Topwater Bass Fishing Techniques for Fall

Topwater tactics and baits for the fall. You know, some guys think that, once summer is over, topwaters are over too. But no, actually, fall is arguably one of the best times to be throwing topwaters, right? The bass are all up shallow. The forage is all up shallow. There's even a frog migration going on. I mean, lots of activity, and it's all happening in the shallows. That's why you want to be throwing topwaters.

So let's start right off with buzzbaits, right? Buzzbaits I like throwing in the fall because you can cover a lot of water with them, because the bass are always moving this time of year. They're not sitting there, waiting an ambush. They're chasing the forage base, like I just mentioned, and those are always moving. So a buzzbait lets you cover a lot of water fast and effectively. So that's the key to catching a lot of bass, is finding them especially during the fall, and buzzbait is gonna help you do that.

One of the things about a buzzbait though that's different than the buzzbaits we've been throwing for years is the skirts. A lot of anglers now are removing the skirts and replacing them with, say, a craw or a frog or a paddle tail swimbait, something like that, like this buzzbait right here from Big Bite Baits. This one here, it gives you a larger profile. When you when you put a trailer like this on it, it gives you a larger profile for the bass to hone in on. So you have fewer missed strikes, right? It gives a large body to attack.

Secondly, it provides a lot more buoyancy, and so you can slow it down. One of the keys with catching bass on buzzbaits is to go as slow as you can, just kind of let it gurgle across the top. Now, that's not to say there are times when you can burn it back really fast and get a strike, but oftentimes, the slower, the better, is how it goes with buzzbaits. So that's why you want, you know, a plastic trailer like this on it.

Now, for rods and reels, I like to throw a 7'3" to 7'5" medium-heavy fast action rod, but I'll put braided line on it, minimum of 30-pound braided line, and 50 is even better, because I like to throw this in and around cover. There's a lot of weeds at this time of year. When the bass grabs that bait, it's gonna pull it down under, and it can get wrapped up in those weeds. A buzzbait is pretty much weightless. You can get it right over the tops of those weeds and call them out. So having a braided line is gonna allow you to, you know, cut through all that vegetation. When the bass pulls down into it, you're gonna get them out and wrench them out of that.

Plus, braided line has some buoyancy to it, so it's gonna enable you to keep that buzzbait up above the surface a lot easier. And, of course, you can get longer distance with braided line as well. So a lot of advantages to using braided line with a buzzbait. Again, it's a single hook, too, so it's a stronger hook, more stout. It can hold up to the rigors of the no-stretch in a braided line. So, that would be my setup. I'd use a 6.3 to 1 gear ratio reel, and you're set. You're good to go.

The next type of bait that's really effective in the fall is a Whopper Plopper, right? It's kind of a combination of a topwater minnow-type bait and a buzzbait because you get that tail end of it that buzzes and gurgles just like a buzzbait. But the key thing with this is that it floats, so you can stop it. And that gives you a lot more opportunities for different presentations. So a stop-and-go retrieve, for one, like, you can just throw it out and cast it and retrieve it like you would a buzzbait, you know, along outside the weedline/weed edges and alongside docks, and things like that. Perfectly suitable for doing that.

But what really shines is when you can stop-and-go retrieve. You know, along those areas, just bring along and stop it and just let it hover for a little bit. And then a couple more turns of the reel handle and let it stop again. Pull it back some more and then stop again. You can also bring it back really, really slow, because, again, it floats. So you can just, [vocalization], just plop it along very slowly, and that can trigger a lot of strikes. Conversely, you can bring it back really fast. You can burn it, right? There's a lot of different ways. Like, another way, you can just let it sit and then you give it a little pop with the rod, and then let it pause and another pop with the rod. I mean, you can experiment with different types of cadences and retrieves to see what the bass want.

The thing with them though is that they've got that treble hook on them, you know, and that doesn't make them as weedless as, say, a buzzbait. So you have to be cognizant of that. You don't wanna be around areas where the bass can grab it and pull it down into the weeds, because those treble hooks will grab it, and typically, then the bass can use that as leverage to rip free. So open water areas are a little bit better suited for Whopper Ploppers.

For the rods and reels, again, I like to use a 7'2" to 7'5" medium-heavy fast action rod, and in this case, I'll use monofilament because, again, a little bit more open water. The water is usually a little bit clearer in the fall. Monofilament has a lot of buoyancy to it. So especially when that bait is sitting there floating and not moving, you want some line that'll stay up on the surface. So monofilament will do it. Now, braid will do the same thing, but the big difference is that monofilament has a lot of stretch to it.

And when you have those treble hooks in there, once the bass grabs it and starts fighting you, if you've got straight braid, you have no flex at all, no give in those treble hooks. All the pressure is put on those little tiny thin wire treble hooks, and the bass could end up ripping free or can end up bending out one or several of the hooks on the treble hook. Monofilament has that given stretch to it, so it helps keep the fish pinned and doesn't put as much pressure and stress on the hooks themselves.

