Topwater lure strategery

Question regarding topwater lures and specifically a tiny torpedo

This weekend I was wet wading for smallmouth, and I'd say about 70% of the bites I had came within a second or two of my lure hitting the surface of the water after the cast. I didn't have as much success while retreiving the lure.

What i was wondering is: Would a tiny torpedo or pop r or jitterbug be a good idea in this case, since the fish were so quick to react to the splash of the lure landing?

Worth a try! Topwater action is my personal favorite. Not much in fishing competes with watching and listening to your offering taking a direct hit from a torpedo.

They could be rather stuck in that certain suspended depth though. As soon as something enters their space, they are instinctively attacking. They could also be interested in the drop of your lure, or first twitch.

If they are set at a certain depth, enticed by the drop and striking on the twitch of retrieval, then a streamer on the long rod is often times unbeatable, stays in their range and gives that twitching the entire way in. You can kind of mimmic this with something like an unweighted super fluke on a spinning set up as well, but will likely sink a little more than most streamers, which might be to your advantage. Drop shotting can keep you in range, as well as using a jig under a float. I carry clouser minnows with me when I don't have a long rod. Fished under a bobber with either slow retrieve or twitching will do about the same as the fly rod.

But, if the topwater works, then I would personally go that route!

I used a tiny torpedo,zara puppy, skitter pop, river 2 sea bubblewalker, and a pop-r all of June and July when the sun just came up and yeah most of my hits came right after it hit the water and I reeled a few times. The tiny torpedo seemed the best for this. Anyways I haven't used them much lately cause the topwater bite seemed to get much slower the colder it got.

Just for laughs,tie a 6"leader to the tail hook with a small jig with a twistertail or anything, really.As you work the top water almost anything around will hit it after being attracted to the lure. Works really well with bull-gills. sam

a lot also depends on water/weather conditions.  i like using topwater lures at night or when it's rainy and the water is murky.  usually i try to work topwater lures very slowly.  after it hits the water wait about 30sec before you start retrieving.

ORIGINAL: mr.crappie

Just for laughs,tie a 6"leader to the tail hook with a small jig with a twistertail or anything, really.As you work the top water almost anything around will hit it after being attracted to the lure. Works really well with bull-gills. sam

Sam - This sounds pretty similar to a saltwater teaser rig. I've tried it a few times with moderate success in freshwater. Many times, just to add weight to a small lure (usually fly or un weighted mini super fluke).

http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/techniques/teaser-rig

FYI - If you use, make sure your larger lure only has two hooks and smaller one. You can only have 3 hooks per line.

Do you use these in the Fall, or more of a Spring thing?

I need to get out and do some fishing soon. Sounds like a fun way to multifish!

i have to agree with sevenmile and outasync. buzzbaits are the way to go on the top. they get far more action then you would from a popper or conventional jitterbug and you can buy them in any color or size under the sun. you can even buy the clacking variation that the blade hits a second blade as it spins giving it a vibrating capability. the fish will not hit these until you are on your retrieve because the blade does not spin until you are retrieving it. also if you are having trouble with hooking up on the fish that hit quickly move to braided line.. it wont stretch and gives you better hook ups from the surface.