Why doesn't my top water work?

[Chris Wilson]

I have both a frog and a chartreuse mouse for top water(not my only topwater) and have never been successful with top water except a hula popper. I also have a heddon crazy crawler and jitterbug, but none of it gets any attention because it never seems to work. How can i get it to be most effective?

[DINK WHISPERER]

Use it at the right times of year and in the right spots that hold fish! If they aren't there or aren't hitting surface lures than they are useless.

[endless]

I have both a frog and a chartreuse mouse for top water(not my only topwater) and have never been successful with top water except a hula popper. I also have a heddon crazy crawler and jitterbug, but none of it gets any attention because it never seems to work. How can i get it to be most effective?

what time of the day are you fishing? i was always told if using topwater its has to be early or at night. thats why im trying to move on to deeper waters in mid mornings/afternoons when the heat is out. but today the pond i was fishing seems to be only 7 feet for the deepest. and i was trying the carolina rigging.  

[Chris Wilson]

I have both a frog and a chartreuse mouse for top water(not my only topwater) and have never been successful with top water except a hula popper. I also have a heddon crazy crawler and jitterbug, but none of it gets any attention because it never seems to work. How can i get it to be most effective?

what time of the day are you fishing? i was always told if using topwater its has to be early or at night. thats why im trying to move on to deeper waters in mid mornings/afternoons when the heat is out. but today the pond i was fishing seems to be only 7 feet for the deepest. and i was trying the carolina rigging.

I fish a river which at its deepest is probably 6 feet, with the main part being 2 or 3 feet. theres tall plants where it dips down a foot from the upper part, its very slow moving. the only bass are largemouth, some lily pads. very few. theres some stumps and cover in the upper part, the sun hits most of the river. theres an over hanging patch of ivy which provides cover also. i fish 10am to 6pm.

[endless]

I have both a frog and a chartreuse mouse for top water(not my only topwater) and have never been successful with top water except a hula popper. I also have a heddon crazy crawler and jitterbug, but none of it gets any attention because it never seems to work. How can i get it to be most effective?

what time of the day are you fishing? i was always told if using topwater its has to be early or at night. thats why im trying to move on to deeper waters in mid mornings/afternoons when the heat is out. but today the pond i was fishing seems to be only 7 feet for the deepest. and i was trying the carolina rigging.

I fish a river which at its deepest is probably 6 feet, with the main part being 2 or 3 feet. theres tall plants where it dips down a foot from the upper part, its very slow moving. the only bass are largemouth, some lily pads. very few. theres some stumps and cover in the upper part, the sun hits most of the river. theres an over hanging patch of ivy which provides cover also. i fish 10am to 6pm.

i no i have a small river im just dying to get out and see how deep it is. my brother fell in one time and never touched the bottom.  and i wouldnt even say that the river is over 40 feet wide. i can cast across it no problem. and i hear it post to have some very deep holes too.

on your river are you just using topwaters??

[EdKras]

I ususaly reserve Jitterbugs and crazy crawlers for night, but they will work during the day.  Frogs are good near the pads.  It's best to throw daytime topwater when you see some surface activity.  Even

bluegills hitting bugs on the surface will make largemouth look up for food.

[Chris Wilson]

I have both a frog and a chartreuse mouse for top water(not my only topwater) and have never been successful with top water except a hula popper. I also have a heddon crazy crawler and jitterbug, but none of it gets any attention because it never seems to work. How can i get it to be most effective?

what time of the day are you fishing? i was always told if using topwater its has to be early or at night. thats why im trying to move on to deeper waters in mid mornings/afternoons when the heat is out. but today the pond i was fishing seems to be only 7 feet for the deepest. and i was trying the carolina rigging.

I fish a river which at its deepest is probably 6 feet, with the main part being 2 or 3 feet. theres tall plants where it dips down a foot from the upper part, its very slow moving. the only bass are largemouth, some lily pads. very few. theres some stumps and cover in the upper part, the sun hits most of the river. theres an over hanging patch of ivy which provides cover also. i fish 10am to 6pm.

i no i have a small river im just dying to get out and see how deep it is. my brother fell in one time and never touched the bottom. and i wouldnt even say that the river is over 40 feet wide. i can cast across it no problem. and i hear it post to have some very deep holes too.

on your river are you just using topwaters??

