3 Terrific Topwater Tricks for Fall Bass
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| 3 Terrific Topwater Tricks for Fall Bass |
Topwater bassin’ fanatics have a saying: “Catching one
bass on a topwater lure is worth 10 on anything else.” It’s true. Seeing
the drama makes topwater fishing special. You watch the wake of a bass
homing in on your lure. You see the fish boil beneath the bait. You
witness the hook-set. Your eyes are glued on the bass as it jumps.
Fishing doesn’t get any better than that, and during autumn, topwater
fishing is at its best.
Topwater lures come in many varieties, and some terrific tricks can
increase your catch rate when fishing each type. Here are three to try
this season.
The Lure: Popper
Poppers are productive, fun-to-fish bass lures. Each has a face
scooped-out, grooved or otherwise designed to catch water. The lure
makes a chugging sound when jerked. Examples include Rebel’s Pop-R,
Creek Chub’s Super Knuckle-Head and Cabela’s Top Popper.
The Trick: Raking Weeds
On sunny fall days, add a rake to your fishing gear. Bass often lurk
in heavily matted weeds when the sun is high this season. Run your boat
into the weeds and use the rake to clear a 6-foot hole. Rake out a slot
to open water, too. Leave for one hour. Bass soon forget you were there
as they gorge on baitfish eating plankton stirred up by your raking.
When you return, launch a popper into the hole from a distance. Count to
10, then twitch the lure so it spits. If this doesn’t garner a strike,
jerk the popper hard so it makes a deep bloomp sound, and keep it coming. Detonating!
The Lure: Stickbait
Stickbaits have no propellers, lips or built-in action. But skilled
anglers can animate them with short, sharp jerks that produce a
left-right-left action known as “walking the dog.” Heddon’s Zara Spook,
Sebile’s Topwater Stick Shadd and Rapala’s Skitter Walk are among the
makes.
The Trick: Head Nod
Stickbaits create a commotion when walked quickly over the surface,
but at times, persnickety bass prefer quiet lures, and the fact that
stickbaits have no sound-producing features makes them very effective.
Cast near cover, and wait a few seconds. Then, gently twitch your rod
tip to make the lure nod its head. Repeat, nodding and reeling so the
stickbait dimples the water every couple of inches. Bass rarely see
lures do this, and few can resist.
The Lure: Prop Bait
A small propeller on one or both ends of the lure body characterizes
this group of artificials. On retrieve, water twirls the propellers,
causing the lure to sputter like a trolling motor tilted too high.
Venerable names include the Smithwick Devil’s Horse, Luhr-Jensen’s
Nip-I-Diddee and the Heddon Torpedo.
The Trick: Doodlesocking
For the ultimate in topwater excitement in autumn, try doodlesocking
with a prop bait. This old-fashioned bassing method employs a 12- to
16-foot fiberglass or graphite/composite jigging pole instead of a rod
and reel. On the end, tie a prop bait with a 24-inch length of heavy
braided line. The lure is fished in pockets in shoreline cover. Work it
back and forth very quickly with short sweeps of the pole, making as
much noise as you can. When a bass hits, it’s like someone set off a
depth charge