Angler16 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Just wondering how does everyone use their top waters? Do you reel in slow? Do you make twitches then pauses then reel? Im curious to know i might actually have the patience for it this year, but then again i always say that and they never caught me jack i usually get tired of em 3rd cast lol! la Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 what kind of topwater you basically have straight retrieve, poppers and walk the dog style. each are used differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richyb Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 jerk jerk jerk , pause ,, jerk jerk , pause jerk SPLASH !!!!!! oh man i cant wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmeh Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I work them a bunch of different ways. I generally start by working them rather quickly with very few short pauses. If this fails to draw any action i'll progressively slow down and incorporate longer pauses. Nothing works all the time so vary the action until you find what works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohhenrygsr Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 buh hahaha i'm sorry but if the title was different this thread would be hilarious . I'll let your dirty imagination do the work. Anyways i tend to find in dead calm waters i like to pause a bit longer and in rippling waters i like to work it a bit aggressively like it owes me money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest skeeter99 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 exactly how the fish want it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverowbotham Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 For Spook style baits, pop it on a slack line all the way back, I dont pause it. For popper style baits, try .. Twitch.. pause... twitch, twitch pause, twitch.. pause... twitch, twitch pause. if that doesnt work. Pick a song.... twitch to the beat... seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cudz Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 you don't need really calm water to use top water baits. I actually have as much or more success with a little ripple. cast, pause for a bit and twitch pause (poppers) walk the dog with spooks and sammy. I throw loads of weedless frogs (spro bronzeye frog) throw into the thickest gunk you can find and reel straight in. When you see the fish hit wait a second and set the hook as hard as you can. It is fun but a bit frustrating as the hookup rate is not as high as other lures. My most recent topwater lure taht I have been throwing for bass and pike are the wakebait. The swim at the surface or just below and create a wake. THey are fun to use as is any topwater bait. If I throw a buzzbait I will often burn it back with a straight retrieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdotfisherman Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Top-water fishing had been my favourite style of fishing up until last year.. I found that in 2008, the waters that I fished, top-waters just didn't seem to be working as well as the once did.. It got to the point where I don't think I had caught a fish on top-water all spring and most of the summer, and I just gave up throwing them. I lost all confidence on top, which is a shame, because it's an explosive style of fishing, especially for Smallmouth Bass.. My go-to top-water lure had always been the popper style baits, where you pop, stop, and pop again.. and yeah, like has been said, this technique tends to work best in the morning, or in the evening, or with overcast conditions.. We'll see how the top-water bite is in 2009, hopefully it's back, cuz I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 jerk jerk jerk , pause ,, jerk jerk , pause jerk SPLASH !!!!!! oh man i cant wait LMAO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cram Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 cast high....when it hits the water, let it sit for awhile....until the ripples disappear. Then start your retrieve....if a popper, erratically pop and stop it. If a jitterbug....more methodical, but don't be afraid to jerk it across the top of the water so it skitters. I find being erratic is a good thing. Lots of stops though...and even little twitches. Don't be afraid of throwing topwaters when there are waves. You'll find the fish are actually more active when there are waves...less light penetration (ever snorkel when there are waves....see waaay less). Morning and evenings are far better for me with topwaters though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Little angler, thanks kid! you make me remember being young. Great to see some one asking questions it can prevent mistakes or wasted time in the future. You will learn as you get more time on the water more fishing trips under your belt none of this is carved in stone. Desire and confidence in what you are doing plays a part. Cudz is right about not needing dead calm water to throw a top water lure, and there are a lot of them and different styles. Some like a Jitterbug or spook seem to work best with a rhythm to the retrieve, walking the dog, the jitterbug will gurgle at you. Lure like a buzzbait a steady retrieve helps the fish locate the lure, especially when you are retrieving it thru junk or dirty water, I like to bend the upper shaft so the blade makes contact with the lower shaft on a retrieve but doesn`t stop it, some come with a clacker, a small second blade that contacts the main blade, adds sound and vibration. Speed? If you find fish, if they want a surface lure, they will let you know. Don`t get set on one speed until you start catching fish, then try to repeat it. Prop lures, like a heddon torpedo or smithwick devils horse? cast, let it sit then make the props spray some water, stop, start over. Frogs. thrown them in places I don`t think the fish could see them, a motion and rhythm thing also, they need to be able to track it down. Too many baits to cover, confidence, experience catching some fish on a lure will give you the best idea on what will work, you won`t get either if you don`t fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I throw a Zara Spool Jr for smallmouth bass about 80% of the time, lol. Depends on the weather conditions, but a little chop and a walk the dog type bait rally does the trick. I've found that even with topwater, changing your retrieve speed could mean the difference between a lot of fish and no fish. I've even puled smallmouth out of 25ft of water on a topwater.. They work in a variety of depths/conditions. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddler Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Some these tips are great tips. I user super lines for top water. The no strech gives me absolute control, which I really. My favourite top water bait is a Chug-Bug (they have knock off at the Dollar store now). I use a very subtle retrieve when the water is dead calm. Almost as if the bait is NOT trying to attract attention. Pause a lot. I get a lot of hits when the bait has been sitting quietly for a while. I do that for a couple casts then I go to a little more aggressive action. If the water has a little ripple on it I'll go with some really noisy retrieve. Experiment and find out what seems to work for you. It's my favourite way of fishing. muddler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setomonkey Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 One of my favourite ways to fish too. Nothing better than seeing the water bulge and then the attack... Man can't wait til summer... I have had much more success with the quiet / erratic approach (twitch, long pause, twitch twitch) than walking the dog or burning baits back but I have less confidence with the more aggressive approach so I use it less. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitespinnerbait Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Lop out a scum frog.............twitch , twitch , pause ..twitch , twi...............explosion ....................missed him, :devil: :blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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