Nope, rapalas, plastics and friends throw live bait also. Your fishing spot sounds just like mine. I can walk in for the most part a little above my knees (im 6').

[iceintheveins]

Topwaters usually have to be used in early and morning twigh light and during cloudy weather. They are 10 times more effective then. On bright sunny days topwaters can be useless but not always.

My best producing topwaters are poppers, buzzbaits, and frogs. I catch some on prop baits, dog - walkers, and jitterbugs though as well. The most likely topwaters to produce during the day are frogs in heavy cover and sometimes buzzbaits in long expanses of shallow, cover filled water.

[endless]

I have both a frog and a chartreuse mouse for top water(not my only topwater) and have never been successful with top water except a hula popper. I also have a heddon crazy crawler and jitterbug, but none of it gets any attention because it never seems to work. How can i get it to be most effective?

what time of the day are you fishing? i was always told if using topwater its has to be early or at night. thats why im trying to move on to deeper waters in mid mornings/afternoons when the heat is out. but today the pond i was fishing seems to be only 7 feet for the deepest. and i was trying the carolina rigging.

I fish a river which at its deepest is probably 6 feet, with the main part being 2 or 3 feet. theres tall plants where it dips down a foot from the upper part, its very slow moving. the only bass are largemouth, some lily pads. very few. theres some stumps and cover in the upper part, the sun hits most of the river. theres an over hanging patch of ivy which provides cover also. i fish 10am to 6pm.

i no i have a small river im just dying to get out and see how deep it is. my brother fell in one time and never touched the bottom. and i wouldnt even say that the river is over 40 feet wide. i can cast across it no problem. and i hear it post to have some very deep holes too.

on your river are you just using topwaters??

Nope, rapalas, plastics and friends throw live bait also. Your fishing spot sounds just like mine. I can walk in for the most part a little above my knees (im 6').

yea you just cant walk across mine its very deep i have pic of river somewhere on here but go to go to work

[bigbill]

I'm in CT too where are you fishing?  The housy?  the farm?

River fishing here we go its my favorite place for stronger pullin bass. These fish are going to golds gym when swimming in the river current. Even notice how much more they fight?

Do you see any natural baits that are nearby were your fishing?

I see tons of empty crawfish shells along the shore were i fish a river. Thats a clue as to what there main diet is.

Ok with that said I never used a topwater bait in a flowing river. I been using the rebel crawfish chartruese lures(smaller ones) and the panther martins (silver/yellow fly) most of the time and we been piling up the bass.

The crawfish lure can be used topwater too by letting it float across the pools. I do the same thing with the inline spinners by holding my rod up and dancing it across the pools.

Now if your fishing the slower currents thats another story. Its the water conditions and the lure color and how clear the water is and your lure speed. It all matters if your looking for success.

It seems to me the fish are always on at rivers they never stop looking for a meal. Take your time and figure the pattern out thats the most fun. I enjoy the challange as well as seeing them come to life and strike my baits when most say there's no fish here.

Some more food for thought?

Do you wash your hands before going fishing?

Do you use scents to attract fish and to cover our human scent?

Does your tacklebox smell? It could be on your lures too. I wash my tacklebox and lures often.

I will give you a tip about my hottest topwater bait. Its the bass pro shops topnocker #25. You can still fish it, pop it, walk the dog or even speed it up underwater. It has a very loud rattle. Your river maybe too fast for it. That can be a problem too the river maybe too fast flowing for topwater baits. When i think of rapids i think inline spinners like mepps, panther martins and joes flies.

[D4u2s0t]

i think alot of people miss out on certain things because they're so set on following the 'rules'. like topwater only in morning and evening, and cloudy days. you can get quality topwater bites all day, as long as there's fish. some of my best fish this year have been in mid afternoon, in bright sun, burning lures across the surface. just like certain colors. some people are so set on 'you use this color at this time, or water clarity' or whatever it is, that they're forgetting that the most important is that there's fish where you're fishing, and how you present your bait. i have caught tons of fish on colors that 'will not work' for the time of day or for the clarity of the water. my lake is fairly clear, and black works just as well as watermellon, or blue, or white, or pink. that being said, if topwater is not working for you, and you know there's fish, try something else. if the fish are deeper, and not active, you need to get the bait in front of them.  if they're at 10 feet, and not moving, a topwater won't produce.

[Chris Wilson]

I'm in CT too where are you fishing? The housy? the farm?

