Time to keep the topwater handy! Report w/pic

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
I fished 4 days last week and finished the week with a club tournament yesterday. Early in the week we were doing well on the cranks and jigs for staging fish but then later in the week it was shakey heads and shallow cranks on docks and looking for shallow spawning fish. Over the past few weeks I've started watching the surface a lot more in anticipation of an early spring topwater bass bite. Last year in late March I was on a pretty good topwater bite for big stripers and bass that lasted a couple weeks so I've been wondering if that's going to come back around.

By Thursday we were seeing and catching some surfacing fish out on points in the creek early in the morning but it was a lot of small fish. We were also seeing a lot of bluebacks swimming on the surface, creating wakes and getting nailed by bass and stripers. Our primary objective was to find shallow spawning fish around docks and the backs of pockets on tournament day but we caught a couple nice fish on topwater Saturday so we decided to start the tournament fishing topwater on points. Our plan was to spend a couple hours on topwater then hit the shallow stuff but with the wind we had yesterday it was perfect for creating the chop we needed for a good topwater bite across points. We found a few points that had the perfect little chop on the water and with the extended cloud cover we milked out the topwater bite till almost noon and we were culling by 10am. We only spent a couple hours on docks but we never upgraded off the shallow stuff. I think a lot of the shallow fish pulled out because of the front that had just past and the cooler temps.

We ended up with 11 something in weight and all of our keepers came on topwater. The bass didn't like the vixen so I broke out my old trusty emerald popper which caught us two of our biggest and a smaller kicker. My partner had a walking bait and caught a pretty decent keeper and a smaller keeper with it. We didn't get any real big fish but we had a couple nice ones. The bass were wise to the big clunky bone vixen but the stripers once again like it. Although we didn't target stripers, I did see a few big ones close to the shore and I'm probably going to get after them this week.

Right now there are a lot of tactics that will work to catch fish but if the wind kicks up a little across a point the bass and stripers will be a lot easier to fool and I'm probably going to be throwing some topwater. We didn't take many pictures over the past few days but I did want to get a picture of my first official topwater striper of 2016.
 

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stephan812

Member
We have caught some good striper on top water up the river on West point. The wind was very calm and the water was very still in the slack water where we were fishing. When we went back a couple nights later, there was high winds and the top water wasn't working. So I think you're right. Top water is working under the right conditions.

Thank you for the great report an awesome picture.
 

Coenen

Senior Member
Got my first couple of topwater fish last weekend, chunky spots, up shallow. A jointed Red-fin did the trick for me.
 

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Thanks guys. I was just looking back through my old videos from last year and it looks like from now through June with a little lull in April was some great topwater for bass and stipers. Hopefully we'll see that again this year.
 

Cletus T.

Senior Member
No better way to catch them than on top……it’s my favorite!!!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us!
 

Hookum

Senior Member
Now you're talking dirty to me!!! LOL!!!
 

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Thanks guys. I didn't get out yesterday but we went for a couple hours this morning and still getting them on top. Here's the biggest from this morning on a towater popper.
 

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jocko755

Senior Member
Hog! Looks like the trusty emerald popper is back in action! And the bone Vixen!

Killing me! Lord I hate WORK!

I do appreciate these reports and pic's Nice job as always!
 

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Hog! Looks like the trusty emerald popper is back in action! And the bone Vixen!

Killing me! Lord I hate WORK!

I do appreciate these reports and pic's Nice job as always!
Thanks Jocko. This fish was kinda special because my buddy and I watched her chasing a blueback on the surface for a loonnnggg time. At first we thought it was a striper because the bass hadn't been spending that much time on the surface. I think she was just so fat she couldn't catch the big blueback which gave me time to get the boat within casting range.

I was trying to front seat my buddy so I could get the right angle to cast on the fish and block him out but all the sudden I see my buddies topwater bait go flying by my head from the back. My buddy wasn't playing, he wanted that fish as bad as I did. He put his walking bait in the right area but when I threw the popper in there and popped it a couple times she nailed it.

These bigger females I'm finding on the topwater are relating to some shallow brush piles (10-15ft) out on the ends of points that I have marked for dropshotting in early summer. My guess is that they are spawning in these areas. We have also been seeing small groups or single bluebacks swimming on the surface and being chased down by bass and stripers, that's why the emerald popper is working so well right now. I'm doing a lot of blind fishing with the popper and calling fish up by doing a lot of popping and splashing initially and then cutting a wake back to the boat with it. It's the same thing I did back in the fall to get them with the popper.
 

EZ Spin

Senior Member
Great report brother. Can't believe we are not running into each other. We should get together soon!
Blessings!
Eric
 

Scout'nStripers

Senior Member
Great report brother. Can't believe we are not running into each other. We should get together soon!
Blessings!
Eric
Thanks for the kind words Eric. I've been watching for you and there ain't no mistaking that Z8 roostertail.
I'm definitely ready if you have some free time one of these days/evenings.
 
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