So they all work together in concert to keep that fish pinned and get them back to you. So that's why I use monofilament for Whopper Ploppers. Again, a 6.3 to 1 gear ratio reel is just fine. You don't need a super high-speed reel for this. Just crank it along nice and slowly. You're doing more of a stop-and-go retrieve anyway, so you don't necessarily need, like, a 7 to 1 or higher gear ratio reel now.

Now, let's talk about prop baits. Prop baits usually have a blade in the front or back, and sometimes both front and back. These are minnow-type baits. They float on the surface, and they imitate an injured baitfish. And what that does is, you know, that's exactly what the bass are feeding on. Again, you know, injured shad, bluegill, that sort of thing, that's easy, easy meal for them, easy-peasy. They will hone in on something, like, struggling on the surface, and whack it.

With these baits, what works really well is when the bass are, like, buried in weeds, or the water is a little bit more dingy, or if you got a chop to the water, because these create a lot of commotion. And it's more than just throwing them out and casting back. With these, you want to give a kind of a pop or a jerk and [vocalization]. And you'll see the water just goes splash, splash, splash. I mean, it creates a lot of commotion in the water, and then you kill it.

Just let it sit and then give it another pop and just let it sit. And wait 10 seconds, 15 seconds, maybe reel up on the line and give it a little nudge, like it's kind of recovering, and move it a little bit, then stop. Just those bait blades in the water, especially if there's a little bit of wind in the water, the blades will still be moving, and that could be enough to make the bass come in. You know, you'll get their attention by making that commotion, then you kill it, they'll look up, and they see this baitfish that's struggling. Man, it's candy. They will take it.

So the rods and reels combination is a little bit different with these because these are typically lighter baits, more like a crankbait kind of thing. So I would actually use a more crankbait-style rod with this. So I'm using, I guess, 7'4" to 7'6" medium-power fast action rod, right? Yeah, medium power would be, you know, pretty good. It's got that bowing parabolic action, is what you want. A lot of give in it. Plus, a little bit longer rod enables you to cast it out there further and gives you more control of the bait when it's out there and when you're horsing in the fish.

Line, I would be using 12-pound monofilament line, again, no braid. The thing with this is if you're throwing braid, a lot of times, it gets wrapped up around the hooks on this kind of a bait, and it's just a mess to deal with. Sure, you can put leader on it if you want, but why mess with that. Just monofilament is cheap. Actually, braid costs more than monofilament. So just spool up a monofilament, go out there, use it for these type of baits, and have yourself a ball.

Okay, the next one we'll talk about is Chug Bugs and popper-style baits, that type of thing. These, again, mimic injured baitfish, but they splash more water out in front of it, and they pop it along when you give it a little pop, pop, pop with your rod, and you're spitting water out in front of it, and you pause. And long pauses are really good with this kind of bait. The longer the pause, the better. Oftentimes, you just sit in there, eating a sandwich, and then, pow. It's like you didn't even do anything. But if you make that little bit of a movement, pop, pop, pop, pop, and then let it sit for a long period of time, that gets the best attention until they just can't stand it when they're not moving for so long.

I don't know what it is, but that's kind of the key that works with me. I've had my friends, sometimes they'll do a constant pop. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, all the way back to the boat. I personally haven't had success doing that, but I have a lot of friends that do. So it must be something I'm doing wrong. So go ahead and try it because I bet it'll work really well for you.

The thing with these baits is the rod and reel is a little bit different with these. So, again, it's more like a crankbait rod here. You can even use spinning if you want because you're lightening up quite a bit. You're gonna use a medium power, moderate action kind of rod, that type of thing, real limber, real light, 7'3", 7'5", along those lines. That allows you to fling that bait out there and control it during the cadence. And when a fish hits it, again, wait till you feel the weight of the fish, don't set the hook when the fish pops it, or you're gonna have a bunch of treble hooks flying back at your face. Don't ask me how I know this. So if a fish nails it, wait, wait, wait, and you feel them tug on you, bam, then you set the hook. But using that longer rod and that lighter parabolic action, it works with those lighter baits.

Again, they're treble hooks. So this is a better bait to be used on the outside weedlines, along docks, along ridges, sharp points, and bluffs, and drop-offs, things like that, these work really well. The clearer the water, the better, in my experience with them using 12-pound monofilament line. Again, monofilament has got that stretch in it, and it allows you to keep that fish pinned. It's buoyant, so it helps keep the bait floating on the surface.

Using a 6.3 to 6.8 gear ratio reel. It's perfectly fine. Again, spinning outfit will work as well with this. You're not confined to just using baitcast with this. So if you don't feel comfortable throwing a light lure with big casting outfit, you can certainly use a spinning outfit.

