Ersteman

I've hunted nightcrawlers 2 times, with the 2nd time being most memorable. I hosed down the front yard in the afternoon despite my dad telling me that I was not allowed to do it. Then it got dark, I snuck outside and started to collect the worms. As I was snatching the squirmy buggers, my dad comes out of the front porch. He had his fists up like he was going to fight someone and he yells in a mean deep voice "Whose there!?!" I said "it's me dad". "Then he swore, but he relaxed. He thought I was a burgler. I guess I'm lucky my dad doesn't carry. lol.

Frog Freak, I'm going to challenge you (playfully of course). I feel like I'm also a decent topwater popper fisherman, While I still have a lot to learn, I have learned from my mistakes and that has lead to me developing successful techniques that I have confidence in when Topwater Popper Fishing. LOOP KNOT: I've learned how to accurately tie a loop knot which is the best knot for me in throwing poppers. The loop knot gives the bait free motion when popping the bait which helps with the action of the bait. MONO LINE: I found mono to the be best line for me due to stretch on the hook sets(prevents me from ripping it out of their mouths) and toughness when bass take the popper around logs and stumps. I tend to use lighter line than the pros. 6lb and 8lb mono line. It helps reduce the visibility to the fish and allows me to cast it a country mile. ROD: I like a parabolic, medium action rod that is not stiff. The softer tip allows me to walk the bait when necessary, but also just enough give to mesh with how I work the bait. A medium rod also aids me in my hook sets and does not allow me to set too hard of a hook set. WORKING THE BAIT: To me, a popper is the definition of a finesse bait. I found that fast subtle rod twitches get the bait to dart and twitch a way that mimics a wounded bait fish. Also, the quick subtle twitches when worked at the right cadence, have the "swish, swish" sound the rattle chambers makes that emulates an erratic wounded bait fish. CASTING ACCURACY: The structure in the lake I fish challenge me to have pin point casts by trees. I found out I have a 4-6 inch target and if I miss that target, I don't get bit. Hitting the center of a pocket, hitting a few inches away from a structure, and following the shore with a cast are all casts I use when topwater popper fishing. LURE SIZE: I also found that the larger size poppers get bit as much as the smaller ones, and the larger ones are easier to throw, so I use the larger ones predominately. LURE COLOR: Find out what bait you are emulating and find the color that best represents the forage. Also, use trial and error to see what works best. Then get a few confidence colors. HOOKS: I learned the hard way about the importance of quality hooks. There's a huge difference between Owner/Gamakatsu hooks vs stock hooks on Rebel Pop R's. Even Bass that swipe at a good quality sharp hook will get hooked most of the time. When you use weak, dull hooks, you can lose a lot of fish and it can take your confidence away. HOOK SETS: To me the key in hooking a topwater popper bass is to wait 1.5-2 seconds before setting the hook. I have a very quick reaction to the strike and I had to train myself to wait before setting the hook. The time you wait to set the hook allows the bass to fully mouth the bait and to head in a direction to allow a good hook set. Also, a very hard hook set has not proven to have good success. I set a quick hook set, but it's not really hard. It's not a jig hook set, it's milder in power, but still quick. TOPWATER TECHNIQUES: I found a twitch twitch popper technique is my go-to technique, but sometimes dead-sticking, walking the dog or a single twitch is what works. PATIENCE: My topwater techniques do not cover water quickly. They identify a target location and then effectively fish that particular location thoroughly. Patience has served me well. Don't overwork the bait by jerking it around and by hard pops. I found that does not work best. Finesse actions and fewer twitches have netted me most of my fish. Also, when the bait first hits the water, wait 5, 6, 7 seconds to let the ripples disperse. This creates a target ring for bass to locate the bait. A lot of times you throw the bait close to the bass, but bass can come from further distances, when you give them time to locate the lure from the ripples. Topwater Popper fishing is my favorite and the sight of your lure being sucked under is second to none. Also, the bass that go airborne is a great sight to see. I'll take one topwater fish to 3 fish caught any other way. And when you get a big fish on a topwater, it can make your year! -Mike

9/10 for me. Caught and released alive 100% of fish caught, including a fish that swallowed the hook and thanks to this site, saw the hook removal through gill technique and saved the fish's life. Discovered a new, small, healthy bass lake 50 mins away from my house. Averaged 9 fish a day for 5 hours of fishing every fish day. Bought a fishing kayak and took it out about 20 times this year. Caught my PB largemouth on a top water 3.01lbs. Used jigs for the first time and caught over 20 fish on jigs this year. Used soft plastic lizards for the first time and caught fish on it. Caught fish on 2 new bodies of water. Expanded rod/reel inventory, lures, and a back pack. Discovered fishing gloves, which prevent the tops of my hands from being sunburned.