River fishing here we go its my favorite place for stronger pullin bass. These fish are going to golds gym when swimming in the river current. Even notice how much more they fight?

Do you see any natural baits that are nearby were your fishing?

I see tons of empty crawfish shells along the shore were i fish a river. Thats a clue as to what there main diet is.

Ok with that said I never used a topwater bait in a flowing river. I been using the rebel crawfish chartruese lures(smaller ones) and the panther martins (silver/yellow fly) most of the time and we been piling up the bass.

The crawfish lure can be used topwater too by letting it float across the pools. I do the same thing with the inline spinners by holding my rod up and dancing it across the pools.

Now if your fishing the slower currents thats another story. Its the water conditions and the lure color and how clear the water is and your lure speed. It all matters if your looking for success.

It seems to me the fish are always on at rivers they never stop looking for a meal. Take your time and figure the pattern out thats the most fun. I enjoy the challange as well as seeing them come to life and strike my baits when most say there's no fish here.

Some more food for thought?

Do you wash your hands before going fishing?

Do you use scents to attract fish and to cover our human scent?

Does your tacklebox smell? It could be on your lures too. I wash my tacklebox and lures often.

I will give you a tip about my hottest topwater bait. Its the bass pro shops topnocker #25. You can still fish it, pop it, walk the dog or even speed it up underwater. It has a very loud rattle. Your river maybe too fast for it. That can be a problem too the river maybe too fast flowing for topwater baits. When i think of rapids i think inline spinners like mepps, panther martins and joes flies.

I used to live in newington, so i went out to north farms reservoire, farmington river, hammonasset river and places like that. Now that i live on the shoreline i'm limited as i have no car. I've caught bass on the farmington before, but on rapalas. The #7 firetiger rapala i kill fish with seems to be hit or miss at this new place. I do wash my hands, no attractors, and just washed my box a week or so ago. The river flows, but barely. Its very very slow moving almost still. Theres a pool at one end, and very vegetationy at the other end where it V's off and comes from the water source. It's mainly rocks and sand in the bottom with a few stumps and natural hides under. It's never stocked and there is no man made materials in it.

[mrlitetackle]

Posted by: Dink whisperer      Posted on: Yesterday at 7:32pm

Use it at the right times of year and in the right spots that hold fish! If they aren't there or aren't hitting surface lures than they are useless.

agreed,

i love the topwater bite myself.....

but if the fish dont want something on the surface, then its just gonna straight up not work.

........and i have yet to ever even have a single bite on my crazy crawler as well,

it just collects dust at this point,

while my old mystic pop-r gets lots of attention!

[Furbit]

For me top waters will work all day long from mid spring to late fall, you just have to put them in the right places. The shady side of any cover for example and hard to reach places such as a big overhanging tree. Cast them to your target and let them sit there until all the ripples are gone and then work them slow with pauses. There also great when the bass are away from shore busting shad to the surface or if you have some structure down deep, a lot of times bass will suspend above such and can be called up with a top water.

For the river fisherman, eddies are prime targets for top waters, anything that breaks up the current is a good place to throw a top water. The down current side of Logs, big rocks and such.

The key is to work them slow and to keep them in the strike zone as long as possible.

However with that said, having a backup plan for those times when they just won't hit the surface is a good idea. No lure that I know of catches bass 100 percent of the time, so it's always good to have something else ready to go. Like others have said, early and late may be the best times for fishing on top, but they will also work anytime of day if your fishing in the right places.

Hope that helps.

[endless]

chris wilson,

this is the river i was telling you about but so far we only pulled out lil bass, rock bass, and decent panfish. but this water is deep. i only used minnows there and only really fished it once. post to be some nice bowfins in there too. i know there is something in there eating the minnows the will comeback sometimes just the head..

im dying to see if does produce anything decent. i hear our po river and ni river does and this is connected so i cant see why not.

[Chris Wilson]

where is that? Do you ever fish the shoreline??

[RoLo]

Topwater bassing is as exciting as it gets, but it's not as productive as it gets.

Except under optimal conditions, game fish may be reluctant to rise to the surface much of the year.

I'd suggest giving topwater fishing your grandest effort throughout the post-spawn period.

Suddenly you'll become a topwater guru, as buck bass eagerly rise during the post-spawn, all day and under most conditions.

Roger