Think about it. Of all the bass you have ever caught, which hits do you remember? Chances are it is the churn and shower of water as a bass hits on top. Seeing and hearing a bass slam a topwater bait sticks with you for a long time.
Two bites on top will live in my mind forever. When I was 12 dad was paddling me around the bank in Germany Creek in an old wooden boat. I cast a floating Rebel minnow near a button bush and a bass swirled at it. I didn’t react, either from shock or design, and let the plug lay there and twitched it. A five pound bass came back and ate it.
That was my first five pounder and dad bragged on me for knowing what to do to get it to hit again. Maybe I did actually know how to react. That is gone from my mind but I can still see both hits over 45 years later.
Another time I definitely did not know what I was doing. About two years later two of my friends, my little brother and I were in the same old wooden boat fishing the mouth of a cove while our dads were back in the cove throwing Hula Poppers. They didn’t want us too close.
I cast a Devil’s Horse toward a button bush on a clay bank and made a very bad cast. I was reeling it in as fast as the handle on my Mitchell 300 would turn, churning it across the top, when a seven pound bass slammed it. Ws talked for months about how crazy my first seven pounder was for hitting like that. I just wish I had known I had invented the buzz bait!
A hard plastic topwater plug is one of the most exciting to fish. Right now throwing a popper early in the morning around mayfly hatches is a fantastic way to get your heart stopped. Oconee is my favorite lake for this kind of fishing.
You should see mayflies flitting around and laying eggs on the surface of the water, and bream eating them. Throw your popper right on the bank and bloop it back slowly. You want to imitate a bluegill sucking in a mayfly. The bass want to eat the bream.
Buzzbaits will also give you a thrill when a bass slams them. It is hard to beat West Point for a great buzzbait bite. Start in May back in the coves throwing your buzzbait near any cover you see. Fish as slowly as you can work it and keep it on top.
As the water warms work more around the mouths of coves and main lake points. Fish the buzzbait a little faster since the bass will be more active. Be sure to use heavy line for the hard hit.
More subtle topwater bites are still exciting. Throw a floating worm around docks on Lake Hartwell and work it slowly. You will see the bass come out and suck it in. Anytime you can see the bite it adds to the thrill. Just don’t set the hook too fast. Wait until the fish actually eats your bait!
Throw a topwater bait and make some memories.
