S
urface fishing for black bass has been widely
used by anglers chasing this game species
for centuries. It’s no surprise that many
of us choose this tactic and use it often. The excitement provided us as we track that bait
moving across the surface, waiting for the inevitable
slurp or violent blow up, is one that no other bait can
provide. The adrenalin rush we experience will be
triggered from the smallest of fish, to the biggest of
fish we catch. It’s topwater action, second to none.
Many of us live for those 30 fish days on top. It’s
that 30 fish day that drives us to toss these baits
again and again, no matter the results. Just like a jig,
topwater baits, draw big fish to the surface. Many
tournaments are won by the guy who gets on a big
fish bite tossing topwater baits. Countless anglers
have caught their personal best on a topwater.
Understanding your prey, the baits you choose,
having patience and confidence, yet sacrificing the
numbers game, are key elements in drawing these
bigger fish to strike your baits on top.
There are a number of factors that go into why
a bass will track and strike a surface running lure.
Ambush angle, slow moving big meal, intrigue,
agitation, light penetration, noise and commotion, to
name a few. Yet the simplest factor of all is his sight.
A bass’ eyes have been placed on the top of his head,
he is always looking up. The bass’ sight plays a role
in each of the factors mentioned above except for
the noise made by our lures. A bass tends to feed,
more often than not, grabbing forage that is above or
coming from above him. His biological make up and
surrounding environment dictates this. Therein lies
the brilliance of topwater fishing, your bait, is always
in a fish’s strike zone. Putting fish in the boat, will
depend on the choices you make, matching your bait
to the conditions.
The choices we have for topwater baits are many.
For me, that choice tends to fall into seasonal categories
here on the Delta, derived from past experiences.
Each bait I choose to use, is one that mimics a specific
situation that I have seen take place here over the
years of fishing the Delta. I have witnessed these
situations countless times. I have studied them in detail
as they occur, as well as thought it out in amazement
after. Wow, that was incredible, I need to duplicate that
with the tools I have at my disposal. There is one aspect
ISSUE 2 June 2011
though, that I apply to all my fishing, and the topwater baits I choose are no exception to this rule I use. It’s the Hotdog vs. T-bone theory.
My theory goes like this, and is simply related to human food consumption for ease of understanding. If you are at a picnic and walk up to a young child or teenager, and offer them a hotdog in one hand and a t-bone in the other, which one is he most likely to take? The hotdog of course, kids are conditioned to readily accept this small, un-nutritious, easy meal. If you roll over to the big table and make that same offer to an adult, that adult will pass over the hotdog and grab the t-bone every time. The adult knows, that t-bone is far more satisfying for his diet. Bass react the same way when presenting them food offerings. Juvenile bass will grab hotdog like baits all day long. If you are tossing these hotdog like baits, your experience will be one of mostly smaller fish. Granted, much like I do from time to time, an adult bass will take the opportunity to grab a hotdog if it is his only choice, yet if he sees the t-bone baits all the time, he’s gonna grab it. That bass has grown and gotten as big as he/ she is, due to understanding this process.
For me, topwater baits are indeed t-bone type baits. Yet there is indeed a pattern within the pattern here. Some topwater baits, can be a topwater hotdog. These are typically the most widely used among bass fishermen. They are our first choice, simply because we catch a lot of fish on these baits. When I fish topwater baits here, I prefer to offer them up a Porter House! These are the biggest and noisiest of topwater baits, each one having their own unique characteristics that catch giant bass here. They are also baits, that these bass are not conditioned to. By that I mean, baits that most anglers are not throwing. Bass can indeed get conditioned to certain baits. The two most commonly known ones here are the Buzzbait and the Frog. Everybody throws these two baits. Make no mistake about it, these two baits catch fish, a lot of fish. Yet my experiences have proven to me several things. If there is a topwater bite going on, bass will bust one of these baits. I catch more fish 3 pounds and below on these two baits, than any topwater bait I throw. With the onslaught of anglers tossing these two baits, the bass here, indeed get conditioned to it and will become wary of striking them in time. I use these two baits to key me in, that
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