... or any one else who fishes these baits.RoLo I see on another thread your favorate topwaters are the cain toad and the weed deamon,I have questions on both.

I just started fishing the weed deamon this season.I have had a lot of monster explosions on it but I have not caught a fish on it yet.Do you have the same problem or am I just too eager setting the hook?

I am planning on ordering some cain toads and would appreciate any advice on fishing it. Colors,retrieve,rigging,etc.

Thanx,

rick

If you're getting blowups Rick, you're a leg up on the game 8-)

When it comes to topwater fishing, there's bound to be frustrationg days when the bass make us to eat humble pie.

But in fairness to us fishermen, it also has a lot to do with bass disposition and time-of-year. During the spawn for instance,

bass often hit a topwater with a closed mouth or might just slap it with their tail. In fact, even when bass are intent on swallowing,

they reportedly miss about 1 out of every 3 surface creatures they seize. So if you're hooking 2 out of 3 bass,

you're not only enjoying a hot topwater bite, but you're batting a thousand!

Nothing will destroy the hookup ratio faster than setting the hook on impulse, the instant the strike is perceived.

Here's the problem, we cannot hear a bass close its mouth, but we do hear the splash that occurs while the mouth is still open.

We're only talking here about 1 second or so, but one very important second. There are many ways to kill-the-clock,

but more important than the method of delay is that some method is in fact used. If the rod is held high throughout the retrieve

(e.g. cane toad), I'll usually drop the rod-tip to the water after a strike. This will waste a second or so, after which

it's far less likely to pull the lure from the bass's mouth. If the rod is held low throughout the retrieve (e.g. weed demon),

I'll continue working the lure after the strike as though nothing has happened. Then as soon as I'm met with resistance by the fish

the rod is raised sharply overhead. If I never do feel the fish, I never do strike. Needless to say, there are other reasons

for missing bass on topwater lures, even though the hook-set was properly delayed.

Snag Proof Weed Demon

The Weed Demon is tail-weighted which makes "walking-the-dog", a walk-in-the-park. The Boze ZZ Walker is another tail-weighted

dog-walker but the hollow body is quick to take on water, and needs to be squeezed-out far more often than the hollow weed demon

The weed demon weighs 1/2 oz and casts very well. Normally I choose colors for maximum visibility, but topwater lures that

create any surface disturbance need no introduction. I go the other way with topwaters, and prefer a color that's hard to discern.

I like the "Blue Shad" pattern, but only because that particular color scheme offers the whitest underside.

The white belly blends into the lighted sky background, making it easier for a bass to make a mistake. Okay, let's go fishing:

The key to walking the dog is making sure that there's some "line-slack" immediately before each jerk,

and immediately after each jerk. This gives a crisp, natural motion to the lure, unfettered by drag of any kind.

Like all things, there are many ways to walk-the-dog, but I'll only describe the method that I personally use:

After splashdown, I hold the rod low with the rod-tip about 1 to 1.5 feet above the water. The lure can be activated

strictly with wrist-action or by using a whole-arm motion that pivots from the shoulder. I switch back-and-forth between the two

to prevent overuse injury to any one joint. Due to slack in the line, the rod-tip must move considerably farther than the lure.

With an eye on the lure, I keep the pulls short, about 6 inches "at the lure". At the end of each down-stroke the rod-tip

is almost touching the water. Then without any pause, the rod is immediately returned to its original position, etc., etc.

The left hand operates on a separate brain, taking up slack line as it becomes available, while always preserving a little slack.

From the angler's standpoint, the delivery is a non-stop series of rhythmic strokes that jerk the lure by snapping slack line.

This causes the lure to zigzag about 6 inches to alternating sides without pause. The rod-tip must move further than 6 inches

to overcome the line-slack, otherwise a short jerk would be unproductive. From the fish's standpoint, it's a frightened creature

that's basically treading water with a lot of wasted motion. I believe the success of dog-walking is partly due to the fact that the lure

never stops moving, making it difficult for bass to get a good look. In addition, the lure spends its time scooting back-and-forth

with little meaningful forward progress, in other words, dog-walking offers deceptively slow coverage yet the lure is hard to identify.

Gambler Cane Toad

This is probably my favorite soft-plastic topwater lure. After much experimenting, I prefer a 4/0 Gamakatsu Super Line hook

(744 not 584). The 3/0 hook is not enough ballast to prevent rollover caused by the powerful kicking action.

With a 5/0 hook the toad can't be retrieved as slowly without sinking. The cane toad during a freefall has zero appeal,

which is not a problem, because like the weed demon, I keep it constantly in motion. Delivery is the essence of simplicity:

Start by holding the rod-tip high to keep the most line out of the water. Just crank the toad slowly and steadily,

just fast enough to keep the lure on top, and to keep the feet active. The toad can be worked at extremely slow speeds,

where the feet stay active until the lure is nearly stopped. By contrast, the horny toad will sink at this low speed.

Inversely, the cane toad can be burned across the surface, when it literally becomes a soft-plastic buzzbait.

In overview, the cane toad provides 5 noteworthy benefits:

> Weedless (may be tossed smack into the salad)

> Mouthable (soft-plastic may not be ejected as fast as hard-plastic or metal)

> Noisy (one of, if not the noisiest soft-plastic topwaters)

> Slow-Speed Action (feet stay active at very low forward speeds, rivaled only by the sizmic toad)

> Buzzbait Capability (a cheap, totally weedless & mouthable buzzbait, with no steel propellers)

Roger

WOW, talk about answering a question!!

Excellent.

ps- that's 5 noteworthy benefits

Thank you sir, 5 it is

I love it when they don't make me beat it out of em. Good Post RoLo

RoLo,

Thanks for taking the time to go into such detail !!!

rick

Good informative post Rolo.

WOW! That was great. Thanks Roger.