The topwater bite in NC has been hot lately, and Iv gotten more into fishing this way than in the past few years. It has me curious; why exactly does everyone say you should mainly throw topwater lures early morning and late evening?

Do any of you guys ever throw topwater lures shallow in the middle of the day with success?

conventional wisdom says low light hours are when bass are roaming more and feeding in the warmer months. 

 

It's the most "ideal" time to throw topwater but it can and does work all day long..as long as the bass bite them. I'm simply refering to your zara spook/popper type baits. If you throw hollow body frogs or buzz toads into the mix, i'll throw those all day long if I can around any mat/grass/wood during the brightest, bluebird sky day you can think of. 

Some of my biggest topwater fish have come in the middle of the day with bright sun. It's not something they see often, and it may not be as effective, but it will still work. I think one of the keys during the middle of the day is to fish it near cover where they can zip out quickly to hit a bait. 

 

7" Slammer slow waked across the surface. Mid 70 degree water, high 80 air temps, about 2pm. Fish came out from a clump of submerged grass and stumps and destroyed the bait. 

Thats nice blue. Thanks for the replies also guys.

One of the best fishing vacations I ever had came in the mid-'80's on Kentucky Lake.  It was the middle of May, and the spring weather had been so warm that the surface temp at 5AM was 80+ degrees!  I threw nothing all week long but Pop-R's and a 5" Bang-O-Lure w/tailspinner, and just whooped the tar out of LM.    That was morning, afternoon, and evening.  Topwater definitely works all day under the right conditions.

if the wind is calm and there is good cloud cover top water works all day. also when fishing frogs in the pads the time of day doesn't seem to matter.

I don't hesitate to throw top waters all day long myself but while they will produce i find other techniques can be better depending on the situation.

Well, today was overcast with just a tad bit of wind. My top producer was a spook. It scored me 5 fish, with the biggest two being back to back casts along a bank. My biggest was 3# with the second being 2 1/2.

Looks like I answered my own question

Do any of you guys ever throw topwater lures shallow in the middle of the day with success?

 

If the bite is really slow, I'll throw topwater in the middle of the day.  If nothing is working I'll mix it up.  It has worked a couple times for me.  

We were fishing a very mossy lake a couple of years ago.  My nephew got his PB while working a topwater right between two grass mats.

Cloudy conditions or low light are when I throw 90% of my topwaters except a frog. But in shallow water with lots of cover they can be a good alternative. If nothing is working, try them and it just might save the day.

I throw topwaters all day too but only sparingly during the mid-day.

That is, I'll throw them dawn/dusk but midday I will go subsurface and occaisionally do a topwater just to see if they're in the mood.

I just dont think topwater is a percentage lure during mid-day from experience.. and I'd rather catch fish than not.

exception:topwater frogs in weeds yes all day long

Top water during the day does not work, the same way trout swimbaits don't work in waters that have not trout.

Since you are enjoying TopWater more this is what I would suggest you try in the middle of the day. Try casting just 1-2 feet off the shoreline where there is weed or pad growth that give them shade and work the lanes . Only thing is be prepared for the strike as soon as it hits the water but then again that is what TopWater is all about.

1/4 oz black gold blade cavitron- Cant beat it-covers lots of water quickly and really gets those fish going

 

I've thrown a Devil's Horse, Baby/Tiny Torpedo, Heddon Dying Flutter, Jitterbug, Buzzbaits, Frogs, Chug Bugs with success

in the morning or at sunset but the only top water I had limited success on in the middle of the day, with a blue bird sky,

was/is the Zara Spook or Puppy walking the dog.

 

Good fishing.

I throw top water all day everyday no matter what time or weather conditions.

No matter what day of the week, weekends, holidays, it doesn't matter.

The big aggressive fish, if they are in the area it drives them wild... Majority of my fishing is done at a spot that is covered in top vegetation so it provides cover that's why the big girls get caught no matter the time or conditions

In my personal experience most of my big fish have come during "dr. pepper" time - 10 am to 2 pm - most of them on topwaters - the last 10 yrs on frogs, the previous 40+ yrs on spooks or big prop baits. Dawn and dusk are good times for numbers on conventional topwaters but for big fish mid day has been the best for me.