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The tackle required varies dependant upon conditions, however, I believe
that bass can be caught all day
long on a top water lure. For me, a small arsenal of top water lures
is a must, but remember to alternate them
to match the changing mood of the fish. I prefer a 6 and * to 7-foot
bait casting rod with 15lb test line.
Whenever possible before using any store purchased lure, I always
change the hooks to a premium hook
such as Gamakatsu ¨. I have seen too many hooks straighten or break
from a large fish, or the hook been
thrown, because they were not sharp enough.
I will often start with the buzzbait. This lure comes with single,
double, treble and in-line, blade
combinations. For Long Island I like to use smaller buzzbaits, but
that is not to say that a large six or eight
inch buzzbait with loud blades will not produce. Correctly tuned
buzzbaits should NEVER run straight. If it
does, something is wrong, fish do not swim in straight lines and
neither should your buzzbait. Bend the
propeller or propellers to arch the retrieve in the water. The more
splash and noise it makes, the more fish will
see it and attack it. Start your retrieve quickly. After a few casts
if you are not getting any bites, slow down
the retrieve until a fish swirls near the bait* or strikes it. This
is the bass telling you at what speed they want
their meal moving.
Next come top water poppers. This name is used to cover a large
group of surface lures with cupped faces
that give the "popping" sound. This lure spits water when
retrieved with small downward jerks of the rod tip
toward the water surface. The dimension of this lure is important.
Make sure you know the size and colors of
the baitfish that live in that body of water you are fishing. Referred
to in fly fishing as "matching the hatch",
your lure color and size plays an important role on bright sunny
days when the sunlight reflects off the body
and flashes on the surface of the water. On overcast days, color
is not so important, as the bass do not get
to see much more than the outline of the bait and will make a decision
to either ignore the bait, or strike at it.
Again, if the fish swirl at the bait* you should be prepared to
drop the rod you and use a floating plastic worm
(see below).
The floating worm is often overlooked as a top water lure, but can
be deadly when fish will not take a larger
top water offering. If fish continue to swirl near the buzzbait
or popper, but will not strike it, pitch a brightly
colored worm (pink or yellow works well) and chances are the bass
will swallow this shape offering more
readily.
Next come the "spook" baits. Zara Spook¨ and Zara Puppy¨
or similar cigar shaped lures. (Often I will
increase the size of the hook from a 1/0 to a 2/0 with this lure).
The best method of retrieval is "walking the
dog"'. This snapping, twitching and slow line retrieval combination
takes some practice but once mastered
can be deadly when top water action is at its height. When bass
are chasing shad to the surface, this lure
should be cast directly on top of the fish, keeping the boat a good
distance from the area of activity. Casting
accuracy is vital, as a badly placed cast will waste precious moments
until you can cast again. To practice
your casting in your backyard or in a park, use a rubber weight
in place of the lure. I often use an old car tire
or a bucket as a target and practice for an hour a day.
When a fish takes a top water offering, WAIT. Let the fish take
the lure, feel the weight of the fish and then
set the hook. All to often, the initial reaction is to strike, but
this often pulls the lure out of the mouth of the
fish. When the fish are biting, I usually count s l o w l y to three,
then set the hook.
Surface fishing spinner baits and jerkbaits often catch fish. Again
start with a fast retrieve and slow it down
till the fish tell you what they want.
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