Topwater Follow Up

[Firstoutfisher]

When the shad are schooling and active and bass are feeding up but you can't get a bite on topwater lures or bass aren't fully taking them. What do you use in lieu of topwaters or as a follow up bait to fish high in the water column? 

[Dwight Hottle]

Lipless crank like a rattletrap. 

[Mike L]

Bone colored floating jerk bait worked erratically along the edges. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[A-Jay]

Nose hooked Fluke on spinning gear.

#longcast

A-Jay

[Firstoutfisher]

24 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Nose hooked Fluke on spinning gear.

#longcast

A-Jay

Just casting out past the shad and swimming it through?

I’m going to go out with my ima suspending lipless tonight and see how that works. Other idea is small paddle tail swimbait or floating jerk bait like mentioned above. Baitfish are crazy active and bass are busting left and right. Not much luck with the plopper, popmax or WTD

[A-Jay]

3 minutes ago, Firstoutfisher said:

Just casting out past the shad and swimming it through?

Perhaps work it with a stop & go type deal.

That pause can be productive.

A-Jay

[Firstoutfisher]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Perhaps work it with a stop & go type deal.

That pause can be productive.

A-Jay

Sweet,I watched some videos on the nose hooked fluke. Never actually fished a fluke so I am looking forward to trying this tonight.

[Luke Barnes]

45 minutes ago, Firstoutfisher said:

Sweet,I watched some videos on the nose hooked fluke. Never actually fished a fluke so I am looking forward to trying this tonight.

I tried it for the first time the last time I went out. I like the action alot but I kept flinging them off on the cast. 

[bigspirit]

6 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

I tried it for the first time the last time I went out. I like the action alot but I kept flinging them off on the cast. 

The YouTube guys showed a trick where you use the little centering pins, screw it all the way in so even the loop is in the plastic, then hook through the plastic and centering pin

[Hammer 4]

Also, try a whacky rigged Senco, weightless.

[scaleface]

Another good choice is the Strike King Rocket Shad .   Wrap some wire around the double hook if using one . Twice I lost big fish when they somehow managed to leverage  that hook off .  I pour my own now , copying the Rocket Shad but with a regular spinnerbait hook.

[KP Duty]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

Another good choice is the Strike King Rocket Shad .   Wrap some wire around the double hook if using one . Twice I lost big fish when they somehow managed to leverage  that hook off .  I pour my own now , copying the Rocket Shad but with a regular spinnerbait hook.

I saw these 'rocket shads' in heavier sizes at TW.  I would have ordered a couple, but they were sold out of nearly all of them.  Tells you something....

[Functional]

I've had a lot of success throwing spinners past the ball and dragging it through. I'll usually work it from high to low in the water column until I start getting strikes. Typically middle to lower produce the better fish and top give me the smaller guys but test out the different levels for yourself.

[PressuredFishing]

On 9/26/2021 at 7:54 AM, Firstoutfisher said:

When the shad are schooling and active and bass are feeding up but you can't get a bite on topwater lures or bass aren't fully taking them. What do you use in lieu of topwaters or as a follow up bait to fish high in the water column? 

Depends on water clarity and structure, thousands of different lures, really any moving baits can work

[Big Rick]

Damiki Vault Blade Bait. Two ways to smoke them:

 

1.) Long, bomb casts and burn it back just below the surface. Do this with your crank bait rod as you need the parabolic bend to keep them from throwing the bait back at you on the jump. 

 

2.) This is my most effective way to catch bass when the bass have the baitfish pinned against the bank in a shallow float or cove and they won't hit a topwater offering. Cast it out and let it sink to the bottom. Hop it off the bottom with a upsweep of your rod from 9 to 12 o'clock. Now this next part is by far the most important.... Let it sink back to the bottom on a semi-TIGHT line. This does two things.  It prevents the hooks from fouling in your line and it lets you feel the strike, because you will most definitely get the strike on the FALL. 

 

These baits are surprisingly difficult to hang up. And in most cases when you do just passing over the hang up allows it to pop free, as most of the time it's the heavy head hung up and not the hooks. YMMV

 

[Bankc]

I usually reach for a crankbait or jerkbait to pull through the bait balls.  Unless the bait ball is running deeper, in which case I'll throw a spoon or blade bait and jig through the bottom.  

 

I rarely throw a topwater at a bait ball.  They seem to scatter the baitfish more that lure the bass, in my experience.

[Brett's_daddy]

On 9/26/2021 at 8:53 PM, bigspirit said:

The YouTube guys showed a trick where you use the little centering pins, screw it all the way in so even the loop is in the plastic, then hook through the plastic and centering pin

This is the video you were talking about...

 

[LrgmouthShad]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:56 AM, KP Duty said:

I saw these 'rocket shads' in heavier sizes at TW.  I would have ordered a couple, but they were sold out of nearly all of them.  Tells you something....

Yeah... kinda has the look of a heavy beetle spin with a skirt. It's funny how these small, compact, single colorado spinnerbaits seem mighty effective ?