Late Summers Top Water Tools For Bass
By Wayne Ek
In the upper Midwest the month of September is the start of some
great top water fishing, arguably some of the seasons best. Starting in
September the top water bite will just keep getting stronger, peaking sometime
in the middle of October with a fantastic buzz bait bite.
When I’m talking about top water fishing I like to separate it from “slop
fishing”, which I think is an entirely different kind of fishing. For me slop
fishing has always been a knock down, drag’em out, style of fishing. Using heavy
rods and braided line.
The top water fishing I want to discuss in this article is the open or semi-open
water fishing we all do or should do. You know the areas, the so-called dead
water between docks or the inside weed line on a deep cabbage break, and how
about those massive weed flats with a cabbage/coontail mix, or one of my
favorites, a shallow rocky mid-lake reef.
THE LINE
There are all kinds of monofilaments, super braids and fluorocarbon lines out
there today. I love using both the braids and fluorocarbon lines for a number of
applications, but for top water fishing I think you need to stick with a good
brand of monofilament line. Monofilament has two properties that are important
to top water fishing. First, it sinks slower than either braid or fluorocarbon
lines; second, it has a stretch factor to it. I really believe that the stretch
factor acts like a shock absorber when you’re fighting a fish close to the boat.
Think about it… here you are with a pig, hooked up on a short line, and your top
water lure is sporting size 4 or 6 treble hooks. That’s why the forgiveness that
monofilament offers is so important. Because monofilament sinks slower than the
other two lines, it doesn’t tangle up on the front treble hook as often as a
braid or fluorocarbons. One trick you can use to help eliminate the front treble
hook from tangling up with your line is to apply a little dry fly dope to the
first 1 or 2 feet of your monofilament. This will help keep it from sinking. For
most of my top water fishing I like to use a line in the 12 to 14 pound
category.
THE ROD
Most of my top water fishing is done with two rods. Of the two rods, I probably
use a 5’2” pistol grip rod (medium action) 70% of the time. I like pistol grip
rods because of the increased accuracy you can obtain. Also, when working
chuggers or “walking-the-dog” with a Zara Spook, I’m not constantly hitting the
side of my boat as I work the lures, which happens too frequently with a longer
rod. The other rod is a 6’6 Tour Edition PT (PTC666F), which is a medium action
with a fast tip, made by Quantum. I like this rod for working both large and
small buzzbaits or using the larger “wake baits” like a Red Fin. The short rod
is for close in, short, accurate presentations, and usually slower
presentations. The longer rod works to cover water with presentations that
normally are a little faster.
The Lure
Some of the lures have already been mentioned, and the array of top water lures
really seems endless. I keep it pretty simple. For chuggers I like Storm’s Chug
Bug and Rebel’s Pop-R. For spitters and prop-baits I like Heddon’s Spit’n Image
and Smithwick’s Devil’s Horse. When using walking baits I rarely use anything
other than Heddon Zara Spooks, be it the original Zara Spook, Super Spook, Puppy
Spook or the newer SwayBack Spook. For my buzzbait fishing I use just two types
in various weights. The first is called a High Rider Buzz B-2, by Accent Fishing
Products. This is a double buzzer equipped with foam floats by the blades. You
can run this buzzer ultra-slow because of the floats and counter-rotating
blades. My other buzzer is the Elite Buzz-Bait by Strike King. This is a single
bladed bait with a planing head that allows it to rise quickly and track very
straight.
I hope you get a chance to take advantage of the early autumn top water bite in
your area. For the next couple of months I will always have at least one top
water presentation tied on, and it will become a strong part of my tournament
fishing game plans. Whether you’re tournament fishing or just fishing for fun,
there is just something about a savage top water hit that makes everyone stand
up and take notice. Good luck this season and I hope to see you on the water.
Wayne Ek,
Agape Fishing Guides
classicbass.com Field Staff
Wayne Ek is a fishing guide, tournament
angler and writer in Alexandria, Minnesota.
