Topwater Fishing Lures
Thursday, May 7th, 2009Casting topwater fishing lures can be one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have while fishing. There are times when they are the best fishing lures to be casting. The pageantry of it all is quite impressive. You get to see
The Zara Spook is a great example of a topwater fishing lure
the lure pretty near the entire time it is away from the boat. Sure there are some that dive a bit before coming back to the surface, but the majority of the time they will be on the surface. On top of that nearly all of the stikes will happen when the bait is on the surface, which is what makes this type of fishing so great. Now, topwater baits are generally not meant to be walleye fishing lures. No, you are looking for aggressive fish that aren't afraid to rise to the top to hammer a lure. Generally we are talking about bass, northern pike and the like which are known to be aggressive at times and willing to boil the surface of the water to find a meal.
So what are the general ways to fish topwater fishing lures? Well that really depends on the bait. There are some topwater lures that needs to be fished fast. I'm thinking of lures that will sink if you don't reel them in quickly. A good example of this would be a buzzbait. A buzzbait is kind of like a spinnerbait that is designed to stay on the surface. Blades twirl in a circle and cause a ruckus on the surface designed to get the fishes attention. But generally, the lures that I have had the most luck fishing on the surface are slow movers. Often a good rule of thumb is to cast the lure to a likely spot and let it sit there until the ripples dissipate. This can be hard to do, but often pays off in spades. As soon as it hits the water, trust me the fish will notice. If you move it right away the fish may be spooked. By leaving it sit they get a chance to come up close and check it out. Often from here it is best to just twitch the lure with your rod tip and move it a few inches at a time in a haphazard fashion. Don't get me wrong, there are times when the fish wants it to really be moving, but it seems more likely they want a sporadic retrieve. Twitch then wait. Rinse repeat. Another option is to "walk the dog" as they say, and basically twitch the rod back and forth. The intent is to get the lure to "walk" back to the boat atop the water. This can be very effective in the right conditions.
The last thing I will say about top water fishing lures is that care needs to be taken as to when to set the hook. Make sure to count to 2-5 before setting the hook. You want to be sure to let the fish get the lure good and in his mouth. if you set the hook when you see them hit it you will miss about 95% of the fish that hit your presentation. Often they are just striking the bait for effect and will then hit it again and put it in their mouth after the initial hit. This is imperative to making sure to get more fish in the boat while fishing with top water baits.
Some classic brands and examples of topwater lures include the Heddon Zara Spook, the classic Hula Popper, a buzzbait, and many floating crankbaits such as the Rapala original floating lure (although to be truthful I prefer the Rapala Jointed Minnow, also called a broken tail minnow). If you want a look that most fisherman don't use consider going with a Japanese fishing lure or a custom painted crankbait. Both are great ways to give the fish something they have not seen before.
