Try Topwater Soft-Plastic Lures For Bass

You don't always need to flip pockets in heavy weeds to catch bass. In fact, one of my preferred options for uprooting largemouth from heavy cover is throwing soft-plastic topwater lures.

These lures can be rigged to be virtually weedless and their soft bodies make them more lifelike to bass than hard-plastic lures. Although flipping can be fun, there's nothing like a bucketmouth exploding at the surface, separating lily pads and sending slop flying. Here's how to best use topwater soft-plastics for bass.

Fishing Cover

You can use surface lures in shallow water where you would also flip jigs. Lily pads, slop, weed mats, shorelines, and sunken logs are all prime areas for topwaters. In bright sunlight bass seek shade, and will often move to weed cover. If the water conditions are calm, using a topwater to probe cover can be an excellent choice. Furthermore, many anglers overlook low-light conditions (especially dusk) when bass fishing. I've had some of my biggest bass come out of heavy weeds just as the sun was setting.

Lures To Use

Frogs, rats, lizards, and worms are some of the lures I prefer to throw for weedy topwater action. Most plastic frogs or rats are pre-rigged with hooks that are flush with the lure's body, creating a weedless lure. Floating lizards and worm bodies also can be Texas-rigged. Worms can also be fished wacky-style hooking the worm through the midsection. When twitched, the worm bends in a U shape and then straightens on slack line.

How To Work The Lure

Working your lures in heavy cover is easy. You want to create commotion on the surface to attract attention, and then make the lure appear vulnerable to trigger a strike. I allow the lure to pause for at least 20 seconds (sometimes a minute if I know a big fish is in the area) after the cast when the lure first hits the surface. Next, I usually give it a quick, short twitch, and then let it sit still. If a bass has come to investigate the initial splash, but has yet to hit, a small twitch can trigger a strike. The small movement keeps the lure in the immediate area so there is less chance of a bass missing the target.

Next, I usually switch to a stop-and-go retrieve. In thick pads or weeds, I may slowly swim the lure over the top of them and then pause right at the edge of a hole. Sometimes bass will hit at the edge of a pocket, while others grab the lure after a few short splashes in the opening.

A productive tactic on some lures, such as rats or Texas-rigged floating lizards, is to lightly twitch your rod without reeling in slack to make the lure move from side-to-side in the same place; in other words, a walk-the-dog motion, but without forward movement. This action can be an excellent tactic when your lure is in a large pocket that you know holds a fish.

Use Heavy-Action Gear

Fishing thick weeds and slop requires heavy-action gear. I rely on long flipping sticks around 7-1/2 feet for leverage, and high gear-ratio reels to haul bass out of weeds, preventing them from burying themselves in the vegetation, and spitting the hook.

Twenty-pound-test mono or 30-pound-test superbraids provides enough strength for fishing weeds. Some lures come pre-rigged with hooks while others require rigging. In most cases, a 2/0-4/0 offset worm hook will let you Texas-rig lizards, worms, and other floating lures you may want to fish. Regular hooks, in 2/0 and 3/0 sizes, will suffice for wacky-rigging worms. Don't use too heavy wire of a hook when rigging lures, as it may cause your lure to sink too rapidly. An ultra-slow fall can be a deadly trait on a soft-plastic topwater, but if the lure falls too fast, you'll struggle keeping it on the surface and have difficulty creating a disturbance on the surface.

Finally, when fishing topwaters, it's important to wait to feel the fish or watch your line pull taut before setting the hook. Bass can erupt on the surface when hitting topwaters, but overly eager anglers sometimes pull the lure away from fish at the first sign of an explosion. Pause a few seconds before setting the hook and then get the fish out of the weeds. In the event a bass misses the lure, patiently wait a moment, and then begin your retrieve again. They'll likely hunt it down in no time.