Top Water Baits - Poppers - Floating Baits

Almost any top water plug will catch game fish when they are feeding aggressively at the surface. However, keeping those strikes coming when the feeding subsides is another matter. The secret to catching more and bigger fish on top water plugs is really pretty simple: you have got to make the lure look alive.

Lure size influences what you may or may not catch on any given day. One fool proof tip is to choose a plug that is similar in size and shape to the local forage, particularly when there is an abundance of a specific bait. Matching lure size to the local forage works well on schooling game fish. However, if you desire quality over quantity, and don't mind the wait between strikes, step up the size of your plug. For instance, if you have been catching average-sized fish on a three-inch plug and want to tempt the lurker, upgrade to a five-inch plug.

Even though game fish use their lateral line to home in on lure vibrations, they will occasionally miss plugs they can not see on the strike. Therefore, when water clarity is marginal, it may prove more effective to choose a brighter color or a pattern that provides a stronger contrast than the local bait. An example would be to use a very light color or a silver-finished lure in tannin-stained or muddy water, which could provide that extra bit of visibility a game fish needs when it closes in for the kill. It is pretty much the same principle when using light colors on overcast or moonless nights, and black or dark shades on moonlit evenings, all of which provides more contrast to enhance the plugs visibility.

The style of top water plug determines the sounds and vibrations it will emit. The precise action of your lure should be governed by the game fish you are pursuing, and perhaps even by how the local bait fish are acting. Should one of these fish follow the lure for a closer look, immediately increase the speed and action of the plug. Make it appear as if it is struggling to get away and a strike is virtually assured. Never slow or stop the retrieve with a fish in pursuit, even as the lure nears the boat. Doing so may give the fish time to realize the plug is a fake and lose interest. Instead, quickly retrieve the plug to the boat, pull it from the water and make another cast. When more action is necessary, maintain the same retrieve speed and increase the frequency and sharpness of the twitches. By imparting two and sometimes three sharp twitches per second, tighten the action and make the lure appear more panicked. This is quite effective after a feeding blitz has subsided, where the plug resembles an injured bait fish that has been separated from the school and is desperately trying to escape.

Vary the speed and action of the lure until you find one that excites the fish. Should the fish miss the lure, don't slow or stop the retrieve. Keep it moving right along, perhaps twitching it a few more times to increase the appearance of panic. Many times the same fish, or a companion, will come right back and clobber it, giving you another opportunity.