Topwater Bait Details

[airborne_angler]

Wondering what everyone thinks about details on Topwater baits such as Poppers.

Details I speak of are on top of the bait,which the fish dont likely see anyway.

For instance,the eyes of a bait. I have a Popper which has some "stick on" eyes,which are about to fall off.

If I were to take these off,does anyone think this would lessen the effectiveness of this bait.

Its a reaction bait anyway.

Fish arent really TOO likely to get too close of a look at the top of bait as they strike

it from underneath.So is there any harm in taking the eyes off?

Would anyone agree that the fish most of the time arent overly concerned with what the popper

actually is,only that it may be annoying so they strike at it out of pure irritability.?

[Steven Ladner]

I believe belly color is the main factor in a topwater pattern. I will pick whatever color I feel more confident in, even though they won't see the top of the back

[kLuo]

From my experience, the high detail colors on the side and top are not a huge factor. I actually prefer that the fish CAN'T see my bait too well so that it is more likely to strike it. There have been times where fish have come up to my top water bait without striking it, then I switch to the exact same bait that is either clear or translucent and they strike it very aggressively.

[Bluebasser86]

I think part of why fish strike a popper is because they don't know what it is. All they know is it looks vulnerable and it might be something they can eat. I pick colors that I have confidence in but I don't think it really matters that much. Taking the eyes off of your bait shouldn't hurt anything at all.

[Grey Wolf]

If they think its food they'll hit it , it doesn't matter about the eyes , the action and the presentation of the bait is all you've got to worry about.

[Sam]

Some of us modify the baits so they work and/or look different.

When we do this the eyes and backs of topwaters can be seen by the fish.

In addition, the baits are made to mimic shad and minnows plus other animals and they are to be as realistic as possible. You do not want to have a bait that the bass may decide it is not food or it does not look natural.

Also, a beautiful bait is a merchandising tactic so we will view the bait as we see it and think it is a great buy.

[bigbassctchr101]

The best color for a popper is no color at all!!! BONE white. Same holds true for a trap in my opinion. Zell Rowland once stated in reference to his poppers and walking baits, that he has had just as much luck with a $150 custom realistic japan paint job as he had with the same bait painted in all chrome. That man knows his stuff about topwater fishin. I'll take his word on that. I think realistic baits do have their time and place however. More often than not, its not going to be on a FAST/MODERATE MOVING topwater bait.

[Blue Streak]

My top water baits are either black or white I never consider detail to be a factor at all.

[OkobojiEagle]

Wondering what everyone thinks about details on Topwater baits such as Poppers.

Details I speak of are on top of the bait,which the fish dont likely see anyway.

For instance,the eyes of a bait. I have a Popper which has some "stick on" eyes,which are about to fall off.

If I were to take these off,does anyone think this would lessen the effectiveness of this bait.

Its a reaction bait anyway.

Fish arent really TOO likely to get too close of a look at the top of bait as they strike

it from underneath.So is there any harm in taking the eyes off?

Would anyone agree that the fish most of the time arent overly concerned with what the popper

actually is,only that it may be annoying so they strike at it out of pure irritability.?

The top side of a top water bait is for me to see. I want it visible to my eyes so that I can see the action I'm giving it.

Your reference to your top water bait being a "reaction bait" puzzles me. "Reactions" I see from bass are those of avoidance and flight. In most circumstances I see (excluding nest protecting behavior) when a bass stalks and attacks a bait such as a top water it is purposefully attempting to feed on it.

oe

[whittler]

Question for all the extreme detail beleivers. If all the extreme detail, scales, eyes, fins, gills and such are important do you also beleive that line, split rings, and hooks are invisible?

[Jigfishn10]

I don't see where detail is important at all. Dog walkers and chuggers (to a certain degree) are moving and creating a disturbance in the water, how does a fish see the top and side of the bait? I think they see just the bottom of the bait and the sides and top are blurred from the distrubance. Bone white for me during the day and black or some sort of dark color at night.

I think topwaters are total reaction strikes. Heck, Zell Rowland will tell you that if a fish is short striking a buzzbait, then take the skirt off and fish it naked, just hook and lead head. That tells me that it's a total reaction strike.

