Fall Topwater

[fishinlunatic]

When do you guys stop throwing topwater? And if you never stop, what is your favorite cool water topwater bait? Logic tells me cooler temps= something slow like a popper. Opinions?

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

The day the lake turns over, I put the topwaters away

[John J.]

I would have to agree with LBH on this one. Colder temps mean the bass are less active, which means they are less apt to strike a top water. I usually switch to jigs, texas rigs, drop shots and carolina rigs around this time of year.

Top waters are best when water temps are 60+. Spring time is the BEST time to use top water, when the fish are spawning. Early fall is good but not now when the temps are starting to lower and winter is comming around the bend.

[Boett43]

Sorry but what do you mean by when the lake turns over? Haha Im not really up with terms quite yet..THANKS

[T-rig]

The day the lake turns over, I put the topwaters away

x2. But I allways have few poppers in my bag to catch some perch.

[Sam]

"Turnover" is a magical time when the warm surface waters cool and become heavy enough to sink beneath the warmer, lighter waters beneath.

This warms the surface all over the lake and all the fish and other wildlife sense the change.

The fish and mamals will start to adjust for the cold water that is heading their way and find places to "winter" and also conserving their resources so movements are held to a minimum.

You fish "deep" when this happens around drop-offs, mid-lake holes, old creek channels, bluffs, railroad trestles and cliffs off very deep points.

Vertical presentations are the best after the lake "turns" but you must have patience in finding where the fish are holding.

Use your sonar to find the bass or the structure that the bass may be holding.

Do not anchor above where you want to fish as that will spook the bass.  Throw out a marker and try to cast as close to the spot you have found as you can.

Try your drop shot or jigs and be ready for a "soft" strike. Set the hook when you feel anything that is different than what you feel when there is no fish on the line.

There are a number of articles on this change over and I know we discussed it on this site previously. Hopefully guys with more scientific knowledge will add to this post.

Remember, patience, patience, patience.  It can drive you crazy.

[PondBoss]

Perhaps I am the odd man out on this but I throw top water all year long.  The best days for me have been when the air temp is way cooler than the water temp and it looks like steam is coming off the water.  My best day ever fishing a buzzbait was basically casting into the misty clouds just over the water.  The air temp that day was 31* it was the 2nd freeze of the year.  It's always been my out look on it that you will always catch the active fish on topwater, and lets face it that is the way you want to start your day.  Get an early limit and you can fish for the bigger slower fish the rest of the day.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

"Turnover" is a magical time when the warm surface waters cool and become heavy enough to sink beneath the warmer, lighter waters beneath.

This warms the surface all over the lake and all the fish and other wildlife sense the change.

The fish and mamals will start to adjust for the cold water that is heading their way and find places to "winter" and also conserving their resources so movements are held to a minimum.

You fish "deep" when this happens around drop-offs, mid-lake holes, old creek channels, bluffs, railroad trestles and cliffs off very deep points.

Vertical presentations are the best after the lake "turns" but you must have patience in finding where the fish are holding.

Use your sonar to find the bass or the structure that the bass may be holding.

Do not anchor above where you want to fish as that will spook the bass.  Throw out a marker and try to cast as close to the spot you have found as you can.

Try your drop shot or jigs and be ready for a "soft" strike. Set the hook when you feel anything that is different than what you feel when there is no fish on the line.

There are a number of articles on this change over and I know we discussed it on this site previously. Hopefully guys with more scientific knowledge will add to this post.

Remember, patience, patience, patience.  It can drive you crazy.

When the lake turns, it is the deeper water that holds the higher amount of dissolved Oxygen as well.  The differences can be drastic.

Newmatt- I was asked to partner with a friend for a fund raiser tourny up in Mass. one yr.  It was a terrible day, 35 degrees, yadda yadda.  Noone was catching.  My partner started busting my chops saying he thought he had rought in the ringer but I wasn't doing him any good so I proceeded to retalliate.  I put on a huge, fire tiger spook (old one) and it got a good chuckle out of him.  we were at the point where the fishing was so bad, the highlight was busting each other up.

Guess what.

FISH ON!!

A fluke, sure but it CAN happen.

we still lost tho  :

[BackOnTheWater]

I always keep a top-water tied on, even in the winter. It doesn't get very cold for very long here, and after a couple of nice, sunny days you can find bass in the warmer shallows. I'll throw a spook or pop-r (the bigger the better, IMHO) or a big floating/ suspending jerkbait when appropriate...something that you CAN move slowly or just let sit.

[Bassinfreak2]

Yeah I believe you should try topwater baits all year long. Let the fish tell you what they want and respond accordingly. For example, last weekend air temp was at 27 degs with water temps in the low 50s. Two guys were fishing slow in front of me and I never saw them with a fish and yet there were swirls all around them. When they moved out I came in with a Spook and had a blast. The fish wanted something on top that morning even though it was freezing out. Pay attention to your area and even if there's a blizzard going on and you see fish come up, throw topwaters.