Does topwater scare fish?

[Weedless]

If you are fishing an area at sunrise, and you decide to throw topwater first,

do you think you decrease your chances of catching fish that are not into topwater at the moment? Vs starting with someone stealthy and subtle like a wacky rig before launching a "loud" topwater? 

 

Curious on your experiences. 

 

I feel like it does "spook" the area a little bit.

 

Thanks 

[Koz]

You might scare some fish, while others will attack with a reaction bite.

[Hammer 4]

More than a few times when out at first light, I've thrown spinnerbaits, and more often than not, bass will either breach and strike it mid air, or hit as soon as it hits the water. So no, I doubt that a top water bait scares the fish. Remember Bass are Predators .

[Pat Brown]

Totally dependent on a lot of things.  I usually start with slow bottom baits that are quiet and subtle and work my way up in the water column and really only try topwater if I feel conditions are good for it, which seems pretty situational.

 

Wind, what bass are keying in on naturally, sunlight and shade, cover, mood and personality of individual fish and presentation all play a big part in a topwater strike and you just get a feel for what your fish like with experimentation and time on the water/bank playing around with them.  During active feeding windows topwaters work best so I like them early in the morning and late in the day this time of year.

[813basstard]

You don’t want the ones that it may spook…***holes usually get more results..those are the ones you want 

[IcatchDinks]

I always throw topwater first because logically, I think something floating on top of the water would be a lot less disturbing to the fish than something swimming through the water right at them. But honestly I don't think either really bothers them. I have seen fish swim away when I throw a popper or plopper right on top of them, but then I've also seen fish eat the bait before it lands, so I never worry too much about scaring the fish. They're predators. And bigger meaner things than my baits go through and above the water all the time. 

[Bankbeater]

I have seen the bass up near the surface get scattered after I cast the topwater out and the bait is coming down right before it hits the water.  I'm wondering if the fish think it is a hawk coming down. 

[Tom Orr]

Occasionally, but not often, I'll get hit within seconds after landing in the water. Mostly though I try to cast just past where I want to be.

[Jar11591]

A small popper? No. An obnoxious buzzbait? Maybe. 

[PABASS]

It all depends on the mood of the fish, I have witnessed a small ned rig scare off bass, certainly have had small poppers with same results.  When fish are in these moods not much works..  I have also had a popper scare off a small mouth and still come back and hit the lure.

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

On 6/14/2023 at 11:38 PM, Pat Brown said:

I usually start with slow bottom baits that are quiet and subtle and work my way up in the water column and really only try topwater if I feel conditions are good for it, which seems pretty situational.

 

Pat is a great fisherman and so I hate to disagree with him, but my love of topwater has me pitching it first. If the bass aren't looking up, I then fish down and catch them in the very same spot, so no, I don't think topwater scares them.

[Pat Brown]

51 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Pat is a great fisherman and so I hate to disagree with him, but my love of topwater has me pitching it first. If the bass aren't looking up, I then fish down and catch them in the very same spot, so no, I don't think topwater scares them.

 

I don't really think it's a hard fast rule and I think there are times and places where top water not only doesn't scare them, it attracts them etc.

 

Another thing maybe I should specify: perhaps it doesn't exactly scare them away specifically.  Poor choice of words.  It just turns them off.  Like a bunch of loud boaters or something might.  They recognize it as unnatural and stop eating til they no longer perceive the unnatural disturbance.  Some days they don't turn back on some days it takes 20 minutes for them to warm back up in an area.

 

I think that top water is the first choice of every weekend angler in the state on most of the bodies of water that I fish and I think it's more just fish at my bodies of water are over it most of the time.

 

Schooling shad off shore?  Evening bluegill spawn?  Fry guarders?  Etc etc etc.  Sure it works great.

 

It's situational at best for us here in Greensboro.

 

Do I still have two or three poles rigged with different topwater presentations in the boat or car at all times til September *anyway*?  You bet.

