Do big fish hit top water ?

Post Reply
SHAFT
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Santa Rosa /Lakeport Ca.

Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by SHAFT »

My biggest fish 7 - 8 lb have all been on top water on Clear Lake mostly because thats that what I like to throw . Do the larger fish 10lb + hit top water ? Whats your largest fish and what did you catch it on ?
User avatar
Fishin' Dave
Posts: 1797
Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 8:09 am
Location: Felix, Ca.
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Fishin' Dave »

OH YEAH! Just ask "Spookman" Johnny C! He has hooked some sweet 10lb+ on spooks at Melones.
Don't be lame. It's just fishing; you are not the new mesiah you know! Check your attitude at the door Mr. Spinners on da boat trailer.
User avatar
Joe W.
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Santa Cruz Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Joe W. »

Of course they do! Not that I have personally caught any but baits like the slammer have take their share of hogs!
Scott D.
Posts: 293
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:41 am
Location: Hanford, Ca.
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Scott D. »

Got a 9 1/2 lb'er out of Pine Flat year before last on a Super Spook. Skeetman5 can attest to that.
Navy Chief proudly serving to protect this great nation. God Bless America
Fish Chris
Posts: 730
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 3:22 am
Location: Suisun City, Ca.
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Fish Chris »

Hey Shaft, sure they do..... But there are numbers / small fish topwater baits (I started to post some examples.... but you would immediatly have guys talking about a big fish they caught, or heard of caught on these.... to which I would say, their are always exceptions).........

And their are big fish top waters, like MS Slammers, 3:16 wake baits, Lunker Punkers, etc. I've caught a handful of 8's and 9's on the MS. So nothing big so far..... but then I haven't really been fishing them very hard, for very long.
I believe I will start to get a few 10 to 13's on "big" surface baits within the next couple years.

BTW, try a big surface bait at night ! (shhhhh.... keep that a secret ;-)

Peace,
Fish
G3 Boats
a Yamaha Boat Company

Okuma fishing tackle

TUF-Line by Western Filament

www.TrophyBassOnly.com
....or from here, find links to
Trophy Sportfish .com
and Fish Chris Photo .com
User avatar
Fishin' Dave
Posts: 1797
Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 8:09 am
Location: Felix, Ca.
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Fishin' Dave »

Chris, are you saying Spooks are little fish baits? This one time at band camp, I caught this fish..... :lol:
Don't be lame. It's just fishing; you are not the new mesiah you know! Check your attitude at the door Mr. Spinners on da boat trailer.
User avatar
bruizer343
Posts: 614
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:38 am
Location: south side don't be scared homie

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by bruizer343 »

My favorite topwater bait is a live bluegill with 2 #4 stinger trebbles. I float the gill off a large cork bobber. Im not much into worrying about the trebbles because I'm going to have a skin mount made to prove what a great success I made of my techniques. (fiction)(bold face lie)(if'n the lounge was around)

Spooks,shellcrackers,poppers of anysize,frogs,buzzbaits. As of late in the dark of the night I have scored some nice fish on that huge Spro floating swimbait/wakebait. Nothing over 10, but a couple 6's and (1) OVER 7.


B343
leachman90
Posts: 537
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:34 pm
Location: Calera Alabama

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by leachman90 »

Oh Chris,don't do that to me.8s and 9s are not big?I have to wipe the drool off my face because thats what happens just thinking about 8-9s.
I have been around here enough though to know what your talking about but it just sounded funny to me.I have taken my fair share of what we call big bass(6-7lb) up here though on top water,usally on a buzzer.What a rush to see fish like that slam top water.GB...Jim
Jerkbait0071
Posts: 189
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:41 pm
Location: Antelope

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Jerkbait0071 »

This is a trick question guys. Let me answer that for you, no big fish never hit top water, never fish top water again....
www.xtremeglove.com
www.bpboatcenter.com
G-Ko
Posts: 217
Joined: Sat May 07, 2005 9:23 pm
Location: Concord, CA

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by G-Ko »

I think that more then a few people have caught some good size fish on a frog. Well atleast i think Bobby has done pretty well with topwater.

I would say that a lot of the size matters on the body of water. Pretty obvious.... delta/clear lake = big topwater.... berryessa/shasta = 4 lb class probably.

Greg
Contact me at Kosich & Callahan Insurance for a free quote for home, auto, boat, or Business Insurance.