If it were me, I'd go very early in the morning or at dusk and throw poppers. You can't beat the topwater action and a lot of times the fish aren't use to pressure early in the day. Sometimes In these small ponds the algae gets out of control which is who I avoid lures that go in the algae. Also you'll never lose s topwater lure. The other suggestions were good too. Frogs are great to fish in the surface slop or lily pads, but you might miss a good number of fish. Experiment with a few of these techniques and see what works best and what you like to throw.

Hi, I have a quick reaction time when seeing and hearing topwater strikes. I also have a relatively powerful hookset. I have a tough time scaling down my excitement and hook sets on topwater fish, so I use a medium rod with mono and the soft rod and stretchy line suits my style perfectly. When you stay "too stretchy". Do you mean you lose fish due to it being stretchy and not getting a good hookset? or do you mean you don't like the feel of it? Because if you're landing fish and don't like the feel of it, try to get more comfortable with it. You can't complain when you're catching fish. If you're losing fish, then I would look into other things like sharper hooks(stock hooks on spooks, pop r's, torpedo's are trash), proper rod action, waiting a second before you set the hook, having too much slack line in your retrieve. I tried the braid and leader stuff and it's just too much messing around for me. I also re-tie a good bit, so I don't want to have to keep messing with a leader. Also, try different mono's some have lower stretch. I use Seagar Senshi. It's awesome. It's also on sale now at Tackle Warehouse. Topwater fishing is an art form to me. Experiment until you find out what works for you. Merry Christmas, Mike

Thanks! I just called Dobyns and explained in more detail than this post and they concurred with 703.

Hi, looking for your recommendation. I'm throwing mostly 7/16oz (larger) poppers, also throw some 1/2 oz walking baits and some 1.5 square bills. I'm looking for a rod that will primarily be good for throwing the larger poppers, but could also double for throwing the walking baits and 1.5 square bills. Looking for a rod that will be able to handle the lures, but also handle 3, 4, 5 pound fish. I'm not interested in using a rod under 7'. Looking at Dobyns Fury or Savvy: (1)703C will it be enough backbone? (2)704C Is the rod power too stiff? (3)705CB Is this too much rod? (4)Is there another $100 rod you would recommend? Thanks and Merry Christmas! -Mike

Thanks Cgringer, I checked out the dobyns fury 703c and it looks like one of my top choices. Let me ask you, are the Dobyns tips softer than average? Is that why the MH rod would be good for my larger topwaters? Normally MH rods are not soft enough for topwaters. I can't get over the purple color on the Mojo, so I'm going to pass on that one. Thanks for the reply hawk, but the lowest I found on ebay was $185.00, which is too much for my budget.

Thanks for the reply Tom. I have some contemplating to do.

jgordon, I got that email yesterday. Looking forward to my jigs! They are the best and Mike at Siebert just rocks!

If having a beefier rod means heavier power, then yes. If faster action is good for topwater hook sets and prevents me from ripping the lure from the fishes mouth, then yes. I don't care about sensitivity, as I can see all the bites. I mainly care about hook sets, and then being able to play bigger fish. thanks.