 

A boy can dream ?

[Captain Phil]

On 6/14/2023 at 10:16 PM, Weedless said:

If you are fishing an area at sunrise, and you decide to throw topwater first,

do you think you decrease your chances of catching fish that are not into topwater at the moment?

 

Not where I fish.  Topwater is always my first choice.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

 

I don't really think it's a hard fast rule and I think there are times and places where top water not only doesn't scare them, it attracts them etc.

 

Another thing maybe I should specify: perhaps it doesn't exactly scare them away specifically.  Poor choice of words.  It just turns them off.  Like a bunch of loud boaters or something might.  They recognize it as unnatural and stop eating til they no longer perceive the unnatural disturbance.  Some days they don't turn back on some days it takes 20 minutes for them to warm back up in an area.

 

I think that top water is the first choice of every weekend angler in the state on most of the bodies of water that I fish and I think it's more just fish at my bodies of water are over it most of the time.

 

Schooling shad off shore?  Evening bluegill spawn?  Fry guarders?  Etc etc etc.  Sure it works great.

 

It's situational at best for us here in Greensboro.

 

Do I still have two or three poles rigged with different topwater presentations in the boat or car at all times til September *anyway*?  You bet.

 

A boy can dream ?

 

You muse and write as well as you fish, Pat. Heckuva reply.

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

Another thing maybe I should specify: perhaps it doesn't exactly scare them away specifically.  Poor choice of words.  It just turns them off.  Like a bunch of loud boaters or something might.  They recognize it as unnatural and stop eating til they no longer perceive the unnatural disturbance.  Some days they don't turn back on some days it takes 20 minutes for them to warm back up in an area.

 

I think you'll run across populations in a body of water that are a little spookier than others. And I think, to your point, a lot of that comes down to fishing pressure.

 

The majority of my fishing, due to time and accessibility constraints, is mostly public parks from the bank. As you mentioned, a lot of casual anglers that use artificial lures love the loud, flashy ones. And I think a lot of the resident fish at these parks are just annoyed at that stuff now. I've had people approach me that didn't think fish were around to be caught at places, because the fish there will almost swim past a dozen rattling or chattering lures to bite a weightless trick worm.

[Jig Man]

The reason I get up at 03:00 am is so I can be on the water at first light 05:15 am to fish top water baits.  By 7 or 8 it is hit and mostly miss on a top water bite.  By then many of our fish are 40 feet deep and we have to go down for them.

[Standard]

3 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Pat is a great fisherman and so I hate to disagree with him, but my love of topwater has me pitching it first. If the bass aren't looking up, I then fish down and catch them in the very same spot, so no, I don't think topwater scares them.

 

I'm the same.  Top water first, and work my way down the water column.  

[WRB]

Dawn shore oriented or shallow bass are usually still hunting from the night before and active. Active bass tend to strike regardless where they located, can be top water, mid or deeper water column. Does a noisy lure splashing down startle some bass? It could, more then likely it gets their attention and they check it out or follows it. 

If you don’t get any strikes let the area settle down a few minutes to give the bass time to return then try other lures.

Tom

[Will Ketchum]

I think there's a lot of feeding going on at night, and if you get there just before sunrise, they'll be attracted to any top water movement like a jitterbug which I have had success with.

 

I once got to a place at sunrise and ran across a couple guys who fished all night and had a bunch of beauties fishing top water.

[rangerjockey]

On 6/16/2023 at 10:07 AM, Jig Man said:

The reason I get up at 03:00 am is so I can be on the water at first light 05:15 am to fish top water baits.  By 7 or 8 it is hit and mostly miss on a top water bite.  By then many of our fish are 40 feet deep and we have to go down for them.

100%.  Once the sun gets over the hill they are about done around here.

But no, I don't think it bothers them at all.

[scaleface]

On 6/14/2023 at 9:16 PM, Weedless said:

do you think

no