[Raul]

I like highly detailed baits but because I like them, I love beautiful baits ( like Megabass´Pop Max Tonosama Frog ) however I´m skeptical a highly detailed bait will work better than a plainer bait. Why a bass bites a topwater bait floating around ? well many animals when they hit water stay still on the surface for a while, bass can associate the splash with a potential meal ( not a huge splash like if a cow fell from a tree ) and go to investigate, if the presentation and action of the bait is correct you can trick them into biting. One thing remains a mystery for me, many times I feel that they can get quite exited and ....... duh !!!! they miss or hit the bait too hard, how can they miss ?!?

[RoLo]

Ole timers like Raul and myself have seen this question posted many times, but I must say,

this is first time I remember reading so many similar replies, and I agree with the consensus opinion..

To help camouflage her animals from predators, Mother Nature has provided most fish, reptiles & amphibians

with light-colored undersides. Light hues suggest the presence of sunshine, but when light hues

appear where the sun doesn't shine, that's the work of a natural phenomenon known as “countershading”.

You might say, making a topwater lure more difficult to see, actually gives it a more natural appearance.

To that end, colors like White, Bone, Yellow and Clear, all represent natural belly colors.

Other natural conditions that impair a bass’s ability to discern topwater creatures is a moderate surface ripple, twilight, dingy water & overcast skies. Indeed, all above conditions are associated with improved topwater fishing.

Roger

[J Francho]

I have a one eye Sammy that outproduces all my other spook baits combined.

[bilgerat]

Ever see a dying fish on it's last gasps ? Often it's upside down while it twitches erratically. A popper designed upside down would probably work well. Same for jerkbaits. Just sayin'....

[RoLo]

Ever see a dying fish on it's last gasps ? Often it's upside down while it twitches erratically. A popper designed upside down would probably work well. Same for jerkbaits. Just sayin'....

Excellent point.

About two years ago, I offered that same scenario. I suggested that sick and injured baitfish that go "belly-up"

become victims of "Reverse Countershading" They are now highly visible to predators, which dovetails nicely

into "Survival Of The Fittest". This is speculation of course, but the conundrums conjured by Big Mama

remind me of the card game called "Black Lady". This game factors out more luck than any card game

I know. For instance, if you're dealt a truly bad hand in Black Lady, you have the unique opportunity

to run the deck (i.e. reverse counter-shading)..

Roger

[Locked]

If the bass can't see the side of the bait that is half in and half out of the water, then how do they see me when I'm walking along the bank? I know it isn't possible for them to see the top of the bait, but why wouldn't they be able to see the side even where it is above water?

[Bluebasser86]

If the bass can't see the side of the bait that is half in and half out of the water, then how do they see me when I'm walking along the bank? I know it isn't possible for them to see the top of the bait, but why wouldn't they be able to see the side even where it is above water?

They can see you but can they see detail about you? For all we know they just see something bigger than them coming towards them. In nature usually something bigger than you=danger because it can eat you. Plus they feel the vibrations on you walking and that might be spooking them more than seeing you. So maybe they can see the sides of the bait but with lots of detail? Probably not.

[Jigfishn10]

If the bass can't see the side of the bait that is half in and half out of the water, then how do they see me when I'm walking along the bank? I know it isn't possible for them to see the top of the bait, but why wouldn't they be able to see the side even where it is above water?

I personally think they could see all but one side of the lure at rest, but once that lure gets moving I think its bottom only. They will more than likely see a silhouett of the sides of the bait, but with all the surface disturbance that lure is making, I personally think they see the botton more clearer than the sides..

You can make the arguement that because a topwater would have roll to it, then they would see the nice detailed side, but does that seriously matter?

To be perfectly honest with you, topwaters are tail weighted. A bass would see all but the head of the lure at rest.

[RoLo]

I have a one eye Sammy that outproduces all my other spook baits combined.

So what are you waiting for?

Yank the remaining eye and redouble your production

Roger

[detroit1]

I repainted a chub bug in a perch pattern on the belly, hoping to mimic a perch laying on it's side. Looks cool, but that's about it.

[tipptruck1]

I can say white is the only color I will buy for walking and popers. I have never caught a fish on top water in any other color. I even did a test one day. The fish were killing a white spook. I mean they were killing it. I could barely get a few twitches in before a blow up. I changed colors and didn't even get one blow up. So I went back to white and started getting fish again.