It’s topwater time in the Carolinas
In May, largemouth bass roam skinny water throughout the Carolinas, and topwater lures are a key to explosive action. The warming water accelerates their already aggressive nature. And the flourishing aquatic vegetation creates prime topwater fishing habitat.
This combination makes topwater fishing exciting and often the most productive bass-catching technique available. The diversity of bass water and habitat found in lakes and rivers in the two states creates opportunities, while challenging anglers to use the right lures for specific situations encountered.
Kevin Davis, owner of Blacks Camp on South Carolina’s Santee Cooper lakes, said the key to successful topwater action is matching the right lure to the right habitat.
“No lure is the top choice for all situations. But the available topwater lure options enable anglers to select the right one for existing conditions,” Davis said.
Types of topwater lures are many, but to keep it manageable, we’ll consider lures in specific categories and how each excel in Carolina waters.
Noisemakers: buzzbaits, prop baits
Davis’ favorite topwater lure is the buzzbait. That’s because it’s highly effective, versatile and is the fastest-moving topwater lure he employs.
“I’ll cast a buzzbait a long distance parallel to the shoreline, especially a long stretch of weeds, or far back into weedy cover,” he said. “It covers large areas quickly and effectively, making it the ideal fish-finding lure.”
Size matters, and Davis said on windy days, larger buzzbaits — 3/8- or ½-ounce sizes — are good choices. But calm days are different.
“Smaller buzzbaits catch monster bass,” he said. “My favorite lure on a typical, calm May morning is a ‘Wes’ Best’ ¼-ounce buzzbait, because the design makes it so versatile. The head is flat on top with a ‘V’ bottom that rides high in the water, enabling me to slow the retrieve. The smaller bait and slower pace enable me to keep the lure in the strike zone longer. And that’s crucial to hooking big bass.”
Davis (843-753-2231) said other noisemaker/prop lures are great choices, including single-props lures like the Tiny Torpedo or double-props such as the Devil’s Horse. As the lure is retrieved, the propellers spin, creating a disturbance that attracts bass.
“I like them when targeting specific objects” he said. “They’re fished slower, so they’re not searching lures. But they’re prefect for targeting specific spots. They’ll pull fish from a distance, and I’ll often work them with pauses in the retrieve, although a steady retrieve works well.”
Walkers, floater-divers
Brett Mitchell, a Santee Cooper bass guide and tournament professional from Florence, S.C., said these stick-looking lures are usually equipped with multiple treble hooks. They’re referred to as “walk-the-dog” and “floater-diver” lures simply based on the action the lures impart.
“Walk-the-dog lures such as the legendary Zara Spook are so named because the lures create a back-and-forth walking action across the surface,” he said. “I impart this action by jerking the rod tip repetitively while reeling. And coupled with the lure design, it zig-zags from side to side. It takes practice to get consistent action, but it’s lethal when worked properly.
“I think this surface disturbance mimics an injured minnow. And that’s extremely attractive to a bass,” he said. “I’ll often ‘pause for effect’ during the retrieve, and that creates aggressive bites. Fishermen have significant control of the action the lure imparts. So I try different retrieves until I hit the hot pattern.”
Schooling fish love these lures
Mitchell (803-379-7029) said he’ll work these lures around weeds and wood. But they’re also an outstanding open-water bait on shallow points, humps and around isolated trees and stumps. It’s also excellent for schooling fish.
“The floater-diver type lures have been productive for decades,” he said, naming the Smithwick Rogue and broke-back Rebel as great examples of floater-divers.
Mitchell said the lures are cast to or near a target, such as a stump, log or weedy point or pocket, and allowed to sit motionless for a short period.
“That gets the attention of a nearby bass, often prompting a quick strike,” he said. “Another (technique) is to use the rod tip to make the lure dart and dive beneath the surface. Reeling the bait steadily to create a ‘V’ wake on the surface is another excellent option. This lure is relatively quiet. But sometimes subtle is best.”
