Topwater

Anyone with a good amount of topwater expeirence can help here. I'm looking for what rod action ( light,medium,heavy etc) works best for the technique. Also any tips or tricks at all would be appreciated. Tryind to set up a topwater exlusie rod and reel. Favorite lures etc would be great. Thanks.

I cant help you with the rod my guess is that you wouldnt want to go heavy but as fas as line ive read quite a bit of articles that say the braid is the best for topwater because it floats. Got to be honest iI have about 40 topwater lures that were given to me an i hardly use them an I should!!!

I'm no expert on rods, but the topwater lure in your picture there is one of my favorites. Quite frankly, I think for topwater plugs, like jitterbugs or poppers and such, your ears matter much more than your rod. I love to fish the darkest of nights, practically blind out in the kayak, and just listen to my jitterbug blup..blup..blup..blup.......splish-splish...[pause].....blup..blup..blup..blup.... etc...

Nothing like that out of nowhere after-midnight slamming strike on the jitterbug to get your heart pumping! (go with black jitterbugs in the dark for best contrast).

For that kind of topwater, you don't need the sensitivity of the rod so much, because you can hear, and during daylight hours, see what's going on. I like to focus more on my own senses outside of equipment with something I can see or at least hear.

Hope that helps...

Thanks, I absolutely love top water and the jitterbug continues to climb up my list of favofites. I have been out fishing early enough that it is still dark but haven't been out late night fishing. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for the info.

I'm no expert at topwater fishing, but my father in law fishes topwater exclusively. He uses a Rapala original or a Rapala skitter pop and he uses either an ultralight or medium action rod. Typically on an 8 pound line. He casts, lets it sit for a good minute or two and then pops once and waits 5-10 seconds. He does this for a good 2-3 minutes before he reels back in. And he catches a lot of fish this way. Went with him this past weekend to Upper Mystic and there were 4 or 5 other shore fisherman out there and he was the only one catching anything. We went out in the morning on an overcast day and he was still catching on top at 10:30 am.

There's a good video on youtube about topwater techniques, here's the link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOFtt0243XQ

i fish nothing but a "5.0 shakespeare ultralight, with either "7" 0r "8" zoom worms tru-tungston,and Gary yamamto worms. its the Balls!!!! nothing like feeling the worm hitting the bottem,,,them BANG!!! a bass hits it. try a 5.0 ultralight with #6 test size 12 snap swivels and a size 12 4/0 offset hook.....best setup i have found. oh ya,,use no wieght on the line,either.
best of luck this season.

my favorite classic topwater bait is the heddon torpedo. Twitch twitch leave it...repeat most often it is sucked in while sitting still.

I will add I have caught more bass and big bass using the following method.... wacky rigged senko, rod held high keeping the bait on the surface, shake the rod tip up and down while realing slowly. Its almost like the senko is flapping wings on the surface.

If done right it is extremely deadly and catches big bass.

Kman

I agree my favorite is easily the green with black spots jitter bug. I do alot of my topwater fishing once the Sunsets and man is it special. You should really get out there one of these nights. Lately the water has been perfectly glass and the action from the jitter is heard at a greater distance. Its hands down my favorite lure.

I was also told this weekend to toss it out and give it 10-20seconds before retrieve as alot of strikes will come from the intial splash. I tested this techique out and had alot of strikes without even reeling in.

Good Luck and get out there at dusk!

I think the action of your rod depends on which kind of topwater lure you are using. If you're walking the dog, I would think a heavier rod would save your wrist a lot of excess motion, and help you avoid carpal tunnel.

I think cyclopropene has it right here... with topwater, I doubt you don't need to feel the strike, even on dark nights. I've had a lot of luck so far this year with soft-bodied topwater lures, and on most of the strikes, the fish makes plenty of noise. The one exception was the 5lb largemouth I caught a couple weeks ago. He didn't actually break the surface, just came up under it and sucked it down. There's no mistaking a 5lb fish on the end of your line, though, and I had no problem feeling the pull with my medium-heavy rod.

I LOVE THE JITTERBUG HAVE NOT TRIED IT THIS YEAR JUST PICKED SOME UP AND WILL REPORT WITH THE SUCCESS. I AM EAGER TO TRY THE 20 SECOND DELAY BEFORE REELING IN. I GET ANCY AND REEL IN TO QUICK I THINK. SAME PROBLEM WHEN I STARTED WITH SENKOS AFTER I LET IT SIT I HAD A MUCH MORE FISH.

I LOVE THE JITTERBUG HAVE NOT TRIED IT THIS YEAR JUST PICKED SOME UP AND WILL REPORT WITH THE SUCCESS. I AM EAGER TO TRY THE 20 SECOND DELAY BEFORE REELING IN. I GET ANCY AND REEL IN TO QUICK I THINK. SAME PROBLEM WHEN I STARTED WITH SENKOS AFTER I LET IT SIT I HAD A MUCH MORE FISH.