Topwater season is the pinnacle of the bass angler’s year. A fast and fierce month of sheer fishing bliss follows a long, lethargic winter. Bass begin to school in search for food, hungry after the cold, idle months preceding the spring spawn.
The anticipation of watching a hungry striped bass lunge through the water at your bait is greater with each long cast. Then it happens; with fierce voracity a bass explodes on your lure. The water boils with fish. You can’t get one bass unhooked fast enough to throw one more cast and catch another, and another before the school moves on.
There are no bad fishermen. There are fishermen who fail to catch a limit and those who do. Here are a few tried and true lures found in the tackle boxes of the latter group.
A.C. Plug – The brand name of a large trout imitating, jointed swim bait made of wood.
Buzz Bait – Topwater bait with large, propeller type blades that churn the water during a retrieve. Buzz baits are usually comprised of a lead head, a rigid hook and a wire that supports one or more blades. Typically has a plastic skirt like spinner bait.
ChugBug – Chugger – Topwater plug with dished-out, concave or cupped head designed to make a splash when pulled sharply. The act of systematically working the lure across the surface is called “chugging”.
Popper – Topwater plug with a dished out head design to make a splash when pulled sharply to imitate a wounded baitfish struggling on the surface. Popular brands are Pop-R and Pencil Popper.
Heddon Zara Spook – the brand name of a cigar shaped Topwater plug. The makers invented one of the most effective Topwater retrieves in history; Walk the Dog.
Walk the dog – Jerk and reel the bait in rhythm back to the boat. The trick here is to jerk the rod tip in a downward motion, then immediately point it back at the bait. This makes your lure float to one side. The next jerk will be to the opposite side of the first, causing a zig-zag pattern as you retrieve the lure.
One other tip for spring fishing to save you some frustration, and possibly your ear; when a fish explodes on your plug even though it is still under water don’t hook the fish until you feel it pull back. Otherwise you will hear the line whizzing by dangerously close to your face instead of fighting a fish back to the boat.
