Freshwater anglers have a lot of topwater choices. Within the bass game particularly, these on the lookout for floor eruptions can dip into virtually any lure style and discover the right bait to name up a hog. Conventional Spooks and poppers are, after all, classics in sweetwater. However you’ve additionally received buzzbaits, prop baits, gurglers, crawlers, and a military of soppy plastics designed to kick, sputter, and froth their technique to big-fish victory. When you’re a saltwater angler, nonetheless, your selections are a bit extra restricted.
Years in the past, I interviewed a captain from Louisiana who swore by hollow-body bass frogs for mahi-mahi. He would toss these weedless rubber baits over floating mats of sargassum seaweed and work them by way of the vegetation aggressively. It was a nifty — albeit area of interest — trick, however his success illustrates how saltwater predators aren’t normally as discerning as freshwater fish. A mahi doesn’t know what a frog is. It merely reacts to a shifting goal. Within the salt, there may be much less want for finesse with topwaters, and selecting the best one for the state of affairs hinges extra on situations than anything.
Saltwater floor lures might be damaged down into three primary classes: poppers, strolling baits, and sub-surface sliders. From offshore species like tuna to again bay redfish in skinny water, all three lure types have a time and a spot. So, let’s begin by breaking down the advantages of every earlier than diving into topwater methods and methods.
Poppers
- Finest for deep water, stained water, uneven water.
Poppers are essentially the most ubiquitous topwater in fishing. From creeks to the Gulf Stream, the chugging, spitting motion of those lures attracts consideration from all method of gamefish. They’re versatile, too. No matter how calm or uneven the floor situations are, they’ll carry out. The physique form and rear weighting of a popper additionally makes it very aerodynamic, so you possibly can solid them far and precisely when a blitz erupts. Poppers will also be labored at any cadence. Chug them shortly to incite a response chew or gently pop and pause to maintain them within the strike zone longer round sod banks, bridge pilings, and docks.
When shopping for poppers, take note of the depth of their scooped, concave mouths. The deeper the news, the extra water it’s going to collect and throw whenever you chug. This naturally makes deep-faced poppers louder. When chasing species like tuna and striped bass in deep, open water, this could be a large profit, as it might entice fish from higher distances. In shallow water, nonetheless, a popper with a much less extreme scoop can do a greater job of mimicking a smaller injured baitfish flipping and flopping on the floor. They’re additionally simpler when concentrating on fish holding and ambushing round inshore construction, the place a subtler sound might be the ticket to drawing strikes.
High Saltwater Poppers
MirrOlure Poppa Mullet
Main Targets: Redfish, seatrout, small snook, school-sized striped bass
With a slender profile and shallow popping mouth, this lure shines in skinny water the place a subtler commotion makes the play.
Yo-Zuri Hydro Popper
Main Targets: Striped bass, snook, bull redfish
An awesome all-around popper, this lure is powerful sufficient to tangle with massive fish in addition to carry out in open or sheltered waters.
Yo-Zuri Big Game Bull Popper
Main Targets: Tuna, mahi-mahi, trophy striped bass, bull redfish
With a loud chug, lengthy casting distance, and extra-tough {hardware}, this popper can deal with fish weighing north of 100 kilos.
Strolling Baits
- Finest for calm water, shallow water, and low gentle situations
Probably the most well-known strolling topwater of all time is the Heddon Zara Spook. It’s been round for practically a century, and it’s liable for the complete class of strolling floor lures being collectively known as “Spooks.” These easy, cigar-shaped baits “stroll” back and forth in a zig-zag sample through the retrieve. Most additionally characteristic an inner rattle chamber that offers them a definite “clacking” sound as they transfer. Although they’ll definitely produce whenever you inject delicate actions and pauses into the retrieve, it’s the rhythmic, repetitive sound on the floor that arguably attracts essentially the most strikes.
Spooks are the primary alternative for seatrout anglers in again bay environments, as these fish feed closely by sound. After all, redfish, snook, and striped bass will even hammer them. Over the previous couple of years, large strolling topwaters adopted from the muskie scene have been gaining reputation with saltwater anglers concentrating on massive fish in deep, open water.
The one downside of a Spook is that it’s tough to keep up that regular, rhythmic cadence when floor situations are tough. Wave motion could make a Spook bounce out of the water as an alternative of gliding backwards and forwards, which might mar the presentation.
High Strolling Baits for Saltwater
Heddon Zara Spook
Main Targets: Seatrout, redfish, snook, striped bass
It’s laborious to beat the old-school Zara in plain Bone shade for virtually any skinny-water species that eats baitfish.
MirrOlure Top Dog
Main Targets: Seatrout, snook, redfish
Massively common throughout the South, the High Canine has lengthy been a staple within the packing containers of wading anglers and boaters from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas.
Jigging World Doc
Main Targets: Trophy striped bass, bull redfish
This outsized, bone-colored Spook has the uncanny capacity to make large striped bass seem out of nowhere, even within the open ocean.
