Topwater lures fishing tips
Tossing out a topwater lure, giving it a few tugs and watching the water erupt with a strike, is a great way to catch fish. Even though some lure makers might use the phrase "sure-fire" in their ads, there's no single perfect lure or retrieve. You need to be willing to adapt, be flexible and to test the waters if you want to have a successful day topwater fishing.
Lure Selection and Preparation
We're going to discuss the variety of lures, but first we want to give you a piece of advice that applies to whatever lure you are using: make sure your hooks are sharp.
Topwater lures really get abused. Fish will come from any direction and knock the bait silly. The lure is going to get pushed around. Sharp hooks are vital. Dull hooks often fail to hook fish in all that turbulence.
Let's look at the various qualities found in topwater lures. Some make noise, such as poppers, rattlers, buzz baits, walkers, and barrels. Others, like slippers and stickbaits, are fairly silent.
Then we have size: you can toss big or small topwater lures. Yeah, we know that's obvious, but hang in there with us because, contrary to what they say, size does matter at least in fishing.
And here's one more obvious quality: topwater lures come in a wide variety of colors.
That said, the question then goes something like this: Should I be fishing with a loud, big, light-colored lure, or should I be tossing a smaller, quiet, dark lure at the fish today?
Here are some starting points:
- Stained, darker water will take a bigger lure.
- Use a lure with a dark stomach in darker water or low light situations. Remember, fish only see the stomach of a topwater lure.
- Start with a bigger, louder lure in dark water and on windier days.
- Use a smaller lure if the fish are holding in very shallow water. A larger lure will spook the fish more easily when it hits the water.
- Use a lure with a light-colored stomach in clearer water. Red toward the lurer's head is also good as it looks like the gills of a struggling baitfish.
- Try less noisy lures in clear water.
Tactics and Tips
If you are using a topwater bait like a popper, barrel bait, or walker, your general pattern should be to start slowly. Cast to an area, maybe give it a quick tug, and then let it sit for at least 10 seconds. Then retrieve it in a little, give it a jerk or two and let it sit again.
If the slow retrieve doesn't work, gradually speed it up until you are finally doing a fairly quick retrieve with rhythmic jerks of the rod tip.
It is very important to go slow at first if you are over an area where you know fish are holding. If you are on new water and are prospecting for fish you need to cover a lot of water fairly quickly, so use a faster retrieve. Slow down when you find a good area.
Toss your topwater lure over and around structure that will be holding fish like points, submerged boulders, saddles between small islands, fallen trees, lily pads, reeds, and shallow weedy areas.
Try these tips:
- Bump your topwater lure into structure like logs or the edge of lily pads.
- Try raising and lowering your rod tip as you retrieve your stickbait or slipper.
- Use a faster retrieve on windy days.
In the end, be patient, flexible, and willing to try new techniques.
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