For numbers, what is your best producing topwater lure?

Hands down its a black buzz bait and its not even close

Black zara spook Jr, but a little popper on a fly rod is a close second.

Buzzbait in various colors.  Whopper Plopper would be last by a significant amount too.

Buzzbait by a lot. 

I like a super spook jr in bone or black it drives them nuts.

Boogie Back (wake-and-cranks aren't on your list)--it's so productive it catches the same-sized fish it's supposed to mimic.

Hard to only pick 1 when so many topwaters are productive lures for me.

Year over year a buzzbait for sure but this year lately its the ploppers getting it done.

Poppers have been good to me 

Early May it was a Zara spook.  Now it's a pop-r.

Hands down, the River2Sea Whopper Plopper  130 in "loon" color (black). Anything else is just a knock off.

A Spook for me, mainly because it's the first one I reach for and the one I have the most confidence in.  A buzzbait (double blade in black) is my best producer at night.

1 hour ago, Bubba 460 said:

Hands down, the River2Sea Whopper Plopper  130 in "loon" color (black). Anything else is just a knock off.

I have never, ever caught anything on that WP. I've caught them on the 130's in bone and bluegill in the loon color. Not even a single strike. That being said, the WP was killer for one year for me, but I think I've caught only one fish on it in the past two years.

 

Buzzbaits are far and away the most productive for me, especially catching bass in the 5-6 pound range. But sometimes it runs in cycles and the buzzbait cools off for a while and POP-R's take over.

 

For me, baits like frogs and Teckel Sprinker frogs are location specific as I find they work better in and around vegetation and not in open water. But buzzbaits land them everywhere.

 

29 minutes ago, Koz said:

I have never, ever caught anything on that WP. I've caught them on the 130's in bone and bluegill in the loon color. Not even a single strike. That being said, the WP was killer for one year for me, but I think I've caught only one fish on it in the past two years.

 

Buzzbaits are far and away the most productive for me, especially catching bass in the 5-6 pound range. But sometimes it runs in cycles and the buzzbait cools off for a while and POP-R's take over.

 

For me, baits like frogs and Teckel Sprinker frogs are location specific as I find they work better in and around vegetation and not in open water. But buzzbaits land them everywhere.

 

 

I agree with you about the Teckel Sprinker frogs they are just a killer bait in the right environment and my second favorite top water bait. Years ago I threw a lot of buzzbaits, they are super top water baits. But The deep "plopping" sound of the 130 and 190 whopper plopper is  like the "SUE-EEEE" call to the pig. It just seems to work like no other for bass when the conditions are right. Plus you can stop & go, that in itself can bring on a strike as well. Personally I have caught so many more bass on the plopper than I use to catch on the buzzbait. I still throw a buzzbaits like over grass and light mat where whopper can't go.

Mine changes year to year it seems like. If it was up to me, I'd never have to fish any topwater other than a buzzbait. 

 

In reality, I catch more topwater smallmouth on a 90 plopper than anything else and the last couple years, a popper has been the deal for largemouth. 

130 WP in Bone for the last 4 -5 years. But if there's grass I throw a Jackall Gavacho. 

For numbers, a popper with a buzzbait not too far behind. But I will go with other things if the day calls for it.

Full size walking baits by a small margin over poppers ~

A-Jay

 

Pop-R’s, Chug Bugs and Skitter Pop. 

Tiny Torpedo for me.  I need to work on my buzzbait presentation.

8 minutes ago, gunsinger said:

Tiny Torpedo for me.  I need to work on my buzzbait presentation.

 

I feel you on the self-inflicted buzzbait problems. I just have such a hard time getting them started; it feels like I waste a big part of the cast just reeling for all I'm worth to try to catch up and get it on plane.

 

For me it's a hard walking bait, and it's not even close. Second is floating propbaits (shoutout to a bone Choppo for saving me from the skunk a little while back) with buzzbaits coming in a distant third.

 

For all the good they've done me, I may as well not even let poppers take up space in my bag.

5 minutes ago, galyonj said:

I feel you on the self-inflicted buzzbait problems. I just have such a hard time getting them started; it feels like I waste a big part of the cast just reeling for all I'm worth to try to catch up and get it on plane.

There is two main ways to get the buzz bait moving as soon (or shortly before) it hits the water. Ideally, it should start spinning as soon as it hits. Side arm cast, almost like you are trying to skip a long cast, point the rod straight ahead and extend arm forward, thumb spool an instant before lure lands, and start lifting the rod to 12 o'clock as spool is engaged, then work rod back to about a 45 degree angle or so.

Thanks for the tips.

 

Usually when I get it started as early in the retrieve as we'd want, it happens because I've started panic-reeling before it's even hit the water (because the cast before I didn't do any of the things I was supposed to do, and it wasn't on top until about halfway back to me).

Buzzbait, popper, walking bait. Bomber long a or storm jointed thunderstick waked on the surface for honorable mention