GKosich@Kosich.com
925-284-3911
SHAFT
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Santa Rosa /Lakeport Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by SHAFT »

Maybe I should ask if I were hunting a double digit Bass by the end of the year on Clear Lake what are the odds of hooking it on a top water ?
mac (Doyle McEwen)
Posts: 2755
Joined: Sat May 07, 2005 9:39 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by mac (Doyle McEwen) »

Although I do tend to agree with Chris on the subject, I would throw in this caveat..If you keep chucking the top waters on Clearlake, you have a decent shot at a ten plus..You would have a little better chance using a different technique in my opinion, (swimbait for example)..They are out there and they will hit top waters, you just have to be in the right place at the right time..

mac
Take a kid fishing, and don't forget about us older kids either..
User avatar
bruizer343
Posts: 614
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:38 am
Location: south side don't be scared homie

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by bruizer343 »

end of the year as in December ?
Live bait, crawdads and tiny bluegill/crackers...But I'd more n likely be on the delta sticking big stripers on topwater.......
User avatar
Joe W.
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Santa Cruz Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Joe W. »

It's illigal to use bluegills as bait in lakes. The delta it is legal as long as it was caught there.
User avatar
bruizer343
Posts: 614
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:38 am
Location: south side don't be scared homie

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by bruizer343 »

shhhhh....guess that say's im only fishing the delta.
NoCAL
Posts: 541
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2005 5:20 pm
Location: Woodland, CA

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by NoCAL »

Here's a picture of my wife with an 11.5 lb LMB caught on Pardee last spring. She got this one, an 8, a 6, a 1.5, and one that didn't make it into the boat but was bigger than the 11 all on an MS Slammer 9" on a windy afternoon. I got skunked.

NoCAL

Image
User avatar
bruizer343
Posts: 614
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:38 am
Location: south side don't be scared homie

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by bruizer343 »

Nice. :wink:
User avatar
bassindon69
Posts: 1466
Joined: Sat May 07, 2005 12:37 am
Location: Dos Palos Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by bassindon69 »

In the past two years just the ones over 10 for me on the surface were on, BBZ floater that got one fish at just over 10 (steady retrieve)
3:16 1up got me a 11 and a 12 lber (twitch and go, pause) .
MS Slammer has got me a few close.
So Yes, They do get them and lots of smaller fish 9 lbs on down.
So out of 18 fish over 10 the past two years I have got 3 of those on top. I also did not fish these (surface) baits much the first year. Its because of a good mix of baits that I got more fish this year then last over 10, also like Mac said "Right place at the right time" that sure helps LOL!
Best of luck!

Don.
Go Big or Go Home!
http://calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/bassindon69/basspics/
Guest

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Guest »

I would say your odds are good.. Throw a frog, a black dog lunker punker, Black Dog Shellcracker, a 3:16 Wake Bait Jr and a AC Minnow exclusively and you should be able to get that 10 plus.

On saturday the winning team had a 10.20 and it was caught on a frog as they announced it. (I did not see them catch it - nor do I know them well enough to know they are telling the truth or not.... but, it seemed pretty convincing to me)

I personally have caught 4 fish over 10 in the past year and 2 were on the AC Minnow (Delta), 1 on the Armageddon (Delta) and 1 on a DD-22 (10.8 my biggest - Clear Lake).

I have seen many fish over 12 lbs being caught on top water lately as well.. keep chucking the baits I mentioned above and you will get one over 10 on Clear Lake.
User avatar
Joe W.
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Santa Cruz Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Joe W. »

Tom, does the AC minnow stay on top or does it dive? How do you fish it if you don't mind me asking.
Guest

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Guest »

I fish it both on top and cranking it down like a crank bait.
It's one of the best big baits made... still after all these years!
User avatar
Joe W.
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Santa Cruz Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Joe W. »

TomLeogrande wrote:I fish it both on top and cranking it down like a crank bait.
It's one of the best big baits made... still after all these years!
So it stays on top at slower speeds? How deep will it dive?
Guest

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Guest »

About 2 feet at faster speeds.
User avatar
Otay Michael
Posts: 1419
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:27 am
Location: Del Mar, California
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Otay Michael »

I've a 8.25 on a Rebel Popper and this one over 7 recently on a buzzbait. I'm getting a lot of 4's, 5's and 6's lately on Sammy's.


Image

My fist disappeared in it's mouth by the way.
Otay Michael

All I need to get into the money would be the four I usually get along with a 20# kicker.