Mitchell said both type lures are excellent low-light options.
Frog-type lures
James Ramsey is a die-hard, 58-year-old angler from North Charleston, S.C., who caught his first topwater bass when he was 7.
“From May throughout the summer, I’m a big fan of frog-type lures,” Ramsey said. “They’re built weedless, so they’re ideal for fishing almost any type of habitat. And they excel at fishing thick vegetation that bass love — but is often too thick for other topwater lures to go.”
Ramsey said frog lures have different designs: walking, popping and plopping — the latter having a prop — and they’re all highly effective.
“Study the vegetation types you fish and work different frog versions to find what produces best,” he said.
Ramsey will use frog-type lures around mats of vegetation in lakes and rivers and will skitter, plop, walk and pop the lure based on the situation he’s facing.
It’s never too thick for frog lures
“The lure is ideal for working across the top of matted grass and through thick vegetation, and bass will blow up on the lure right through thick stuff,” he said. “I enhance success by targeting unique features such as open holes, points, pockets and edges.
“When I stop a frog lure in an open hole, I’m on high alert for a strike,” he said. “Even with no line tension, the frog lure legs will quiver, and bass can’t resist it. I’ll often pause the retrieve when working through thick vegetation to let a bass home in on the target. And pausing at the edge of any cover is another tactic.”
Ramsey also uses frog lures to work isolated, woody objects, not just the thick weeds.
“It’s a highly versatile lure that’s effective in almost any place that’s wet,” he said.
Low-light conditions are best, but frog lures can be effective any time with cloud cover or when fish are far back in shady habitat.
Popping baits
David Murdaugh, a 55-year-old bass guide from Charleston, S.C., said popping baits are wildly successful in multiple scenarios from May through the summer and fall.
“Poppers excel when worked around, but not through, heavy cover, since they’re not weedless,” he said. “Accurate casting is crucial. And I want to get the lure close to the target and work it near the edges where bass may hold. Many types of poppers are on the market, but Pop Rs are a good choice to start the day.
Murdaugh (843-452-9655) said poppers are prime for early and late fishing in low light. And the noise they produce attracts bass from long distances. often enticing fish out of thick grass.
“In rivers where I have current, eddies and ample aquatic habitat, I’ll catch bass all day-long,” he said. “Often, a specific type of popper produces better on a given day. So I experiment with several varieties while searching for the daily pattern.”
Murdaugh said technique is simple: cast the lure and let it float a moment before beginning the retrieve. The pace can vary from slow pops to quick, aggressive popping.
“I’ll vary the action, and I may use a steady pop all the way to the boat, or a series of multiple pops, then pause and repeat. Imagination is a key. And while I have standard patterns I prefer, I’ve learned that an unusual pattern often triggers an aggressive bite.”
Oldies but goodies
Topwater lures from yesteryear are nothing more than history to some. But many veteran fishermen still catch huge bass on these lures.
Ramsey said his first topwater bass were caught more than a half-century ago on lures like a Devil’s Horse and Jitterbug, and both are still among his favorites.
“Topwater fishing at night with a Jitterbug can be life-changing for a bass fisherman,” he said.
Davis cherishes the lures of yesteryear, and many have a prominent place in his tackle box.
“I’ve caught bass my whole life on specific, old lures and continue to do so now,” he said. “Some have kept their magic appeal to big bass, even after decades of use. That’s why they’re still made.”
Davis said too many “oldies but goodies” exist to mention them all. But he still uses a floating Rapala, Smithwick Rogue, Jitterbug, Devil’s Horse, Zara Spook and the Hula Popper, perhaps the mother of all popping baits.
He doesn’t use any lure out of sentimentality. He employs them because they produce.
“I admit, I treasure these lures for their history and influence on highly productive modern topwater lures,” he said. “But I fish these relics because bass still love them even more than I do.”
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