Best Topwater for Largemouth?

[Mattypeach]

I am partial to the buzz baits, but have enjoyed watching the skitter-pop-looking "sticks" on the Outdoor chanel.

What is your favorite or preferred topwater lure/technique for largemouth?

When and where have you found it to be most effective?

Thanks -- 'peach

[Mr Special]

Heddon Torpedo with spinner in frog green. Early morning on Tonka near docks. Hard to beat topwater action.

[The Yeti]

A lure called Moss Boss has always worked well for me.

[The Yeti]

A lure called Moss Boss has always worked well for me.

[Mr Special]

The Scumfrogs, white w/green spots or black work good too. I use them in the weeds and lily's, also early morning.

[SCUMFROG]

SCUMFROGS. I use all the colors any time of day. I've found that bass see a frog as an easy meal to digest.

[Mr Special]

JitterBug, I personally like the two piece ones in yellow, green and fire tiger.

Hey IronMike where are ya anyways he always does really good on topwater baits." wink wink"

Is it season yet?

[ironmike]

I think you know my track record with top water. Give me a jig or a Senko and watch out. Settin' the water on fire.

ps. Mr. Special, clean your boat trailer wheels. Are you storing that grease for later use?

[Lunker]

Scumfrogs and poppers are my favs.

[Daze Off]

My all-time favorite topwater is the Zara Spook in Silver Flitter Shad - nothing like a strike while you are "walking the dog" although I've never had a topwater bite on anything that didn't get the old blood pumping....Just found a Heddon Dying Flutter in the same color and can hardly stand waiting to try it out....

Daze Off

[Trailblazin]

Zara Spook - nothing better....

[Maximum12]

I'll heartily second the Jitterbug. Love it. But I too love watching bass hit the topwater, so I'll buy a few others suggested here, maybe I'll have a new favorite by July.

[Guest]

Reeds, pads, under trees and open water...BUZZBAITS.

Rice, slop and thick pads...MOSS BOSS.

[gundy89]

Skitter pop is always my best but my fishin buddy catches twice as many as I do with the spook. I gotta learn to walk the dawg!

[TUMBLEWEED]

Fot clear sailing I like the ole Hula Popper
in yellow or dark green. The skitter pops
are nice too. When it becomes thick and
jungle-like, I always go with my Bill
Norman's WeedWalkers in white and Chartreuse.

The trick of all of them is to not jerk
back when ya got a fish boiling up and
hitting the bait. Wait until you feel the
strike in your rod,THEN set the hook!!
This is way easier said then done...

[BigMike]

I have never been a big topwater guy, but this is my year to learn. I'm all stocked up on buzzbaits, Zara Spooks, and torpedos. I've already been out early this year on Pool 2 and when the fish weren't hitting, I decided to pull out the topwater to just practice "walking the dog" and it isn't as tough as I thought it was going to be! And it seems that a walk the dog presentation would help with the premature hook sets too because of having to keep your rod tip lower to the water and the little bit of slack in the line needed to walk it. I've been telling myself not to set the hook until I feel the fish on the line, not when I see it blowup on the lure... That might be a bigger challenge than learning to walk the dog!

[EBass]

A scum frog is all I need. I'll get shy bass to hit that. I let it pause for a long time though. Especially if I can see them, then give it a shake and a twitch, is it opener yet!?!?

I do like buzzbaits as well and poppers, and spooks, and the torpedo with the blade that ticks.

OK I like them all and got to have them all!

[Jughead]

I have 4 blue Rapala skitter pops in my box at all times. Every year I lose one to a northern and the others get beat up. They will always seem to work in the calmer waters regardless of weather.

[MedicineMan]

The old wooden Hula-poppers. Expecially the red and white hula-poppers. I've got a few of them things, but since there antiques and the fact that my dad would kill me if I used them, I make copies of them for myself. I tell you what, they still produce better than anything out there.

[jeffyo45]

Growing up I used to use floating rapalas. Haven't used them since I was 13 (25 now). Always tempted to try them when nothing else is working.