Own no boring art: www.seewald.com
Name written in the book of life.
Larry Hemphill
Posts: 782
Joined: Thu May 26, 2005 8:08 pm
Location: Yuba City, California
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Larry Hemphill »

Big bass will hit topwater if conditions are good. Just remember to get a good hookset but don't put too much pressure on a big topwater bass. The more pressure, the more likely she is to jump - and that is often the end of a of possible topwater trophy!
User avatar
gt5bass
Posts: 2253
Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 8:29 am

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by gt5bass »

Nah...Big fish don't eat topwater...

This 13+ is a fine example of how them big Girls don't eat topwater :twisted:
Image
This big ol' Girl totally inhaled it a 3:16 Wake Bait Jr. Kinda like a turbo toilet flushin :lol:
[i][color=green]It is what it is[/color] :|[/i]
User avatar
Joe W.
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Santa Cruz Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Joe W. »

Nice fish! That thing is a pig.
froteur
Posts: 552
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:25 pm

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by froteur »

shaft,

these guys are all lying to you. topwaters do not ... repeat ... do not work for big bass. fish-chris is REALLy lying, everyone knows that you can't catch "any" big bass at night, let alone big bass on top water, of all things.

those guys that make the lunker punkers, 3;16, ms, ac's and so on are just trying to pull the wool over our eyes. all they want is our $$

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D
User avatar
gt5bass
Posts: 2253
Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 8:29 am

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by gt5bass »

Froteur,

you got me :oops: she was actually caught dropshotting a 3" piece of plastic on 2# test in 120' of water :?

Big fish don't eat (inhale) topwater baits, so don't ever throw them...burn all of them topwater baits...that way I can catch more :twisted:
[i][color=green]It is what it is[/color] :|[/i]
froteur
Posts: 552
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:25 pm

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by froteur »

gt5bass wrote:Froteur,

you got me :oops: she was actually caught dropshotting a 3" piece of plastic on 2# test in 120' of water :?

Big fish don't eat (inhale) topwater baits, so don't ever throw them...burn all of them topwater baits...that way I can catch more :twisted:
no ..... no ..... no .... don't burn them. that would be polluting. i think everyone should just send those baits to you and me, gt, so that we can "properly" use ... i mean dispose of them.

funny thing, though, is that my biggest fish of the year (so far) a 7-14 was caught on a little, little huddlebug on 6 pound test line (my dropshot rig - though i wasn't dropshotting the huddlebug) :D
User avatar
gt5bass
Posts: 2253
Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 8:29 am

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by gt5bass »

Fro,

I stand corrected...Yes send all your topwater baits to Fro and Myself and we will see that are properly used...err....ahhh...I mean disposed of :twisted:
[i][color=green]It is what it is[/color] :|[/i]
froteur
Posts: 552
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 4:25 pm

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by froteur »

gt5bass wrote:Fro,

I stand corrected...Yes send all your topwater baits to Fro and Myself and we will see that are properly used...err....ahhh...I mean disposed of :twisted:
good ... don't make me b-slap you again. :twisted:
User avatar
Johnny C
Posts: 1222
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 7:09 am
Location: Sonora, Ca
Contact:

Well just

Post by Johnny C »

ask my buddy Mr. Barrack..He has seen more toilet flushes than a mens room attendant. Lots of times them dam little eight and nines are just faster than the big ones in the wolf pack!
http://www.dobynsrods.com
User avatar
Gator
Posts: 3784
Joined: Tue May 03, 2005 1:15 pm
Location: Smithville, TN
Contact:

Re: Well just

Post by Gator »

Don't let them all lie to you. DO NOT FISH TOPWATER if you want to catch big fish. To make sure you follow my instructions, take every frog, popper, wakebait, buzzbait, spook, and every other topwater bait you have and mail it to me for sefekeeping. Don't trust Hub, he'll sell them for a 1/2 gallon of gas in his stakebed.
User avatar
swimbait
Posts: 460
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 10:12 am
Location: Danville, CA
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by swimbait »

Maybe I'm just kinda slow on the uptake or something, but standard top water baits have never caught anything big for me. My biggest spook fish is probably 4 and a half. My biggest frog fish is probably 4 and 3/4. Poppers are even worse, I used to actually really like throwing poppers and never caught anything over 3 and a half. Typically when I pick up a top water bait it's 1lber, 2lber, 1lber, 2lber.

