How do you pack for fall topwater fishing with so many options out there—like a buzzbait, Whopper Plopper, walking bait, or popper? How many rods do you usually bring to cover all of these? I don’t think you can do it effectively with less than three

A 7 foot medium fast for poppers, spooks, and ploppers.

A 7.5 foot medium heavy fast for buzzbaits and any other baits over 3/4 oz.

Both rods are used for many other moving baits.  I do not have any rods specifically for topwater only.

 

My baits include Pop R, Storm Chug Bug, Storm Arishi Cover Pop, Heddon Zara Spook, Rebel Jumpin minnow, River2sea Whopper Plopper, Berkley Choppo, Arbogast Jitterbug, Cordell Redfin, Heddon Torpedo, Heddon Spit'n Image, Smithwick Devils Horse, and Megastrike Cavitron buzzbaits. 

 

On some lakes and streams I will take a medium spinning rod, with original floating Rapala's in several sizes.

 

I throw walking baits and poppers on the same rod and I'm not happy about it. 6'10 M Adrena, braid to leader, sucks with 3/4 oz baits.

 

I throw buzzbaits on either 7'3 MH Adrena or 7'1 H Valkyrie, if the Adrena has fluoro on it. The Valkyrie usually has a frog on it. 

 

I would rather throw a small rat than a plopper. CL8 Baits Vole which can go on either of the above. 

A single rod with a micro sized strong snap (41lbs) and I switch between maybe...3-4 baits? 

 

I use my Tough Toad as a frog, buzzbait, popper, and it plops really well on the retrieve and makes a great nose and bubble trail. Indestructible. Very impressed with it! 

 

I have a Megabass Karashi for open water. Fun lure.

 

I have some type of small  but LOUD wake bait (Deps Buzzjet Jr., OSP BuzzN Crank Heavy Hitter, etc)

 

And I generally like to keep a small jointed rat. It gets bit!   Plus in the fall, I target Pike on light tackle and they crush this thing. 

 

I'll usually have some other JDM topwater plastic in my bag at any given time, too.

 

That's it. If I can't get a bite with that kit...they aren't biting top water.

Being primarily a bank fisherman, I use the same rod for crankbaits and most topwater. That is an Abu Black Max 6'6" M/M.

 

If I was setting up in a boat, with as many rods as I'd like, I'd have 1 for buzzbaits, 1 for walking baits and poppers, 1 for frogs.

 

I'd either just omit the plopper or use the buzzbait rod probably.

Four combos:

Super Spook

Sammy/ Pencil Popper

Pop Max

Choppo

 

 If the water is glass, I have a smaller popper in the locker.

I throw them all on a 7f mh. Anything longer than 7 foot just dont fit in my truck, plastic boat or the rod locker of my Lowe. 

I’m with @scaleface , one rod throws them all.

It’s a 7ft M/H too and I use it for other hard baits as well. It has higher speed reel, so it steps in for my buzz bait rig too.

 I just don’t have the room, and this rod just works for me. So a lot of my rigs have to multi task. 

Only fish 2 top waters ever - that’s how I do it.

 

frog and buzz bait are all I ever ever throw.

7 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

Four combos:

Super Spook

Sammy/ Pencil Popper

Pop Max

Choppo

 

 If the water is glass, I have a smaller popper in the locker.

Do you put all on the deck? What’s the rod actions for them?

I use two rods for top water fishing.  Both of them are a 7'3" medium heavy with mono line.  The two lures I throw are a Booyah buzz bait and a size 90 or110 whopper plopper.  This is for largemouth bass.  When fishing smallmouth I am using a 7' medium fast rod with mono.  The lures I use are the size 90 whopper plopper and a Rapala skitter walk.  

I usually have 1 topwater on the deck, and 1 in the box. A Plopper/Choppo on the deck, with a Rico in the box. 
 

As conditions warrant, I will swap in different baits, but I find the Plopper type and a popper to cover 90% of conditions starting the day off. 

 

9 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Do you put all on the deck? What’s the rod actions for them?

Champion 734 *

Edge FS MBR 704*

Edge FS MBR 696 Hybrid*

Edge Delta MBR 704*

Champion 704 CB

 

* on the deck

Usually I'm fishing a topwater on a m/f or a mh/f casting rod.

ML fast for spinning w 1/4 oz pop r’s

 

MH fast for using Spro floating jerkbaits.. (shallow) 

 

I have exactly 1 whopper plopping bait for creek/small river use. That little bity black n white bird pattern. At times they crush that thing..

For river smallies…

Rapala Skitter Prop for commotion

Rapala Skitter Pop for noise

buzzbaits, primarily for around mid-river current breaks.

 

6’8” mh/mf for the Rapalas

7’ mh/fast for the buzzbait

On 8/30/2025 at 7:08 AM, Pat Brown said:

Only fish 2 top waters ever - that’s how I do it.

 

frog and buzz bait are all I ever ever throw.

I believe in this philosophy, Less is more.. using just a couple baits and learning those two baits pays off with success and that builds confidence which lasts a lifetime..
 

 

34 minutes ago, F14A-B said:

I believe in this philosophy, Less is more.. using just a couple baits and learning those two baits pays off with success and that builds confidence which lasts a lifetime..
 

 

From what I see, from what I hear and from what I read, ‘less is more’ is antithetical to today’s angler.

4 minutes ago, OldManLure said:

From what I see, from what I hear and from what I read, ‘less is more’ is antithetical to today’s angler.

Very true, very very true. 

I have two rods for my topwaters. For Spook Jr's, Jitterbugs, Chug Bugs and Pop Rs it's a 6'6" MH/MF and for full sized Spooks, Lucky13s, Pencil Poppers and bigger hard baits, it's a 6'6" MH/F. I use the same reel, a Daiwa Fuego spooled with 15lb. Trilene.

For buzzers and frogs I use a 7'3" MH/F and a Fuego spooled with 40lb. 832 braid.

I bring 5 rods in the kayak.  The rods I use for topwate can always double as something else, regardless of power or spinning/casting.

 

Up to 3 of them may begin the morning as topwater.  This will be (1) a frog (2) a buzzbait or whopper plopper, and (3) a hard trebled topwater, like a popper/walker/propbait/crawler.  Power for each chosen depending on lure weight.   Most places I fish, I don't need to rig all three.  Occasionally I do.  Often, I will need to switch them to something else. 

 

IN the event topwater isn't happening, each rod can do something else I'm likely to need. The frog rod can pitch jigs and t-rigs, or maybe a heavy spinnerbait.  THe Buzzbait rod can do most of the other moving baits: spinnerbait, bladed jig, swimjig, keel-weighted swimbait, or even something like a 2.5 squarebill.   The Popper/walker rod can do jerkbaits, as well as lighter jigs and plastics, a senko, fluke, or something on the bottom, like a tube or lighter t-rig. 

  

 

 

If I don’t want to catch any fish I make sure I bring plenty of whopper floppers.

 

Pretty sure I could catch more on this lure.