Photo: B.A.S.S.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Clent Davis believes a topwater bait is among the best ways to get a giant bass to bite. He throws them often and has developed a simple approach to having success with topwater baits.
The Keys to Success
There are three factors to success when topwater fishing according to Clent Davis. “Topwater fishing is all about your tempo, the noise of the bait and the size that it is,” he said.
These are the three things that he will adjust when topwater fishing.
“Generally, I fish the bait fast until I find fish and then slow down when I know the fish are in the area,” he shared. “One thing I see a lot of anglers do is fish it way too fast, many times you want to fish it as slow as possible.”
He also adjusts his lures based on the sound he wants and size of baitfish that the bass are keying on.
Walking Baits
There are several great walking baits on the market and they all walk much better than they did years ago. The one Davis reaches for during topwater season is the Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil. “That bait gets destroyed,” he began.
He had several things to say about it when asked what makes it different from anything else on the market. “Nowadays all of the baits on the market walk really easily, he stated. “The thing I like most about this one is the noise, it is very loud and it is just different than any other bait I have used.”
He’ll fish this style of bait on a 7’, medium-action Okuma Helios rod and 7.1 gear ratio Helios reel with 50-lb braided line.
Go Big or Go Home
There are times when Davis relies on a giant topwater bait to try to entice the biggest bass in the area. One of his top baits is a saltwater version from Yo-Zuri called the Hydro Pencil. He likes this big bait over others because even though it is a larger size, it has two hooks instead of three.
“A lot of the big topwaters out there have three trebles and I always seem to lose fish on those,” he shared. “This one has two giant trebles and I never lose fish with it.”
It walks like any other topwater you may already use, but Davis believes it’s slightly different sound and big side-to-side walk is what makes it so effective. “I’ll pick up the bigger bait anytime the wind starts to blow or if I see a big blow up off in the distance and I need to be able to make a long cast to get to it,” said the Alabama pro.
Since this is a large bait, weighing in at one full ounce, he also uses a bigger rod, reel and line setup to handle it. He rigs it up on a 7’6”, Heavy Okuma Scott Martin TCS rod, 7.1 gear ratio Okuma Helios with 50-lb braided line.
Prop Baits
In addition to standard walking baits, Davis also uses different types of prop baits. These excel when fishing around laydowns, shallow cover and bluegill beds. His two favorites are the Yo-Zuri 3DB Prop and Duel Hardcore Noi-Z. They are different baits, but he fishes them almost the same way.
“I fish the 3DB prop with a “rip, rip, rip, pause’ retrieve, he said. “It works great around shallow cover and the plastic prop gives it a unique sound. The Noi-Z has a metal prop on the back and a lip like a crankbait, and I fish this more like I would with a popper.”
Another tip he added for the Noi-Z is to avoid reeling it while working the bait and to pop it in place anytime he is around a likely ambush point for a shallow bass.
He will fish these two baits on the same setup he uses for walking baits, but will use a fluorocarbon leader combined to his braid, with a Modified Albright knot joining the two lines and a San Diego Jam knot tied to the bait.
Many anglers shy away from fluoro with topwater; because I think it sinks the same as a mono and like how clear it is,” he added. ‘I don’t use straight braid because it tends to wrap around the prop.”
Topwater Lures Color Choices
Color selection when throwing a topwater is something that many anglers debate. Do fish even get a good look at a lure on the surface? Does color even matter?
Clent Davis has a very straightforward approach to color selection with topwaters. “It’s pretty simple,” he began. “You want to throw different colors until you find the one that the bass bite that day.”
His thoughts are that if bass are in the area and feeding on topwater, they will let you know, when you have the right color. With that being said, he does have some favorites.
“I really like the shiny chrome colors, the shad imitators and anything that looks clear,” he said. “All of these will work and it just depends on the day as to which one will work best.”
As you can see, Davis has a simple outlook on color selection and how he works his topwater baits. He is a firm believer that finding the fish comes first and you will have success if you are fishing the right topwater and using the correct retrieve.
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