key bridge words Topwater bass bait options

BE A SURFACE PRO

SELECTING THE RIGHT BAITS FOR LATE SUMMER’S TOPWATER BASS ACTION

By Capt. Bill Schaefer

Like the grand finale at a fireworks show, the surfaces of most of our local lakes have been exploding with bass.

Roaming wolf packs will attack any baitfish they can find this time of year, which can make for nonstop action if you find the right school and use the right bait.

CHOOSE WISELY Often we find ourselves chasing after a school that will not eat anything we throw. We try bait after bait from our boxes and nothing seems to attract them. Then another boat pulls up and starts catching fish. What the heck?

There are many factors in play when it comes to what bass are focusing on. If the water is stained, they may be using their lateral lines to feed. They feel a certain vibration and you need to emulate it. This is probably the hardest thing to do, but try different baits till you come close.

Bass also use sight and a question to ask yourself is this: Is my bait close to the size of the baitfish that they are after? Throwing a lure that is will increase your chances of getting bit.

MATCH GAME Just as with fly anglers in search of trout, matching the hatch really does make a difference in a lot of types of fishing, including for bass.

Sometimes the fish want a popping lure that spits water out in front of it so as to look like a school of baitfish, with your lure being the trailing

Small crankbaits or jerkbaits can be great for throwing on breaking bass near the surface. If you can get the right bait into the water, the action can be nonstop. (BILL SCHAEFER)

Small swimbaits can be fished on top or cast blindly to an area where fish have been breaking. (BILL SCHAEFER)

loner. The splash adds to the already present baitfish and the confusion for the bass, thus tending to make them attack in all the confusion.

How much force you put to the twitching and the amount of water the lure throws can make a difference. Change up your retrieve and motion while working the lure back. If you get bit, then try more of the action you used to get that reaction. Different size poppers can also make a difference.

GLIDE TIME Sometimes when the fish are being more selective in what they eat, a gliding bait such as a Zara Spook, Sammy or your favorite glide lure will do the trick. Learning to walk the dog can take some practice, but once you learn the cadence of this retrieve you will score.

These lures often attract larger fish as well. For a quiet lure, this bait will call up larger fish that lurk below the smaller ones because they are a little wiser. You can fool them too.

Many times bass want a lure that goes just under the surface. Flat glassy mornings will cause this at times. The bass find it hard to commit to the baitfish right on the surface. You may see more swirls than exploding water in this case.

There are a few things to try when they are feeding this way. Jerkbaits in various sizes will do well in this situation. If the bait is small, there are jerkbaits as small as 1½ inches that will get bit. Even a small crankbait may do the trick.

SIZE MATTERS Sometimes when it seems the bass just don’t want to bite even though they are crashing natural bait, it can be because the lures you are presenting are just too large. One trick is to use a small jighead on spinning gear and light fluorocarbon line.

Try a 1 /16-, 1 /8-, or ¼-ounce jighead with a 2-inch curltail grub on the end. Usually, I use a smoke salt and pepper one. I’ll cast it beyond the breaking fish and retrieve it as fast as I can through the fish.

Small popping baits can call bass up with their spitting and popping. The key is to match lure size to that of the baitfish the bass are feeding on. (BILL SCHAEFER)

It looks like a baitfish running for its life. Bass will attack it just out of reaction. You cannot wind faster than the bass can chase it down. This has yielded strikes and fish in the boat for me often when nothing else works.

Frequently when the wind comes up, it forces the baitfish down and the bass to go with them and continue to feed. I will use the grub on the ¼-ounce head, let it sink more and retrieve it through the schools of fish.

If I see larger bass or marks on my Lowrance unit, I will go to a 3- or 3½- inch swimbait in a shad color and cast and retrieve it through the feeding bass below. You can even make multiple baits look like a natural school with an umbrella rig.

LINE CHECK When chasing breaking bass, you want to make sure your reels – casting or spinning – are full of line. This will let you cast further, and being able to reach the breaking fish will help keep you off the trolling motor and not prematurely kill your batteries.

It can be a frustrating way to fish at times, but it can also be very fruitful. Hopefully these hints will help you out on your next trip on the water. CS

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