Top Water Baits
Timothy Kusherets
Top Water Baits offer action at the surface making
it a truly effective way to fish, especially for Bass.
The action of each bait is largely due to the size and tuning of
it. Most plugs are stout at the nose for the popping action needed
to call fish to it.
The best places to use them are near lily pads, weed lines, seams,
and drop-offs. Vary the action by the way it is retrieved. For fast
action reel fast, for slow reel slow. When the bite goes off change
up the action by moving the fishing rod side-to-side or up and down.
These baits are most effective in the morning and at dusk. Anglers
will use them around stumps during the heat of the day.
A good school of thought is to fish deeper the warmer it gets. Some
of the best times to fish for Bass are during May and June. The
best times to use them for salmon fishing is during the early fall
in tributaries as these fish make their way upstream.
These baits come ready with treble hooks, but make sure to have
single hooks ready since many regulations forbid them in freshwater
systems. The single fastest way to change out the hooks is to buy
split-ring pliers. Siwash hooks are the best replacements hooks
because they don’t break under the stress of setting the hook,
and when fish are hooked they’re solidly hooked. If you lose
a fish using a siwash it won’t be because of the hook.
