Today I experience the first decent top water bite of the season. The numbers were a little low today but I was forcing it a little because I’m testing some custom baits for the Centre Sportsman TV show. I have about 15 prototype hard baits that I’m testing. The bait selection includes top water poppers, shallow crankbaits, deep diving crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, and some minnow baits.
I tried to give some water time to each of the baits. The water was low and clear. It was definitely not a crankbait day though. I landed 7 smallmouth ranging from 12 to 14 inches. I lost two big smallmouth on was probably around 17 inches and the other was definitely over the 18 inch mark.
Time fished
6:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Weather Conditions
- Sunny
- 75 degrees
Water Conditions
- visibility 5+ feet
- Lower than normal for this time of year
- water temperature in low 70′s
- Lots of weed growth in this section of river
Baits Used
- top water popper
- 4″ stick worm
- various crankbaits
The top water popper produced all but a couple of the bass. I lost two big fish because I couldn’t keep up with them as they charged toward my kayak…bummer!! Many times fisherman overwork a popper. Today the fish like the bait but wanted a more subtle presentation. I tried to do three or so very light pops with just enough wrist snap to make a nice “puff” of water in front of the bait. I also tried not to make the bait mover forward more the six inches or so during any series of pops. I think this was a critical piece of the presentation today.
Fish Caught
- 7 smallmouth landed ranging from 12 inches to 14 inches
Comments on Pattern
There was a decent top water bite so I stuck with it. They really like the custom popper I was throwing. Here’s agreat tip. If fish like your lure/color combination of your top water bait, typically they will be caught on the front hooks. Conversly, if the fish are short striking or barely connecting on the back hook you may want to make an adjustment. I’ll typically first change the color of the top water bait to see if I can get a better response. Sometimes a change in size of bait is warrented as well. Today the fish responded to the color I was throwing…not question there.
Most of my fishing took place on a long bend fairly slow moving bend in the river. Most fisherman were working the outside of the bend in the deeper water. It wasn’t producing very many fish tough. I decided to hit the inside of the river bend for two reason. First, nobody was fishing it. Second, the inside of the bend still had a significant amount of shade in the late morning. The deeper spots on the inside of the bend produced a lot of follows and strikes. This told me that I was definitely fishing in the right place! Overall, it wasn’t a bad day on the river. I was joined by at least 20 boats today because of a tournament near Lewistown. There was a lot of boat traffic and I was still able to land some smallmouth!
Juan, thanks for testing the baits! We want to design lures that catch fish, not fishermen. Each bait will be designed and fine tuned for a specific body of water and species of fish. Keep an eye out for the Centre Sportsman Lure Kits.
Scott
No problem Scott. The poppers I tested really worked well! The design is excellent and really pushes a lot of water even with lighter more subtle pops.