ok.... i know how to fish poppers, walk-the-dog lures, buzzbiats, frogs, and stuff.... but how do you decide which one to use? do certain style baits work better on calm water, choppy water, morning, evening, rain, you get the drift.... thanks guys!

The million dollar question that has no specific answer: which one works best when.

The only topwater lure I won 't fish on choppy water is the Jitterbug, they simply won 't gurgle nicely on choppy water, other than that it 's more a matter of location and water clarity, for example, to fish on openings between patches of aquatic plants in clear water I prefer poppers/chuggers, why ? because I 'm fishing the opening and since they don 't move except when jerked I can keep the bait there longer; for more open water well, then it 's a Jitterbug/ Zara Spook/ Torpedo, for densly matted weeds then frogs and so on, that doesn 't mean that I fish a certain bait exclusively in a particular place/time/location because I would be lying. It really boils down to gut feeling.

My general rule of thumb...

Thick vegetation-Frog

Scattered vegetation or stumps-Buzzbait

Open water-Spook (walk the dog)

When short striking buzzbait-Popper

From what I see, I can fish a buzzbait on the north east part of "Pond A" at 7:44pm one night and slam 'em good, then come back and do the same thing a day or two later and not have nearly the same results.  Find the fish first and most impostantly, then let them tell you what they want based on what's going on in their environment at that particular moment in time.