I still remember my first time fishing topwater. Me and my buddy Matt decided to leave school early one day and sneak in over at a pond that was close to our high school. While Matt is younger than me, he had the bug for bass for years and we had been harassing golf course staff for months before we found a hidden pond on a private residence that everyone said had HUGE bass. Well, we were never known to do the right things when we were young and dumb, so we decided to ask for forgiveness instead of permission after fourth period one day and off we went. To be a teenager again!
I still remember pulling a lure out of Matt's bag randomly and tying it on, when he noticed he told me that Rapala Floating Minnow I had tied on was brand new. He then asked me if I had ever used one. I acted like I knew what I was doing even though I was clueless, so Matt walked over to the other side of the drive that split the pond into two sections as I tossed the lure out into the water along the edge of the shore. As I brought it back to me I noticed how it always came back to the surface when I paused, and I liked the way it felt in my hand with the steady rhythm and diving motion when I slowly turned the reels handle. As I lifted up the lure to make a second cast I heard something coming down the driveway beside the small little spillway that formed in the divide. As I instinctively followed through with my cast I saw a car come rumbling down the driveway.
Now as soon as my lure hit the water by the flowing drain it got destroyed by the largest bass I had ever seen. I will not waste my time explaining to you how big the fish was because as a relatively new bass angler I had no frame of reference. Truthfully when I tell this story to friends, people never believe me. All I can say is Matt saw it too as he came running over and that thing jumped three times and pealed of drag from my budget combo I bought from Rose's with my Grandma's Christmas money. On the third jump, it flared its gills and shook its head, throwing the hooks back at me. They say we remember the ones we lose more than the ones we catch.
All the while the mystery car had continued down the drive and had pulled off alongside the road. A older man stepped out of the car and asked me with a straight face if that was the biggest bass I had ever seen. I told him yes sir and tried to introduce myself as my fathers son (small town trick that I had learned sometimes kept me out of trouble...) but the man interrupted me and told us to get out of there before he called the law. As we apologized and walked quickly back to my white 89' Ford Mustang, the gentleman asked me what kind of lure I had tied on. I told him it was a Rapala Floating Minnow and he laughed and said, "I'm not surprised, those things catch a lot of fish". We never went back and fished that pond again, even though I wanted to, but I sure did learn to keep a topwater in my box from then on out!
As I transitioned to saltwater angling as a college student studying marine biology at UNCW pre Y2K, I continued to love the diversity of options that topwater offered me. My first true saltwater experiences on my own were at Masonboro Inlet early in the morning casting to blues with a topwater popper. I learned pretty quickly to scale up my leader and work the lure quickly in a erratic fashion to get a bite from the big blues and the occasional Spanish mackerel.
Over time I met more saltwater anglers and discovered the variety our nearshore marshes can provide. I had a couple of friends I worked with at the Aquarium in town who loved to catch red drum on surface plugs but I had never tried it. I started learning about walk the dog style lures from them and then attempted to apply what they had shown me in a classroom out on the water. I was still pretty erratic, getting the right cadence down to get the lure to slowly dart side to side like a wounded minnow, it eluded me for a while. I really felt like I was over thinking it until I just committed to throwing it one day and I got lucky when a small speckled trout committed to my poorly presented offering. It was enough to give me a little confidence and push me to keep fishing it until I finally got it dialed.
Now I really don't throw much May-October except a Skitter Walk or occasionally in choppy water the Skitter V. The lures ability to draw a strike is unmatched in my opinion, and I have fished side by side with other anglers using different lures enough times to see a difference. I have even converted a few.
The key is proper presentation. I have learned that different species like it different ways, and it can change from day to day. That said, in general trout tend to prefer a faster retrieve compared to a red, as a red needs a little more effort to feed on the surface since they have a downward sloping mouth. A trout can sip a lure without much fan fare or they can slam it, but their mouth is better designed for feeding on a wounded minnow frantically moving along the waters surface.
Using a monofilament leader somewhere between 15-30 lbs. will keep the lure floating high as it cuts across light chop. Fluorocarbon leaders have a tendency to bog the lures down as they sink faster than mono. I try to use the lightest leader possible but I hate loosing a nice fish to an oyster bar or piling so I adjust as conditions require.
The "reel key" to topwater success is understanding how to use the rod tip to walk the lure back to you while only using the reel to keep up with the line as it comes back with each twitch. It is all in the wrist, I think one of the reasons I like the technique so much is because I used to enjoy playing drums. Its a really subtle movement kind of like the repetitive snap on the snare, not really using your arms at all just pointing the rod tip out at a 45degree angle and gently walking the lure back to you with each sweep of the rod tip. Remember, when done properly a small movement of the wrist translates to much wider movement of the rod tip which is essentially responsible to bringing the lure through the strike zone.
It takes some time. It takes working through the clumsy stage. But once you hear that clack-clack- clack that calls the fish in you know your working it right. The lure will create that high pitch sound that can draw reaction strikes when done properly, and fortunately it will catch fish as you learn. You don't have to have it down perfectly to have success but the better you get at creating that gliding motion the more bites you will get.
Prepare yourself for explosive strikes, there is nothing better than a topwater eat. The anticipation and adrenaline rush is enough to throw anyone off their game. It is important not to change your action when you see the fish waking behind the lure. When the lure is hit, do not jerk it away from the fish, instead let the weight of the fish pulling the lure down set the hooks, then start to reel with steady pressure as you lift the rod tip.
If they miss, keep it moving. Or pause it. Its hard to say. You will get follow up strikes either way, just pay attention to what the fish tell you, you can often tell how aggressively you need to work it based on their reaction.
I have found that most predatory fish will strike a topwater, but the pattern or presentation varies from species to species. Snook and striped bass are well known for being willing to eat a surface plug and even bonito and other nearshore species will eat a plug when they are feeding on bait on the surface. The lures are not just effective on inshore fish! Not much more fun than catching a big yellowfin on a large topwater popper!
As far as color goes I have found that each angler has their own preference but I am not certain it matter as much to the fish. For me, it makes sense to utilize natural colors like chrome or silver mullet. The goal is to match the natural prey species in the area. Just as many anglers recommend colorful presentations such as holographic orange and gold . A number of anglers have even taken to painting their own patterns, creating some interesting looking offerings.
While I like the creative adjustments, I do have to question just how much of the surface lure do the fish see when I am working it? I feel like anything that is light colored that catches their eye as a silhouette will draw a reaction strike, perhaps that is why bone or white is such a popular all around color for so many anglers. I personally also always like a dark bodied lure with a chartreuse head. It just seems to stand out. Same for red and white, that used to be my dads favorite color combination. If it worked 20 years ago there's a good chance it still does.
That's one of the things about fishing lures. A hundred new ones come out every year and it is good to change it up, try new things. Often they catch more fisherman than they do fish, and many manufactures don't make it in the the industry for a reason. Its hard to beat a lure you have confidence in, so pick one that you like the way it feels and stick with it as you let the fish tell you how they like it to be presented. Day to day it changes, so pay attention to what seems to be working on any particular session and adapt as needed. And remember, that old Rapala Floating Minnow, designed back in 1936, still catches plenty of fish!
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