Topwater fishing is a blast

Charlie Campbell, Forsyth, with a bass he caught on his favorite top water lure, a Zara Spook.

Ken White

Any bass angler will tell you that a when a bass hits a topwater lure, the explosion as a fish strikes, can cause your heart to race and is as exciting as it gets. Late spring is one of the best times to try topwater lures. Tom Harper once told me that right after the Memorial Day Weekend it is time to tie on a topwater lure and hit the lake.

There’s something about topwater bass fishing that is special and as Harper said, “ It doesn’t get any better.” He is a master at using a plastic frog, usually on small waters including farm ponds. There is an art to being successful when using a frog lure. When a bass hits a plastic frog, don’t do anything. Should you try to set immediately, there is an excellent chance the lure will come flying back at you. The best thing to do when a bass hits is to count to three so the fish has time to turn the frog around and start to swallow it. Usually a bass just tries to kill the frog and then pick it up off the surface. When you are sure the bass has the frog in its mouth its time to set the hook as hard as you can.

After you know the fish is hooked, land it as soon as possible. The longer you take to land the bass, the better chance it has of snapping your line.

The aerial acrobatics of a hooked bass are great to watch as it jumps, but you need to keep it safely in the water, where you can tire it out before trying to land it, by keeping your rod tip in the water. Usually you can tell when a bass is going to jump. You can see your line coming up and feel the fish starting to surface as pressure on your rod changes. You need to keep your rod tip down when this is happening, but turn it to the side to keep the pressure on. This way instead of jumping, the bass will wallow on the surface cutting down its opportunity to spit out the lure.

Most topwater lures are designed to look like the food bass hunt for. Poppers, buzz baits and “surface walkers” are the top water favorites. I have used them all and they produce bass when used right. Recently I hooked a six-pound largemouth in my pond while using a Zara Spook lure. A master Zara Spook angler is Charlie Campbell, Forsyth, who said, “ when you have a bass hit your lure, wait a few seconds before really setting the hook. Your chances of hooking it solidly will increase.”

One of my best topwater trips was on a flooded Pomme de Terre Lake. Fishing with Ray Heady, we pulled up close to some flooded brush and started casting Heddon Baby Torpedo topwater lures. On his first cast, Heady hooked a four-pound largemouth and before we moved to another brush pile, we had caught and released six more bass. The action was fast and furious. That afternoon the action slowed down until we put on a buzz bait lure and started picking up strikes again. The water was a little off-color, but it didn’t matter. The action was as good as it gets in spite of the flooded lake.

Although prime time for fishing topwater lures for bass is usually early in the mornings and late afternoons, fishing during the day also produces good catches from shallow water.

As most bass anglers will tell you that topwater fishing is exciting and causes your heart to race, it doesn’t get any better. Now is time to hit the water for success with topwater lures.