toPWater BAIts
small, subtle walking bait. This bait is most effective when it is flat calm or there is just a hint of wind as a day with increased wind can make the bait difficult to be seen and very difficult for the fish to detect. to fish this bait, twitch your rod in a downward motion while picking up the slack at the same time. Make sure you have some pauses and starts while you retrieve it. This will give the bait the illusion that it is injured. i recommend 12-pound-test mono. it seems to allow the bait to move side-to-side better. a larger line, will change the action on the bait to a tighter side- to-side movement. The ima Big Stik can be fished in all different kinds of water conditions, flat calm or in the wind. This bait not only walks side-to-side, but will spit the water out in front of it. This gives the bait the look of fish feeding on other fish. there are a couple of ways to work this bait. For a longer side-to-side motion use 20- to 25-pound- test mono because of the stretch it produces during the twitch motion. this will give the bait a sweeping action, which is good when the body of water you are fishing is calm. For a tighter side-to-side motion, choose braided line, 50- to 65-pound-test Spider Wire. Braid will allow the bait to turn on a dime because it has no stretch. in the wind this will help the bait spit water and make as much commotion as you need.
from $3.50 to $20.00, each one will work.
one of my favorites is the medium-sized Persuader Popping Walker. This bait is very versatile. it can be fished in calm or windy conditions. Fishing this bait with 15-pound mono will help you walk this bait with a side- to-side action, while spitting water in front of it. For your retrieve, start out by popping the bait and pausing. an example of the cadence would be pop, pop, pop, pause pop, pop, pause pop. The pauses between the pops combinations are important as the bass will often hit the bait during the pause. The pauses will vary, depending on if the water is warmer or colder. if it is cold, slow it down with longer pauses. if the water is warmer, speed it up.
WaKE BaItS
Wake baits are unique. They vary in size from very large to very small. They are a very effective, methodical, slow-moving top water bait fished typically by throwing the bait out with a slow retrieve that makes a V across the water as it returns to you. The ima roumba is one of the smaller choices in the wake bait family. typically, i like to fish this bait with 12- to 15-pound mono. i like to tip the back of the bait with a hitchhiker screw and a straight tail worm or small swimbait tail to give it more action. This will allow the bait to buckle at the hitchhiker screw, giving the bait a bigger profile, making it a small lure that is a big fish bait. a larger wake bait is the optimum oB Minnow in a 7-inch size. This is a larger wake bait,
let’s move on to another top water bait, the popper. This is one of the most commonly fished baits among anglers. There is a wide price range on popper style baits. You can pur- chase one
PoPPErS
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