Top Water Surface Baits and Lures 101

[OldTimer]

Hope this helps a few out there regarding use of topwater lures.


  Surface Lures 101.pdf (Size: 886.23 KB / Downloads: 99)

Surface Lures 101

Boy………. they sure do seem to come in a lot of fisherman catching styles and colours:

   

But in my mind there are really only 5 basic types:

Propeller

   

The classic types being the Dying Flutter, and the great Tiny Torpedo

Popper/Chugger/Spitter

   

For example the Hula Popper, and Pop R.


Stick baits / Darters /Minnow baits

   

For example the Zara Spook, Stick Baits….. and yes a floating Rapala or Rebel minnow type bait.

Crawlers



Such as the Jitterbug or Crazy Crawler

Buzz Baits



These are not Spinner Baits - as Buzz Baits have multiple or very large single blades.



And for me & my style of fishing, I use these 5 basic retrieves (or slight variations):

- Non stop forward motion
- Twitch or Pop/chug or Shoot Forward a foot or two…… stop, and delay…… then repeat…..etc.
- Twitch or Pop/chug, move a short distance at a slow pace, and then delay…… then repeat…..etc.
- Walking the dog ( a rhythmic jerking retrieve will get the lure zig zagging)
- Non stop very aggressive chugging or jerking, with constant retrieve and motion.

When I first taught my lovely lady how to catch bass on top water lures - I explained to her that she was
trying to imitate the motions of a frog, large insect or wounded minnow on the surface of the water.

For instance – a frog does not swim constantly on the surface – it swims a few inches, or feet, then
stops, and so on. A wounded minnow will splash or roll on the surface and swim erratically, or spurt
forward then stop, etc. A large insect will flutter about then sit silent for minutes at a time.

Your job is to catch the attention of the fish without overdoing it (except with buzz baits).

Water surface conditions must be considered to be successful. The perfect scenario is perfectly calm
(like glass). But it is still possible to do top water with a ripple and small waves. You are wasting your
time when there is stiff breeze and a medium to good chop on the water.

Usually low light conditions at dawn and dusk (or in complete darkness) are better than full bright
sunlight.

In daylight I prefer a light coloured belly on my top water bait. In darkness my favourite is solid black.

Here’s my cut at what works best with the various lure categories:

Suggestions	Non Stop Uniform	Chug or Pop/delay	Shoot Forward Delay	Walking the Dog	Aggressive
Propeller		YES	YES
Popper		YES			sometimes
Stick Bait			YES	YES
Floating Minnow		YES
Crawler	YES	sometimes			sometimes
Buzz Bait	sometimes				YES

The above is just that which has worked best for me for top water - experiment to find your best
combination of styles.

Except for buzz baits - Always start out with less aggressive and slower presentations, with longer
delays. Then become more aggressive and noticeable.

My delays in a retrieve may sometimes be as long as 1 minute (or more) on dead calm waters. (I let the
ripple rings disappear.)………… when ya get a hit doin this ya just about have a heart attack………..

In shallow water use smaller presentations that won’t spook the fish.

If you seem to have fish swatting the lure, but they are missing and not taking – try reducing the size of
the bait. (what you’re seeing is the fish changing its mind at the last second and turning)

If you miss hooking a fish that you’re sure actually hit the bait – get much louder, and much more
aggressive, and/or much larger on your next casts. I’ve caught some of my biggest smallmouth doing
this. (it does look violent).

That should get you started…………

Cheers,

OldTimer

[--G--]

Excellent stuff!! Thanks!

[wknd outdoorsman]

Awsome breakdown OT,
This weekend I tried my hand at top water fishing and I had pretty good results. It was super exciting to see the hits happen. I even had a pike jump clear out of the water! Litterally about 6 - 8inches out of the water. The one thing I had trouble with was setting the hook. I probably got over excited and set as soon as there is any bump on my frog or buzzbait. This cause me to miss a few fish, one time I sent the frog flying past me! lol.

One of my goals this summer is to definatly master the top water bait!

[OldTimer]

(06-25-2012 10:31 PM)wknd outdoorsman Wrote:  Awsome breakdown OT,

, one time I sent the frog flying past me! lol.

Yes - you can end up with a set of hooks winging their way towards you on a heavy hookset that suddenly releases.

I've had more than a few lures strike me. Thankfully (so far) no injuries.

I try to wear my sunglasses when top watering to protect my eyes.

[MichaelAngelo]

(06-25-2012 10:31 PM)wknd outdoorsman Wrote:  Awsome breakdown OT,
This weekend I tried my hand at top water fishing and I had pretty good results. It was super exciting to see the hits happen. I even had a pike jump clear out of the water! Litterally about 6 - 8inches out of the water. The one thing I had trouble with was setting the hook. I probably got over excited and set as soon as there is any bump on my frog or buzzbait. This cause me to miss a few fish, one time I sent the frog flying past me! lol.

One of my goals this summer is to definatly master the top water bait!

Awesome! It's exciting isn't it?

When I'm using a frog, I found the only way to get a hookset is to wait a second or two after the fish brings it down. Maybe even longer? It's easier to get a fish to stick with treble hooks of course.

Fantastic piece OT!

I'm trying to practice letting the fish take the bait just long enough to swallow it, but not long enough to spit it out.

Some bass will keep it in their mouths longer than others. Different personalities, hunger levels I guess

Regardless, after a few days on the water my Rapala F-7 is stupidly more productive than the Dollarama frog hahahah. But I'm still going to keep trying at the frog to see how I can improve it's performance.

[OldTimer]

I hit the fish, real hard, and as soon as possible whether I'm spinning with hard baits, or fly casting a wee single hook popper.

Gotta remember to them it's life or death............... so they'll eject anything they find odd - almost instantly. I honestly believe that their "reflex translated to motion" process is faster than ours.

[MichaelAngelo]

Quote:Boy………. they sure do seem to come in a lot of fisherman catching styles and colours

LOL, tonnes of lures sure do seem to catch more anglers than fish You'll find those ones burried in the bottom of our boxes and drawers .

I updated the original post to include the contents from the PDF.