Sub-Floor Sliders
- Finest for clear water, shiny situations, skittish fish
The slider class is odd as a result of it encompasses a number of types of lure together with suspending twitchbaits. Are these floor lures? Sure and no. They’re designed to be fished simply underneath the highest, normally a foot or much less deep. Generally, they’re shut sufficient that whenever you get smashed, it’s nonetheless very visible and leads to a boil or vacuum gap the place the lure was once.
These sorts of lures shine on days whenever you’re seeing fish comply with poppers and Spooks with out committing. Causes for this may fluctuate, nevertheless it’s typically throughout shiny days, or when the water is ultra-clear, or a mix of each. The fish are being triggered by floor exercise however not prepared to shut the deal up prime. When this occurs, the darting, slashing, bulging motion of a slider slightly below the floor typically makes the distinction.
High Sliders for Saltwater
Mirrolure MirrOdine
Main Targets: Seatrout, snook, redfish
With a most sink depth of solely two toes, this bait is simple to maintain slightly below the floor when retrieved with a excessive rod angle.
Rapala X-Rap Twitchin’ Minnow
Main Targets: Snook, seatrout, striped bass
Two heavy-gauge single hooks assist this lure keep pinned when massive stripers or snook take a shot just below the floor.
Shimano Orca
Main Targets: Tuna, mahi-mahi, trophy striped bass, trophy snook
With an ultra-slow sink charge and heavy-duty parts, this lure can deal with the giants that may’t resist its erratic slashing motion.
Topwater Suggestions & Methods
Do the Popper Drop-Again
Species like snook and striped bass love to make use of tidal present to their benefit when feeding. They’ll maintain someplace behind construction that breaks the present, reminiscent of behind a dock piling or level of land, then dart out into the primary movement to seize a baitfish using the tide. When fishing a popper in sooner water, nonetheless, it’s not unusual for these fish to overlook on the primary shot.
What typically occurs is the fish traces up on the popper, however because the popper is shifting with the present, the hit occurs simply behind the lure. In different phrases, it wasn’t the place the fish thought it could be by the point it reaches the floor. A intestine response is to shortly pop once more, however this may typically pull the lure farther out of the zone. As an alternative, prepare your self to do nothing if a fish misses in heavy present. They’ll typically suppose they’ve shocked the prey and swing round on what they now understand as wounded forage. It’s not unusual for fish holding in robust present to solely enterprise thus far for a meal, so in case you let the popper experience after a miss, it’ll be shifting slower and hopefully stay within the kill zone simply lengthy sufficient for a second shot.
Loop Your Spooks
Spook-style lures get their efficiency from their rhythmic cadence. The preferred fashions sweep extensively back and forth as they transfer, creating extra floor disturbance and sound. To boost their enchantment additional, strive leaning on a loop knot when tying on a Spook.
The best to grasp is the non-slip mono loop. By securing a Spook by way of this connection, it’ll have extra freedom of motion and, due to this fact, higher vary of movement. The flexibility of the lure’s hook eye to slip on a loop may ramp up the bait’s erratic motion. Throughout pauses or slower retrieves, the loop will assist the lure jackknife and “look backwards,” which could be a large set off with predatory fish.
Use a Single Hook
Thanks partially to a higher conservation ethic amongst anglers, extra topwater lures are provided with a single hook nowadays. You’ll be able to, after all, retrofit any lure with single inline hooks, as they’re obtainable in a variety of sizes. However not wanting to stay the factors of two treble hooks in a fish’s face isn’t the one cause to change to single hooks. In some circumstances, you’ll really improve your odds of touchdown fish.
That is very true with massive fish that struggle very laborious. Have you ever ever seen that offshore trolling lures not often characteristic treble hooks? It’s as a result of underneath excessive pressure, a single hook that’s properly planted is far stronger and holds a lot sooner than a treble hook. This identical precept carries over to topwater lures. When you’re chasing trophy redfish, stripers, or snook, swapping treble hooks for single hooks will guarantee extra stable hook units and a greater connection. In conditions the place you’re hooking toothy bluefish or jacks on each different solid, single hooks are additionally a lot safer and sooner to take away so you may get again within the motion.
Stroll the (Shadow) Line
Probably the greatest occasions to fish topwater lures within the salt is after sundown. Predators like striped bass, snook, seatrout, and tarpon are nocturnal hunters. And probably the greatest locations to seek out all of them after darkish is on a tough shadow line.
These are mostly discovered round bridges, although docks can produce glorious shadow traces as properly. Mild shining on the water from the dock or bridge deck is the catalyst. Though it might not create bodily construction, the road the place darkish water meets lit water is the right ambush level for predators. They’ll maintain slightly below the floor in the dead of night space and anticipate tidal movement to maneuver prey in from the lit water forward. A topwater lure is an effective way to capitalize on this situation.
Ideally, you’ll wish to be positioned parallel to the shadow line. What’s essential is that you simply don’t solid on the road. As an alternative, throw properly forward of the road into the water that’s well-lit. Whether or not throwing a Spook or a popper, make a loud retrieve till the lure is about to hit the shadow line after which cease. The commotion ought to alert fish holding in the dead of night, and a prey merchandise that’s not shifting when it crosses the road takes much less effort for a fish to spring up and snatch.