Trout plugs on the other hand, most definitely get big fish. I would say though that getting a surface fish over 10 on a trout plug is a lot harder than getting one subsurface. On certain condition you can really catch them on stuff like MS Slammers, fished right on top, but it's not all the time. You gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em with the surface baits. So-cal guys get more of that kind of love IMO, but in Nor-Cal it's just not the same exactly.

So anyway, if the question is: do topwaters catch big fish? The answer of course is yes, but there's much more effective ways to get them for the majority of the year like subsurface swimbaits, jigs, and sight fishing.

I suspect that people get hung up on thinking topwaters are good for big bass because it's so FUN that when people get a big topwater fish, they tell a lot of other people. Pretty soon people get to thinking that it's a percentage method, which ... its not really on the majority of lakes.

Biggest fish on "topwater" for me was 13.8 on an MS Slammer. The fish barely made a ripple on the surface when she took it down, just a dimple. When I got the fish in, the entire 9" lure was inside it's mouth crosswise like a piece of corn :)
User avatar
Joe W.
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:38 am
Location: Santa Cruz Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Joe W. »

I know you got some good ones on the AC Minnow too.
Fish Chris
Posts: 730
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 3:22 am
Location: Suisun City, Ca.
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Fish Chris »

Hey Rob, I thought you got your 15.8 (your first DD bass) on a Slammer too.... No ? That was such a cool looking fish......

Peace,
Fish
G3 Boats
a Yamaha Boat Company

Okuma fishing tackle

TUF-Line by Western Filament

www.TrophyBassOnly.com
....or from here, find links to
Trophy Sportfish .com
and Fish Chris Photo .com
Kiss my Bass
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Nov 14, 2006 3:08 pm

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Kiss my Bass »

Fish Chris your right! Rob got his first DD off a Slammer...as you know his brain hasen't been working right lately!!!! :lol:


Kiss my Bass
User avatar
swimbait
Posts: 460
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 10:12 am
Location: Danville, CA
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by swimbait »

Yeah that was a Slammer fish, but I caught it reeling the bait about 3 feet under the water.
Fish Chris
Posts: 730
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 3:22 am
Location: Suisun City, Ca.
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Fish Chris »

That's funny, every time I start to reel fast enough to make my Slammer dive, I'm like, "Doh ! Too fast" and I slow down to get it back to the surface..... but I'll remember this in the future :-)

Fish
G3 Boats
a Yamaha Boat Company

Okuma fishing tackle

TUF-Line by Western Filament

www.TrophyBassOnly.com
....or from here, find links to
Trophy Sportfish .com
and Fish Chris Photo .com
Cooch

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Cooch »

I have to agree with Rob and Chris, YES, big fish will hit the topwater baits, but it's not like yer gonna go out and bang 3-10 big fish every trip, even if'n ya do hit the conditions right, it's just rare. If yer tossing buzzers, spooks, poppers, prop baits, horny toads and frogs, you'll git a lot of action fer sure, but yer percentage of big fish, those 8 and above, is prolly less than 25:1. Certainly of all the baits I mentioned, we have seen a lot more big fish, especially on the Delta and CLearlake, where guys are using frogs. These two are great places to present topwater to big fish, that are burried in dense cover.

If you are looking for those trophy sized fish on topwater, ya most definately need to "Bubba up" in yer bait selection. An MS SLammer is an excellent choice and anyone looking for that big topwater slurp, should have one! The big buzz right now, especially in SoCal and coming out of ICAST, is Black Dog's Lunker Punker! Their first model in the trout pattern, has been calling giant fish from them southern lakes since the begginning of the year. We are just now getting the indicatoions up here, how good this bait really is! If ya got the patience, the desire and the willingness ta fork out the cash for one of these two high dollar baits, ya need ta do so and git on yer local pond and start chuckin em! Our giant California strain bass will eat em!
User avatar
Johnny C
Posts: 1222
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 7:09 am
Location: Sonora, Ca
Contact:

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Johnny C »

Shaft check out the picture of the 11.24 I caught on a spook yesterday morning at 8 o'clock. It is in the photo section.
http://www.dobynsrods.com
Guest

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by Guest »

Not sure about you Cooch.... but, I've been catching them on the Lunker Punker for 4 months now - and mine is a trout pattern!

It's been my Big Fish bait (along with the 3:16 Wake Bait Jr.) all late spring and summer!
SHAFT
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:18 pm
Location: Santa Rosa /Lakeport Ca.

Re: Do big fish hit top water ?

Post by SHAFT »

Nice , that's what I'm lookin for , on my home water too !
Post Reply