Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Topwater turbulence
Noisy plugs are exciting fish catchers
Eleventh installment of the Beginner’s Fishing Series.
We got ahead of ourselves in the Beginner’s Fishing Series. We’ve covered crankbaits, jerkbaits, blade baits and bottom-contact baits, but heaven forbid, we forgot about topwater baits.
Whether you’re reel casting or fly fishing, catching fish on topwater lures is the most exciting form of the sport. There is nothing in fishing more fun than watching a fish smash a plug on the surface. Bass fishermen live for it, as do striper fishermen, hybrid striper fishermen, white bass fishermen and saltwater anglers. For fly fishermen, a trout sipping a dry fly in the surface film is sublime, as is a bass or bream smacking a popping bug.
Essentially, a topwater lure imitates prey on the surface where it creates the most strike-inducing disturbance. It makes a lot of noise, and it makes waves. It also stimulates fish visually because it silhouettes against the skylit surface. Topwaters excel when fishing at night because fish can home in on it.
CIGAR PLUGS
Made of wood or plastic, these plugs taper at the head and tail to exhibit a cigarlike appearance. The Zara Spook is the exemplar, but there are many others, including the Boing and the Lucky Strike Sexy Dawg. Boing is my favorite. It has a flexible rod attached to an interior wall with a bead on the end. Worked properly, the rod slaps the bead against the plug’s interior to make a deep clacking sound.
Retrieve a cigar plug by making sharp downward thrusts with your rod tip. Each thrust makes the plug dart to the left and right, often with the head thrusting out of the water. The method is called “walking the dog.” Some say it looks like a snake on the surface. Others say it looks like a small animal that has fallen in the water and is struggling to get to safety. I only know that it works.
I especially love catching striped bass with a cigar plug because a striper usually hits it several times before taking it. When a fish misses the strike, keep reeling. Subsequent strikes will be progressively more aggressive until the fish delivers the coup de grace. It looks and sounds like a commode flushing.
POPPERS
A popper is another cylindrical lure that tapers at the end and widens at the head. The head is concave, which throws water forward during the retrieve. It usually has a short trailer on the rear treble hook made of feather or Mylar.
You also work poppers with short, downward rod thrusts, but instead of darting sideways, a popper plunges, catching water in the concave face and throwing it forward. It usually makes a spitting sound, but with the right touch, it can also emit a deep plunking sound.
Again, there are many popper variations. The Rebel “Pop R” is the exemplar, but our great-grandparents popularized the genre with the Hula Popper and the Lucky 13. The Storm Chug Bug is very popular, but my favorite is the discontinued Excalibur Zell Pop. I have caught more big largemouths and smallmouths with it than any other model.
PROPELLER BAITS
As the name evinces,
these lures are characterized by the presence of one or more small propellerlike appendages. They do not propel the baits. Instead, they spin when the bait is moved abruptly, throwing water and producing distinct fizzing, spitting or gurgling sounds. The Heddon Torpedo is the exemplar, but other popular models include the Smithwick Devil’s Horse and the Bagley’s BangOLure. Currently, the River2Sea Whopper Plopper is the most popular model. Its entire tail is a scythelike propeller with a radically steep pitch.
Prop baits fall in and out of vogue, but they always come back because they work. They excel at catching schooling fish, but they are also excel in search mode by drawing strikes from roaming bass or from bass holding tight to structure or cover.
Anglers differ over the best way to retrieve prop baits. Traditionalists let a prop bait sit until the splashdown ripples disappear. One of my early mentors, the late Frank Thorpe of Springdale, lit a cigarette before casting. He did not begin retrieving until he finished his cigarette. For me, it depends on the lure. I want a Whopper Plopper moving the instant it hits the water. I retrieve
Torpedoes at a more leisurely pace, but I never let it sit long. It’s a numbers game. The more movements a lure makes, the more chances it has to provoke a strike.
Prop baits and poppers fill the same niche, and I usually prefer poppers. My one headto-head comparison occurred while fishing with Jeff Bone on the Buffalo River upstream from Tyler Bend. Bone used a bass colored Tiny Torpedo, and I used a small Excalibur Zell Pop. Bone caught more smallmouths with the Tiny Torpedo, but I caught bigger fish with the Zell Pop, including a largemouth that weighed nearly 4 pounds.
PLASTIC FROGS
Unlike the other topwaters and their two or three sets of dangling treble hooks, the plastic frog is the only topwater lure that is designed to be used in heavy cover.
Frogs come in two forms. The most popular is a lifelike, hollow body imitator with an internal, dual prong hook that curves downward and sits flush across the back. You can walk or hop the frog across the tops of lily pads without fear of snagging. When a fish grabs it, it compresses the soft, hollow body and exposes the hook tips.
The solid body is less lifelike, but it also snag-proof by virtue of a weighted hook whose tip is concealed in the body. It features supple legs that make paddling motions when in motion. The legs slap the water and make a lot of noise and commotion. You can retrieve this kind of frog across lily pads and through exposed grasstops. You can also throw it safely among brush and other cover that would take away any other topwater lure.
Topwater lures are the easiest baits to use and also the most fun. You will find that you prefer certain types. Master them and enjoy the ride.