hour ago, BoatSquirrel said:

Am I the only one that cant get bit on a topwater this year?  2018 was the exact same.  I throw topwater first, third and again in between cathching fish on other baits until the end of the day.  Soft plastic bite making up for it but I am DUE on the frog, spook, plopper...Yall?

Maybe..haha. Just messing man I'm sure other guys are struggling. My fish have really started eating topwater in the past week or so for me. In the past 2 trips I've fished about 5 hours total-half of that throwing a buzzbait. I've caught 14 largemouth on it.

[Bluebasser86]

Been catching them on topwater since early April here. Our water temps are in the high 70's/low 80's now.

[DitchPanda]

11 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Been catching them on topwater since early April here. Our water temps are in the high 70's/low 80's now.

I'm not very far behind you on water temp(mid 70s) but I'm over a month behind you on topwater bites. I didn't start catching any on top until late may. I probably should have tried more early but I was smoking em on a swim jig and never really switched. Now I wish I would have.

[MIbassyaker]

I haven't really been force-feeding topwater this year, although it did seem a little later than usual before I got my first hits on top... (checks records).... 6/4, likely post-spawn, on a Berkley Spin Bomb (a propbait).  A few days later several buzzbait fish, including a 19" er.  Have also caught a few this month on a frog, Whopper Plopper and walking a Pop Max.

[gim]

I've caught a grand total of one bass on a topwater lure this season (since May 9).  I haven't given it a lot of time yet, but more than enough where I should have at least had more bites.  This isn't just an isolated problem just for this season either...the last 3+ years have been poor with topwater lures for this guy.  Except in the river for brown bass, then its on.  But I'm fairly convinced that as long as the lure is accurately placed, it doesn't matter what it is on the river.  Frog bite has been completely dead for years.  It sucks too because I really enjoy a good frog bite.

 

The good news is that I'm still having the best season I've had in a decade so far this year, even with an awful topwater bite.

[BassNJake]

15 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I know you are somewhere in my state but I don’t know where. I’ve caught some with it but not many, the water in downtown Knoxville is still at 66 degrees and a lot of fish are prespawn. Luckily they will hit top water into november so there’s still time 

It's that cold mountain water down by you, upstream we have high 70's and its already hit the ledges time for the schools.

 

I'm fishing topwater a bunch and having much better success this year.

I having been fishing isolated targets and once the sun is up I look for shaded spots on the sunny side.

If you fish the shaded side, there are too many targets to choose from IMO

 

Also want to recommend using some type of gripper tool when fishing with multiple treble hooks.

I'm pretty good at the braid trick so I dont need anymore practice

 

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

It's that cold mountain water down by you, upstream we have high 70's and its already hit the ledges time for the schools.

 

I'm fishing topwater a bunch and having much better success this year.

I having been fishing isolated targets and once the sun is up I look for shaded spots on the sunny side.

If you fish the shaded side, there are too many targets to choose from IMO

 

Also want to recommend using some type of gripper tool when fishing with multiple treble hooks.

I'm pretty good at the braid trick so I dont need anymore practice

 

Yes I get the gushing water out of Cherokee and Douglas lake near my house, some years it never gets over 75

[BoatSquirrel]

It just seems like the days I get to go, the pressure is high or something is keeping the fish looking down. The jerkbait and senko bite was great this spring, the flippin bite has been killer.  Catching plenty but just crazy luck of the draw I guess...

[RoLo]

 

In mid-Florida, the topwater bite typically peaks in late April/early May.

Of course, we're at a southerly latitude, and are only dealing with Florida-strain.

 

Roger

 

 

[Bankbeater]

The topwater bite started here around the first of June. 

[FishTank]

I have been catching them but the past few weeks a couple of the lakes we have been to have had a murky film on top of the water and the water has been super stained and muddy.  This has made topwater difficult. 

[Hower08]

Believe it or not we have been on a topwater bite since March here in Ohio. March 27th I caught fish on a buzzbait and my buddy was catching them on a spook. 47degree water. Change the baits or colors your throwing. A small pop r almost always gets bit

[Junger]

I'm in the DC area, and I started throwing them when waters hit 65, but it has gotten way better with waters in the 75-80 mark. The warm March, followed by a cold April/early May really threw things out of wack and I think they are just getting back to normal. I finally got a toad bite going on the Potomac with water in the creeks at 80 degrees.

[WRB]

The old saying is the bass are "looking up" when a top water bite is going on.

Physically bass eyes are near the top the their head and see upwards better then downwards.

"Looking up" doesn't mean the bass are looking up it means they looking up for prey to eat.

If you see bass surface activity or prey fish or other critters near or on the surface it's time to try surface lures.

Tom

[RoLo]

 

In Florida, the sound of a solitary feeding bass is far more common than a breaking school of bass.

Solitary feeders are detected with your ears, rather than your eyes.

The sound is fairly unmistakable, with the possible exception of a small alligator.

When a solitary bass is heard breaking the surface, the odds of boating a bass go thru the ceiling.

 

Roger

[soflabasser]

On 6/23/2020 at 2:39 PM, RoLo said:

In mid-Florida, the topwater bite typically peaks in late April/early May.

Of course, we're at a southerly latitude, and are only dealing with Florida-strain.

 

Roger

In South Florida I catch bass on topwaters in every single month of the year. Throughout the years Summer has been a great time for topwater fishing for me. The largemouth bass where I fish in South Florida are 100% Florida largemouth bass.

On 6/23/2020 at 1:44 PM, BassNJake said:

It's that cold mountain water down by you, upstream we have high 70's and its already hit the ledges time for the schools.

 

I'm fishing topwater a bunch and having much better success this year.

I having been fishing isolated targets and once the sun is up I look for shaded spots on the sunny side.

If you fish the shaded side, there are too many targets to choose from IMO

 

Also want to recommend using some type of gripper tool when fishing with multiple treble hooks.

I'm pretty good at the braid trick so I dont need anymore practice

 

I have fished cold mountain rivers and I have caught lots of nice bass with small lures and light line. Fishing under trees with topwaters is a good technique to use during the Summer.

[Luke Barnes]

Ive had a blowup on a frog and caught one and lost it two feet from me on a frog and that's been it. But..... My frog rod should be here tomorrow so I'm throwing topwater, especially frogs, like crazy once I get the time to get back out. 

[RoLo]

5 hours ago, soflabasser said:

In South Florida I catch bass on topwaters in every single month of the year. Throughout the years Summer has been a great time for topwater fishing for me. The largemouth bass where I fish in South Florida are 100% Florida largemouth bass.

 

It's no different in central Florida, where topwater action is a year-round event.

With respect to "peak" topwater action, that belongs to April & May, which takes place like clockwork.

That's post-spawn when cows are supposedly recouping, but it yields some the best pigs of the year

As for Florida-strain, if you're fishing south of Ocala, you're most likely dealing with Florida-strain bass

 

Roger

[Captain Phil]

There's always a top water bite somewhere, but you have to do it right. Most anglers don't fish close enough to the fish.  A few casts six feet from cover is not going to do it.  This is one of the main reasons frog fishing works so well.  You are fishing where the fish lives. 

[scaleface]

Its weird how lures and techniques get hot and cold .  I seen a lure get hot for months on a lake , then never catch bass on it again from that water .

[Bird]

No better way to start an early morning than top water. 

Buzzbaits seem to always draw attention but really had quite a bit of action from plopper 90 past couple of months. 

 

Can't really speak of mid day bite as I'm long gone by then due to the Superbowl crowds.?