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Smallmouth Bass on Top
Catching any fish on topwater bait is possibly the most exciting moment in fishing. Without fail when my bass fishing customers arrive the first question I will hear is “are they hitting on top?” In almost every instance they are. Read on and I will explain how to do it from late May through mid September! The single most important piece of equipment in you arsenal is a pair of POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. Don’t fish without them. You need to see under the water.
What is a topwater bait? They are baits that float on top of the water or ride the surface when retrieved. Some pop, twitch, have propellers that rotate when retrieved, have blades that buzz when reeled on the surface, or “walk from side to side when pulled with short downward jerks .
 A collection of popping and gurgling topwater baits. Pop “R”, Skitter PoP, and Jitter Bug
In late May smallmouth start to hit topwater in bays protected from the main lake, some times earlier in May depending on weather. I usually will try topwater during the spring on sunny warm afternoons. Early on I like #13 floating Rapalas and Tiny Torpedoes. Fish your baits slowly early in the season. I cast the Rapalas to the sides of submerged rocks, points, or to the edge of the drop off. Let it sit and carefully pick up the slack and jiggle the rod tip. The bait should just shake in the water, do not pull it under. I do this probably three to four times before retrieving. When the smallmouth hit they sometimes suck it down or you will see the swirl. I use the #13 because you can cast it accurately, but it is light enough that it lands without a big splash. On the way in reel in fast and jerk your rod tips down with a very short hesitation (if you reel slow the bait will come to the surface). The bait looks injured and fish often hit on the way in. There is only one description for the Tiny Torpedo in early season! Fish it slow…. My first experience many years ago was with a gentleman from Searcy, Arkansas his name was Billy Jo Pierce. Billy tied his Tiny Torpedo on and cast it to a likely spot on the shoreline. He set his rod down and pulled out his favorite cigar, lit it, took a couple of puffs and gently picked his rod up and gave one very short jerk, barely turning the props and set the rod down. He took a couple more puffs, picked the rod up and gave two small jerks or twitches and bam a nice smallmouth hit and he was soon in the boat after a classic smallmouth fight. I took Billy’s picture, he winked as I let the fish go and said in his deep gravely voice “You fish a Tiny Torpedo slow…” or at least during May and the first week or two of June.
Smallies normally spawn anywhere between June 10-20th on an average year. During this time period we fish the baits slow leaving them in the strike zone as long as possible. They can’t be totally still but they also can’t be pulled out of the zone. If you pull it away you are often doing exactly what the bass wants. How big is the strike zone? Think of home plate in baseball. Tiny Torpedo, #13 Rapalas, Skitter Props and # 4 popping bugs on fly rods are the baits of choice during this time period.
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#4 Popper
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Once the fry have hatched on the nests things start happening faster. The smallies hit larger baits like Pop ‘R’s, Chuggers, Torpedo’s (a larger version of the Tiny Torpedo), Jitter Bugs, and Hula poppers. A pop, pop, pop, movement works well, on the prop baits you pull, pull, and pull. Generally we are fishing the same shorelines that the bass were spawning on. Minnows move into spawn so this is still a good time to fish in the bays.
In late June a large portion of the bass move to there summer haunts. Some want access to deep waters; others will want rock and cabbage or weeds, points, and reefs. The topwater bite at this time is usually done with quick movement whether you are using popping baits; propeller, walk the dog (Zara Spook) or buzz baits (spinnerbait with a prop on the front). I have had terrific action fishing a point near deepwater. The bass were coming up from eighteen feet of water to hit the Zara Spook. Bass have the capability of being in fifteen feet of water one moment and an hour later they can be in three feet of water on the same structure.
Late June, July, August and the first couple weeks of September are good time periods for topwater. If you have depth finders use them. You will see the bass on the depth finder if they are using 6-30 feet of water. On calm days if you see baitfish working on the surface fish around them with topwaters. All fish live under the water; they are coming out because something is trying to eat them! I hope this helps you improve your topwater bass fishing. See you on the water!
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