The next lure is a Zara Spook. Now, that's been around for decades and been very popular, and for good reasons. It catches fish. Now, Zara Spook works really well for calling fish out of deep water or pulling them out of muddy water or when they're really buried in the weeds. It creates that kind of commotion that brings those fish up even if they're 20 feet or 30 feet deep. Smallmouth, especially, will come out of it, like, you know, hit it like a Polaris, because they've been coming from so deep.

But all you do is you throw it out, walk the dog. It takes some practice. If you don't know how to do it, I got a video right here that'll show you how to walk the dog. But that's what you want to do, a nice, steady cadence, walking the dog back to the boat, and that usually elicits a strike. Every once in a while, you might want to give it a pause, let it wait a little bit, and then resume the cadence. But a straight cadence, typically, is all it takes to get the fish to hone in on and bite them.

Now, sometimes the fish will surface and not hit the lure. I've had this happen with Zara Spooks. That's fine, okay? They are showing themselves. They're revealing, like, "Hey, I'm active. I'm in the area. I'm feeding. But the Zara Spook isn't quite it. I want something else." Great. Cool. Now, you can work that area with other lures, but at least the Zara Spook let you know you're in an area where there's actively feeding fish. So it can work as a scout for you as well.

As far as lure colors, anything is good as long as it's got a white belly. I really don't care. Unless the water is really clear, and then I'll use more of a translucent kind of color. Otherwise, that's it. I really don't look too much at the lure color.

As far as the rod, the rod you want something a little bit stout here and a little bit shorter, something like a 7'1" medium heavy fast action rod than you would use, say, with the earlier lures. And that's because you got your rod tip down and you're popping it. So you need a little bit shorter rod for that control. Plus, it's a heavy bait. It really is, compared to the other lures we just talked about. And so being able to sling it out there and control and setting the hook, you need a little bit stouter rod.

Do not use braid with this. Braid just tangles up and gets in the way. Braid floats way too much and actually interferes with the action of this bait, in my opinion, my experience. That's why I like to use monofilament with it. Monofilament works great. We used monofilament with Zara Spook since the 1980s, and it works still today. So if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So again, 12-pound, even 15-pound monofilament works really well with this and a slower gear ratio around that 6.2, 6.3 to 1 gear ratio works really well for the baitcasting reel.

The next bait, frogs. Yeah, frogs in the fall. Some people get and put these away after the summer. That's a mistake. The frogs move shallow into the back coves and stuff to hibernate for the winter, and the bass know this. They come back there, and they feed on frogs. So frogs can be really good lure to use during this time. All you do is you cast them out, and you want to work them between lily pads, the outside weedlines, along docks.

If you got a pad line that you've got an opening between the lily pads or the weeds and the shoreline, like an open canal kind of area, that can be gold, man. That can be awesome fishing, just work your lure along that opening in there. Any kind of open pockets in between weeds, things like that, that's where a frog shines. You can just bloop it back, and then, again, pause. Long pauses work really well with this. Give it another little shimmy. You can let it pause a little bit longer. Pop, pop, pop. Let it pause. If you want to walk it, some people like to walk frogs. Cut the skirt legs off a little bit, shorten them up a little bit, makes it a lot easier to walk the dog with them. These are seedless, so you can throw it over thicker weeds and not worry about getting tangled up, the line getting tangled up in them or getting the hooks tangled up in the weeds.

I use 50-pound braid. I use stouter rods. Because as you just heard, you're throwing it around weeds. You're throwing it around covers. So the bass is gonna grab it. He's gonna be down in the water. He's got the advantage, and he can wrap you up and stuff. So braided line, typically 50-pound braided line. I'm using a 7'6" medium-heavy, heavy-action rod, right? Medium-heavy, power-heavy action rod, really stout. And you know, the longer rod can fire that thing out there.

Give it a little more line at the end of the tip of your rod so you can throw it out further, but you want to throw that way out there and then keep your rod tip out and get ready for the strike. Again, wait for the weight of the fish before you set the hook. The reel, I like to use anywhere from a 6.5 to 7.1 gear ratio. I can go up to a 7.6, and there's argument to be had for that because when the fish gets down Into those weeds, you want something a little bit faster gear ratio where you can turn his head and get him coming to you and not have a chance to bury up in those weeds. So a faster gear ratio can help you with that if you're really throwing in some thick heavy weeds, that sort of stuff, like Hydrilla, milfoil, you might want to go a little bit faster gear ratio.

Now, the key thing with all of these baits, make sure you have a follow-up bait nearby, you know plastic worm or a beaver-style bait or a Senko, something like that, ready to throw. Don't have it, you know, the hook in the hook keeper and all that stuff. No, I have it rigged, ready to go, just so you can pick up the rod and cast. Because a lot of these times, the bass will miss it. They'll come up and blow up on it and not get it. You can immediately just bring that lure in, grab your rod, and throw right back in that same spot. And oftentimes, you can catch them. So always have a follow-up bait nearby, ready to throw out when you're fishing these topwaters, and I guarantee you, you're gonna capitalize on those missed strikes. Hope that helps. For more tips and tricks like this, visit bassresource.com.