Hi, I've read some of the posts on here about topwater rods and I still don't feel comfortable purchasing a rod. I'm hoping you guys can help me out with my predicament. Currently, I have a Daiwa Triforce Medium 7ft spinning rod, and I love the rod for fishing the larger Rio Rico poppers that I love to throw. Yes, it is a very cheap rod, but it hasn't let me down yet in over 50 topwater fish this year and the soft tip has my hookup percentage over 95%. The only issue i have with it, is that it just doesn't have enough backbone. The 3lber I caught this year on it pushed it to the limit and I don't want to be caught overmatched with a 3lb+ hawg on the line. So I'm looking for a Casting rod this time, with a soft tip, that's around 7 feet long.. I'm 6'2", so I prefer longer topwater rods. 6'6" and 6'8" length rods feels like I'm fishing a pencil and it feels terrible. It's amazing what a few more inches on rod length can do (yikes, just re-read that line....). I fish the larger Rio Ricos for the most part (yes, it's funny my lures cost about as much as my current rod), and sometimes frogs and spooks. I had a hard time finding a rod that would be good for this application due to having a longer than usual length and a good backbone. Has anyone else had a hard time finding a rod like this? Please let me know if you have any suggestions for me. My price point is around $100 and I'm willing to wait for sales, so $150 rods are not out of the question. Thanks and Merry Christmas! -Mike

My Kayak trips are planned and I put the kayak on the car the prior night. I also get my rods and tackle ready the night before, so the day I'm fishing, I don't waste time. I tried a few 'on the fly' kayak trips but ended up forgetting items(pliers or drinks) and it ticked me off. I'm a planner by nature though, so planning works for me. Even if I don't know when the next kayak trip is, I still take a day to get some things ready just in case, b/c I like to be ready.

Congrats! I'm still waiting for mine to grow up so she can come with me! She's almost a year. Also, fish your tail off now, b/c you're going to be a busy man.

Chewy granola bars. The crunchy ones are terrible b/c they get all over you and your boat/kayak. Beef Jerky. Water/Gatorade

I highly recommend Siebert Outdoors. I placed a recent jig order and was very happy with the quality of the jigs and the quick response from Mike with a question I had. The order exceeded my expectations.

Agreed JT! Did you experience people pushing high dollar product or did you have an encounter with a new fisherman? My black max combo has caught just as much fish as my other combos. Does it cast as far as some others? No. Has it failed me once when I've hooked into a fish? Nope. Fishing equipment can be heavily marketed and just because someone spends $300 on a combo, doesn't mean you wouldn't enjoy a $70 combo and have success with it. It's easy to buy into the hype of the new lures and rods and reels and the companies want you to dish our your dough. You just have to be reasonable and smart. To add on to JT's point: If you look for sales and deals and check out the fishing clearance sections, you can find quality equipment for affortable prices. I pride myself on never paying full price for practically anything. There's great deals in the Flea Market section of these forums, I've had a lot of success on Ebay, and even Craigslist can be useful. Your local sports store usually has a weekly circular too. Also, if you have experience under your belt, it's nice to pass along the knowledge to new fisherman to help them in their buying decisions, which is another reason Bass Resource rules.

Hi, I'm not much help here as I've gone down there to visit my bro and we've had minimal success on Boone, Watauga, and South Holston. We average 1 fish every 3 hours, I'd say. It's slim pickens for us and incredibly frustrating. Got one on a topwater early morning; one on a weighted fluke, a few on a Rapala Shad Rap Craw color; a few on a chartruese squarebill. On Watauga, in the stump fields to the far right, we've had better success, but nothing big.

Thanks. I'll watch some vids and try it out.

I went out to fish a mostly iced over pond last weekend to test out my new spinning rod/reel. the rod is not a mirco guide. It's a Daiwa Lexa 6'8 M rod. The uni to uni knot I tied on my braid(20lb) to fluoro(6lb) was about 6 wraps each side. On many casts, the knot was catching on my guides and shortening casts substantially. -Do you guys have a workaround for this or a way to tie the knot better to where it doesn't catch on the guides? -Or is there a better knot to use that doesn't get guide-snagged. It was a real pain in the keyster if you get my drift. Not to mention the ice on 90% of the pond at this time of year is buzz-killing my fishing. Thanks for your help. Mike

Nah. It was good for a laugh. I'm glad your wife likes fishing and you didn't hook her! Have a good one.

Me too. lol. I was looking for a picture too.

Hey Blue, What colors/sizes work best for you? I like working all of those.

What are your top 3 lures for clear water smallies and/or color/weight/size? Mine would have to be: Jerkbait - chartruese and purple Grub - clear smoke with black flakes *don't have a 3rd, which is why I'm asking you guys. Looking for some suggestings. : ) Thanks!