Buzzbaits have really been the only topwater I use since I got back into fishing. Last year I fished with a guy who would use a Weed Walker (weedless buzzbait) as a locater bait followed up by a Scum Frog, fishing pads. Our 5 fish bag was right around 23 lbs. You do the math. I will be using this technique when the time comes. Bought a couple Weed Walkers to go along with the Scum Frogs I bought last year.

I guess it doesn't really qualify as a topwater but when the bass are real agressive I will surface pop weightless plastic worms. It really ticks the fish off and they can't stand to ignore it.

I know poppers work well too. My league partner caught a nice 19" smallie on one last year.

As everyone has indicated it is much easier to say than do, to not set the hook at the explosion.

[Daze Off]

One of the coolest things about the Zara's and wlaking the dog is "steering it" -walking it around cover or walking it up to some brush and giving it that one little tick to make it "look into the bush" and WHAM........

Daze Off

[Maximum12]

Trying not to set the hook on the explosion...that's been reeeeeaaaallly hard for me. I can't count the number of bass I've missed the past couple of years because of basic, ah, inattention & then spazzing out by setting the hook the moment I see a boil. Maybe by the time I'm 70 I'll have cured myself of that. Then again, maybe not.

[Lost]

Last year was the first time I did any Largemouth fishing. My catches were all on a black popping ScumFrog. I picked up a couple Zara Spooks to try this year. Exactly how do you "walk the dog"?

[Mattypeach]

AWESOME INFO!! Thanks to all and I hope we can keep them coming!

Here is the news so far:

Buzz Baits
Skitterpop
Heddon Torpedo in Frog Green with Spinner
Moss Boss
ScumFrogs in White w. green spots or Black
JitterBug in Yellow, Green, or Fire Tiger in Two Pieces
Zara Spook in Silver Flitter Shad
Heddon Dying Flutter in Silver Flitter Shad
Hula Popper in Yellow or Dark Green
Bill Norman's WeedWalkers in White or Chartreuse

How's that for a shopping list?!?!?

'peach

[Daze Off]

Lost,

Tougher to describe than to do - make long cast na dlet bait sit until rings in water disappear. Allow some slack to form in line. Sometimes a slight twitch or two before beginning the retrieve gets a strike too.

With some slack in the line, use rod tip to pop lure just enough to move it - it will usually go to one side or another. Immediately repeat and the bait should go in the other direction. Can vary the "walk" with short, rapid strokes to really make the bait go back and forth or slower ones that allow the bait to glaide a bit in either direction. I find it tough to keep the motion in the bait up close to the boat.

As for strikes - it is usually not the boils that get me to pull the trigger too early - it is when I see a swell of water forming behind the bait and know that something awesome is about to happen.....have had northerns leave the water like ballistic missles and even had one slam into the boat just as I lifted the bait out.

Developing the skill of "walking the dog" will take some practice and experimentation but it is well worth the effort.

Hope this helps....

Daze Off

[Lost]

Thanks Daze! I tried to do it last year but had no clue what I was doing. I guess I didn't have enough slack in the line or too much slack. How much slack and how far should I move the rod? I take it that I just need to reel in when the slack gets to be too much?

[Daze Off]

Lost -

Hard to describe how much slack - experimenting will get you there. You should reel as you twitch the line - the amount of slack should be the same for most of the retreive - getting less as you get closer to the boat. The amount you move the rod will depend on how much slack you have - mov eit just enough to cause the bait to jump side-to-side. Reel in a turn or two at a time coordinating it with your rod twitches.

Told you it was easier to do than describe....LOL

Daze Off

[Coach Dog]

I am a huge fan of the Rapala Skitter Pop, in frog color. The one I have has the texture of sandpaper from all the bass it has encountered. It's one of my favorite lures. Blurp, blurp, pop, pop, WHAM! Nothing compares to topwater!

Coach Dog

------------------
GIT-R-Done!

[Metroguy99]

Soft Jerk Bait... SLUGO cheap but effective, otherwise go Rapala tail dancer in the heat of the summer. Technique would be to leave the Slugo on the bottom for as long as it takes for a big sucker to snatch it (best technique there is). texas rigged worm will work the same. where as the tail dancer will be for the more active bass, bounce her off the bottom.

[TMan]

Try the Marsh Mouse, www.phelpstackle.com more durable than the hollow frog lures. And casts a mile.