Westernbass Magazine August 2011, Page 6

Westernbass Magazine August 2011, Page 6

toP Water bASS

funforall

By Randy Pringle

T

op water, you have to love it. There are so

many of these baits so where do you start?

For me, it falls back on the days of the prop

baits, poppers and buzz baits; this is where i started. But thirty- five years later, we have got plugs

you have to be told how to pronounce them, just to

say the name of the bait. We can break down top

water baits into categories, some are fished in a short

area and some have to be moved for their best results.

one of the key things for any bait that you are

going to throw is to be accurate. i can’t over emphasize

this. i can’t count how many times that an angler has

looked at me and said, “How come we are not catching

better quality fish?” My answer typically is they are

just not biting today or you can’t catch the big one all

the time. That is true but in some incidences the truth

is, i want to tell them, “You just can’t cast”. You have to

be at least ninety percent accurate when hitting your

targets to produce better than average fish. Hitting

the spot doesn’t mean like a land mine just exploded

when the bait hits the water. i call that concussion

fishing. Fish start floating to the surface, just on pure

impact. You have to be subtle. So now that you know

you have to practice, let’s move on.

let’s go to my lineup: it is not that big. i try to make

it simple stupid - wake baits. Wake baits are a very

subtle which have big fish catching results. i like two

sizes, for a big one i go with the seven inch oB Minnow

by optimum Baits. This bait has been around for a

long time. it buckles in the middle, making a clicking

noise as it wobbles from side to side. if i am fishing

open water, i like to use twenty to twenty five pound

Big Game mono. i need the durability and the stretch

when the fish strikes. i will fish braid if i am fishing

areas where big stripers and big large mouth roam

together, which happens quite frequently on the

California delta.

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For a smaller wake bait, go with the ima roumba then add a hitch hiker and a worm on the back, giving it the look of a mouse. With both of these baits, a slow methodical retrieve with pauses every once in a while is the key. don’t make it a rhythm. These baits work well with no wind and a slight riffle on the water. Then i move when the wind comes up just a little more to a few stand bys. Number one, in pocket fishing and over weed beds, the 5/8 ounce ace in the Hole can be deadly. it definitely is a big fish catching bait. The key with this bait, don’t just reel it back. a lot of anglers make that mistake. Short twitches in a downward motion give that bait the sound of feeding fish. Pauses between reeling is extremely important, adjust your pauses day to day.

When that wind comes up a little stronger, like in the summertime, there is no better bait to cover water fast than a noisy Persuader double Buzz Buzz Bait. i like this bait in a half ounce size. Throwing this bait on braid or mono, depends on where you are throwing it, open water – go the mono, use braid when you are fishing heavy cover. Change your cadence on your retrieve as this will entice Mr. Bass as he will think the bait is injured.