Nearly every bass angler is throwing some sort of topwater bait every year when summer rolls around, but they can be useful tools during the springtime if you modify your approach. Major League Fishing pro Bryan Thrift utilizes them when bass are on beds, when they are feeding on spawning bluegill, and as they move to the post-spawn period.
Topwater on Bedding Bass
A topwater bait is something that many bass anglers overlook when fishing for bedding fish, but Thrift said they work equally well for all species of bass when they are guarding their beds.
“To me, springtime topwater fishing is generally much slower than the rest of the year. I fish them much more methodically, even when I am fishing a big walking bait,” Thrift said.
Some of his favorite baits early in the year are topwater poppers like the Damiki D-Pop, but he also mixes in the larger Damiki Rambler walking bait and frogs.
“Spring is also when I am much more focused on individual targets. That could be a bass on a bed or individual trees or bushes in the water,” Thrift said. “I like to work the bait slowly because springtime topwater bass are usually not as aggressive and will come up and slurp it or just nip at it and you don’t always get the same violent topwater strikes as you do later in the year.”
Depending on the lure he is using, Thrift will either use a braid or a co-polymer line, including the new P-Line Topwater High Performance Co-Polymer in either 12 or 15-pound test.
“I always base the line size based on the lure weight more than the water clarity, like I do with fluorocarbon. 12, 15, and 20-pound are my three favorites for a co-polymer line,” added the North Carolina pro.
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Photo: FLW
Targeting Bluegill Beds
After the bass spawn, they turn their focus on bedding bluegill, and Thrift uses a similar approach for these bass.
“I fish them the same way because a bass is staying in the same general area when he is around a bluegill bed, that is his home. They will set themselves just outside of the bed and wait for one to make a move,” he says. “It is like any wild animal waiting for wounded prey; they are looking for the easiest meal.”
Some of his favorite baits for these situations are custom balsa prop baits and the same Damiki D-Pop. He’ll also mix in a frog and will fish them the same way as he does with the prop bait and popper.
“The key is to work the bait slowly, but still give it the erratic action to get their attention,” he said and shared that he will use either 12 or 15-pound P-Line Topwater line for these two baits. For the frog, he opts for 50-pound P-Line TCB 8 Teflon Coated braid.
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Post-Spawn Topwaters
After the bass finish up spawning is one of the best times of the year for topwaters, and Thrift is ready with a host of different options depending on the situation and the lake he is fishing.
“This is when I start to blend my two approaches of fishing slow and methodically with the faster-moving topwater fishing I will do all summer and fall,” Thrift shared. “If I am fishing a specific target like a shaded dock walkway or shade around bushes, I am going to fish slowly. If I am looking to cover water and look for groups of active fish, I am going to fish them much faster.
When fishing slowly, he still relies on the popper, prop bait and frog, but changes gears when fishing faster. He will start to mix in buzzbaits, walking baits, ploppers, and pencil poppers.
“All of those baits allow me to fish fast and be efficient. If I am fishing for post-spawners on a herring lake, I will be using a big pencil popper,” he shared.
These are lures that he general fishes on braided line and 40-pound TCB 8 works for most of them, but he ups it to 50-pound for the heavier pencil poppers.
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What is the P-Line Topwater Line?
When asked what makes this line different, Thrift had several key points that make it different from a standard monofilament or another co-polymer line.
“For one, it casts great and lays nicely on the spool. It outperforms all other monofilament and co-polymers for topwater fishing,” Thrift said. “It also has much less stretch than a standard mono and it also has great knot strength and abrasion resistance.”
Spring is a great time to throw topwaters, according to Bryan Thrift. They can be fished slow and methodical around specific targets around the spawn or used to cover water immediately after they are done with their annual ritual.
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