Topwater Question

[Trainwreck]

Lately I've been throwing a lot more topwaters trying to catch bigger fish. Unless they're feeding aggressively I cant seem to hook up consistantly. I wait a second before setting the hook, but it doesn't always work. Could these be an irritation strike just slapping at it? If so what should I try, switching over to soft plastics or just keep annoying them with the top? It amazes me how a fish can hit a top with those treble hooks and not get hooked. Thanks, Matt

[kenny]

There are as many answers to this as there are topwater plugs. If they're not hitting it on "the fly" constant walking, then you have to try different pauses. If you just stop and wait they may hammer it, sometimes it's a really long pause, or try slight 1/2 step pauses in the middle of your walk. Sometimes I work it really slow maybe three times and stop, drag forward and stop then two or three walks and repeat. I just kind of "trick ***k 'em" into slamming it.
See the mullet.......be the mullet!

[shallowist]

Man, this is a question that has many answers. Sometimes the reaction that you get from trout isn't because they intend to kill the eat the topwater right then and there. some days they will take a swat at it and try to wound it, other days they are killing and eating in one stroke. Tops are like all lures, they require you to adjust based on the reaction that you get from the fish. Vary your retrieve frequently until you start getting results. For the most part, in the colder months, you will want to slow the retireve, and allow the lure to sit sometimes for an extended period of time. Trout will show some very interesting reactions to topwaters at different times. sometimes when you get a blow up they want it to sit still and will come back and hit again after 5 or 10 seconds, other days you have to keep it moving to keep they're attention. if you find that you are getting a lot of slaps and blows but not hooking, after varying the retrieve, try another color or different size or bait with a different sounding rattle.
Topwaters don't always yield great results, but if you are getting blow ups at least you know that you are in an area with fish. Sometimes they will just blow up and swim away, almost like they are agrivated. This might also mean that it just isn't dinner time yet. Another thing to remember is that the more you throw the tops the more fish you will catch on them. There are a ton of days in my logs that I caught fish on tops when they wouldn't seem to eat anything else. I throw topwaters more than any other type of lure, and for that reason, catch more big fish on them than I have on anything else.
Good luck on the quest for the big girls, you are looking at the best months of the year right now.

[Nwilkins]

Man, this is a question that has many answers. Sometimes the reaction that you get from trout isn't because they intend to kill the eat the topwater right then and there. some days they will take a swat at it and try to wound it, other days they are killing and eating in one stroke. Tops are like all lures, they require you to adjust based on the reaction that you get from the fish. Vary your retrieve frequently until you start getting results. For the most part, in the colder months, you will want to slow the retireve, and allow the lure to sit sometimes for an extended period of time. Trout will show some very interesting reactions to topwaters at different times. sometimes when you get a blow up they want it to sit still and will come back and hit again after 5 or 10 seconds, other days you have to keep it moving to keep they're attention. if you find that you are getting a lot of slaps and blows but not hooking, after varying the retrieve, try another color or different size or bait with a different sounding rattle.
Topwaters don't always yield great results, but if you are getting blow ups at least you know that you are in an area with fish. Sometimes they will just blow up and swim away, almost like they are agrivated. This might also mean that it just isn't dinner time yet. Another thing to remember is that the more you throw the tops the more fish you will catch on them. There are a ton of days in my logs that I caught fish on tops when they wouldn't seem to eat anything else. I throw topwaters more than any other type of lure, and for that reason, catch more big fish on them than I have on anything else.
Good luck on the quest for the big girls, you are looking at the best months of the year right now.

Green for your expertise

[lurefisher]

What we do when they are hitting the topwater and not taking it switch to the corkey toss it in there and she will swallow it.

[Trainwreck]

Thanks for the replies and info guys!

[shallowist]

sometimes the corky is the answer. sometimes it can be as simple as a change of the retrieve. It's a lot of experimentation. I always change retrieve first before changing baits. Second change would be color, then change the type of bait. top to sinking or tails.. Hope that helps.

[lurefisher]

If they are swipping at it and not taking it switch and drop that corkey in there
.

[lurefisher]

Many times i have seen the big blow up on my topwater and look to Sneeypete and say did you see that,he already switch to A corkey and say watch this chunks it right were i was and snag her,

[plugger]

LUREFISHER is right too. If they are just slapping it , put on a subsurface lure like a corky , corky devil, or broken back. Late one day coming in on my yak at S Deer IS years ago , I tossed a top in a little V shaped depression in the shell and got repeated blow ups. I remembered reading in an article about this very thing. Put on a broken back and immediately hooked and boated a 5 # trout.