Best Topwater Baits for Bass
By: John N. Felsher
Tim Fey shows off a bass he caught on a high roller topwater bait while fishing on Lake Jackson south of St. Cloud, Florida. (John N. Felsher photo)
Years ago, before soft plastics overtook the fishing world, many bass anglers fished almost exclusively with floating wooden plugs. Some even carved their own temptations. Some designs have changed little in decades and still catch fish.
Nothing gets a fisherman’s heart thumping like seeing a V-shaped wake rushing toward a topwater lure or watching it disappear into a swirling cauldron of fins and frothy water.
“Topwater baits are fun to fish,” said Dean Rojas, a bass pro from Arizona. “It’s all visual. We can see the fish and tell how big they are. It’s also a great way to find fish.”
As the popularity of lifelike soft-plastic creations increases, topwaters sometimes stay in the box, but the old surface favorites still produce lunkers and unequalled adrenaline-pumping action. Bass typically don’t just hit or suck down topwater baits as they would a worm or other soft-plastic creation.
They pulverize them, making shock waves radiate across the surface.
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