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.
