top water lures

[fishboy2]

he all. i know that a fair share you you people on this forum are bass fisherman,, so i was wondering, whjat is your fave top water lure to use. i like using poppers, i like the way the bass hit them, but i know of lots of lures that bass explode on just like them. whats your faves, lets hear em'
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[tubeN2]

I like the buzzbaits made by TubeDude. They have some good weight to them, easy and accurate to throw, and they can be made in all the hot colors.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]Hey young man. Glad to see you get excited about topwater stuff too. Nothing more exciting than having a biggun blow up on a topwater lure.[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]I used to do some good buzzbait work at the back end of Walsburg Bay, on Deer Creek. Of course that was when the water was up and flooding the brush at the back. Same for the weeds and stickups in the flats at the East end.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]I seemed to get more action on a plain white buzzbait, but sometimes I used a skirt with some chartreuse in it. At times the combo of white chartreuse and blue worked well.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]I don't know if you have ever fished buzzers before, but a couple of words of advice. First, start reeling as soon as the lure splashes down. They work a lot better on top than as a spinner bait beneath the surface. Second, reel just fast enough to keep the blade sputtering on top. Third, don't strike at every bulge in water or splash behind the bait. Keep reeling until you feel the fish and then set the hook. A lot of guys miss a lot of fish by striking before the fish gets the hook inside their mouth.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Poppers can work well along the shoreline almost anywhere. Daybreak and dusk are the best times. Again, the key to success is to work them right. Don't fish them as a sputter bait. Toss them into the "zone" and just let the ripples fade away before you do anything. Then, one quick jerk (pop), and let it set some more. Strikes often come on the first pop, if the fish have been attracted by the splashdown. If a series of pops and waits do not work, then you can try the pop-pause-pop-pause retrieve. That kind of looks like a distressed minnow or frog on top. And, again, wait until you feel weight before you strike.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Most people think topwater is for largemouth only, but from now until it gets cold in the fall, you should also be able to get some smallies interested. They don't like as big of lures as the largies, and they go for more bright colors, but they definitely smack poppers and small buzzers.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]One of my favorite topwater lures is a floating jointed Rapala. I fish it almost like a popper. Cast, wait, pull to wiggle, pause, pull, etc. You can give the reel a few quick turns to get the lure to dive under and then let it float back to the top. Lots of action when they are active. best colors are silver with black or blue back, gold with black back and perch color for smallies and even big browns. Oh yeah, the smallest floating non-jointed Rapalas work good in close too. I have even fished them with a flyrod. If you can cast them without hooking yourself they are good flyrod poppers.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]That brings up the last item...flyrod poppers. You can fish deerhair bugs or real poppers made from cork, plastic or balsa. They are easy to make and very effective. It is fun to cast them right up against the shore, or brush, and call those fish up to smack them. All the fun of dry fly fishing but on a larger scale.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]It's hard to go wrong with a few whites, some yellows and some frog patterns. Add some blacks and some other colors and you are set. One interesting thing is that big old rainbows will come up and slurp a small white popper. A lot of them learn to eat floating marshmallows on Deer Creek and will slurp anything small and white. Oh yeah, I also hooked some big carp on small poppers in Deer Creek.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Of course, the old Zara Spook, and various floating plastics fished on top will all do some damage at different times. The one general rule of thumb is to use them early and late. Once the sun (and the watercraft) hit the water, the topwater action seems to go bye bye. The only exception is at the very back of very brushy coves that don't get washed by boat wakes. I can remember catching largemouths all afternoon a couple of times...about this time of year, after the spawning is over...on the white buzzbaits.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Hope this helped. Good luck.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[fishboy2]

wow tubedude i asked about your faves, nto your best seller, that was soem book you wrote there. i dont think my bassin book could have said it more differently, in fact i think yours was better.
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[EmuScud]

His responses are always better, with the added advantage of having him know the waters we fish.

Keep getting them Deer Creek fishes!
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[Bassmaster-ND]

Cant go wrong with a pop'r. Just work it slow and you'll nail'em everytime. Another favorite of mine is the excalibur spit'n image. You'll get some nasty strikes from bass with this lure[cool]!! Another good one is a buzzbait.
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[daymere]

dont forget the jetterbug it is often over looked and is very effective.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][blue][size 1]Right you are. Some of the oldtimers are still just as good as they ever were. Same for the old Hula Popper. [/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]There are also a few different models of "prop" lures that have little propellers on the front or back...or both. I use a silver with a black back, with propellers both front and back for fishing boils when school bass, stripers, wipers or white bass are working over the shad. Here are some pics of some of the gooduns.[/size][/#0000ff]






(Hula Popper)

(PopR)



(Wounded Spook)
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[daymere]

you the man
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[JapanRon]

Hey there Fishboy2,

The woodchopper and zara spook in their 3 something inch models in black are absolute killers to slow troll and mend to the contour of a shoreline in a tube in predawn summer mornings. Just an awesome experience. Gurgle gurgle WHAM!

Don't forget to fish the bass species and halibut (yep they like crank baits too though not top water so much) in saltwater either.

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[blue][size 1]Hey, JR, how have the halibut been along the beaches this year? Any good inshore action during the grunion runs?[/size][/blue]

[#0000ff][size 1]Used to love doin' the walkin' and stalkin' thing in skinny water when the flatties were layin' in close waiting for a lovesick grunion to get close enough for a munch.[/size][/#0000ff]

[#0000ff][size 1]Good time to be throwin' some plastic swimbaits.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[JapanRon]

Hi there TubeDude,

Nope! I have been lazy and not gone as I should. TubeN2 and I have posted the grunion run schedules and tried to encourage anglers to take advantage of the live bait chumming that takes place ... and even warning them you can NOT use grunion for bait ...but alas... to no avail .... leastwise we've got no feedback.

I, I'm sure we, have caught halibut with a silver Krocadile without the grunions so....... casting behind their charge to the beach ought to be a gimme.

One problem is that the grunion runs are not dependable this year and on earlier dates this year have not even shown up where they normally do.

Plus .... it a hassle dealing with those certain public servents who don't really want a-n-y-o-n-e out past 10 o'clock at night and let you know it every time you're out near the water and especially at a beach so posted or not. Locking up the parking lots early is a great way to help reduce the patrol area so they can go look for terrorists lurking and waiting to strike everywhere, just anytime now.

I'm sure things are less controled other places.... like the Mexican and Canadian/American border for example! ha ha ha

JapanRon
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[Coldfooter]

Man as a kid I cant tell you how many of those my dad had me help him put together. I think he must have bought a huge package deal or something because there was all sorts of different ones but mainly like the jiggerbug and wounded spoon.. I think I was 7 or 8 at the time and I ain't looked at one since! Dang it,, my nose just grew 3 feet.[]

What I recall most about them was setting in the boat "being quiet!" and watching him work Northerns, pure deadly! and I think sometimes its a lost talent.
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