Topwaters During "Clear Skies"?

[kro]

I've seen some reports and pictures on 2cool over the last month or two talking about topwaters, and some of the pictures look to have been taken under a sunny sky. I know that low light/cloudy conditions are good times to use a topwater, but I was curious to read any info that you all may have concerning catching trout/redfish on topwaters during pretty clear cloud conditions.


Thanks in advance!

[clint623]

I don't see why not, as long as there's good tide movement and the fish are actually there then it really doesn't matter what the sky looks like.
I've caught many limits on tops on blue bird days.

[WRECKER]

When it's overcast, I'll tie on a Gary Coleman spook jr or a darker color. When it is bright I'll opt for a clown, blue/chrome, etc with some flash. I will tie on a top anytime!

[southpaw]

Originally Posted by WRECKER

When it's overcast, I'll tie on a Gary Coleman spook jr or a darker color. When it is bright I'll opt for a clown, blue/chrome, etc with some flash. I will tie on a top anytime!

x2 something flashy on blue bird days. If the water is also really clear I'll go for something in bone with chart or other bright colors or something translucent. Okie shad is a killer color in clear water on a clear day.

[kro]

Thanks for all the info guys! I'm going to be fishing East Matagorda Bay in a few weeks, and I'm anxious to throw a topwater (since I figured out how to work a Super Spook Jr. after never having used one).

[Spook]

From Maine to Mexico, topwater lures are excellent on bright, sunny days -- as someone else has said -- if there are fish around and are feeding within 1 to 40 feet of the surface.

As other posters wrote, lures with bright, shiny, or light colored bottoms are a great choice on bright sunlit days. So are colors that mimic the preferred food of the fish you are targeting at that time of the year (for example, plugs that look like menhaden, mullet, mackeral, silversides, etc.). Chartreuse, schoolbus yellow, and some greens are colors that biological research suggests are best identified by some gamefish.

At night, darker colors generally work better. One exception: the Heddon Super Spook in Black Shiner Color (black over silver) works great both day and night. Why I don't know. (Although a plug manufacturer friend of mine says that "the bottom colors of most lures are to catch the fish, the top colors are to catch the fisherman.")

I have been fishing topwater lures for about 50 years now, and for the last ten years, about 90% of my fishing is with walk-the-dog type lures of various sizes, from Heddon Super Spooks to lures larger than Heddon's Super Magnum Spook.

I've kept a pretty complete daily log over the years, and I think that these observations are correct:

1. Fish first look at it topwater lures because of movement, vibration (including rattle noise), lure size, and lure behavior.

2. Fish will strike at or tail slap topwaters not only to eat them but also because of aggression or curiosity.

3. Adding a scent (fish oil or similar attractant) to the topwater lure will increase the likelihood of aggressive strikes and hookups. Often, fish will hit or tailslap a topwater and miss, and then decide leave it alone. I've found that fish are more likely to strike at a topwater repeatedly if the plug has been scented.

4. Especially in bright daylight. Large (2.5-7 oz) topwaters that resemble large prey species work well for many fish, including tarpon, mahi, blacktip sharks, and tuna. Fishing with spinning gear, I tagged and released 109 BFT under 100 pounds last year but, for giggles and five seconds of adrenaline rush, I've often cast hookless big spooks with spinning gear and 30 or 50 pound test line to pods of tuna in excess of 600 pounds. The big tuna grabbed the lures just like the small fish.

5. The basics are important: no swivels or clips, a fluorocarbon leader, a loop knot to the plug, and sharpened hooks. (I'm too lazy to keep any fish, so I've crushed or ground off all barbs and haven't noticed any difference in hook-ups or lost fish.)

[grman]

One of the best top water bites I had last year was at noon in late July , hot, hot , hot. In 8 ft of water.

[kro]

Great info Spook! And thanks for the comment grman!


Here's what I have right now:

1. Super Spook Jr. (Bone)
2. Super Spook Jr. (Silver with a Chartreuse back and belly)
3. Super Spook (Translucent with a black back and black dots on the sides - colored at home)


From what I've been reading, and from what I encountered over Spring Break, the water has been pretty stained in EMB. Would it be a good idea to use a dark colored topwater given the water clarity, even if it's clear/sunny?

[kenny]

I caught & released 20+ very solid trout this afternoon from 4:30-7:00 under sunny skies. Jimmy Houston SS jr. did the damage!

[Spook]

Generally (and my experience may not mean much), I've found that the water color (visibility) is a consideration distinct from the day/night color choice. Typically, on dark or moonless nights, dark plugs produce more and are more visible to most fish. On full or bright moon nights, white, yellow, and chartreuse plugs are better.

At night and in low visibility water, scenting plugs with oil or other attractants, slowing retrieve speeds (especially with larger lures), and controlling plug action become more important. As the fish depend more on vibration, patterns of movement, and scent in low visibility conditions, these are bigger factors.

Here are some photos of topwater colors (1) and sizes (2) that have produced well for me. In the second photo, a chartreuse Heddon Super Spook is in the middle for relative size comparison.

1: http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/a...rigger/111.jpg

2: http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/a...trigger/AA.jpg