Best Topwater Bass Lures 2024: Poppers, Walkers, Buzzbaits, and Frogs Reviewed
Topwater bass fishing produces the most visually spectacular strikes in freshwater fishing. A largemouth bass exploding on a surface lure at dawn is what gets anglers out of bed at 4:30 AM. This review covers the best topwater presentations for Connecticut bass in different cover types and conditions.
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BOOYAH Pad Crasher Frog
Hollow-body frog with dual hooks that collapse into the body on the strike, allowing hook penetration through thick cover. The Pad Crasher floats high, casts far, and produces explosive blowup strikes from bass hiding under lily pads and surface vegetation.Frog fishing technique: When the bass blows up, pause one beat before setting the hook. The bass is grabbing the frog, pausing, then turning it headfirst. Setting too early pulls the hooks before they're positioned for penetration.
Heddon Super Spook
The most recognized walking bait in American fishing — the 'walk the dog' action of the Super Spook is the textbook topwater technique. Casts far, covers water quickly, and triggers both reaction strikes and deliberate attacks from bass in open water.The walk-the-dog retrieve: tap-tap-pause, tap-tap-pause. The rod tip dips with each tap, sliding the lure side-to-side. Keep the rod tip low during the retrieve.
BOOYAH Buzz Buzzbait
Single-arm buzzbait with a squeaking clacker blade that produces a distinctive churn-and-squeak surface disturbance. One of the best buzzbait designs for CT bass — the squeak triggers bass that have ignored silent buzzbaits.Fish a buzzbait parallel to bank edges, over submerged weed lines, and past laydowns. Maintain contact with structure throughout the retrieve.
Buying Guide
Topwater Bass Lure Guide
Best conditions for topwater: - Early morning (dawn to 2 hours after sunrise): Bass are shallow and aggressive - Evening (2 hours before dark to last light): Second-best topwater window - Overcast days: Cloud cover keeps bass shallow longer than sunny days - Low pressure weather: Falling barometric pressure activates surface feeding - Avoid: Hot, sunny midday; choppy surface water that obscures the lure's action
Topwater technique guide by lure type: - Poppers: Twitch and pause. Cup-face spits water. Vary the pause length. - Walkers (Spook, Fluke): Walk the dog — rod tip down, rhythmic tap-tap-pause. - Buzzbaits: Steady fast retrieve just fast enough to keep the blade turning and creating surface disturbance. - Frogs: Slide over vegetation, pause in openings, twitch like a frog in the water. Pause at the blowup. - Prop baits: Twitch with short snaps, letting the props spin and create sound.
The pause is everything: The most common topwater mistake is not pausing long enough. A bass following a topwater lure often won't commit until the lure stops — the pause in place triggers the strike.
Hook setting for topwater: Don't strike immediately on seeing the splash. Pause a beat, feel the weight, then sweep the rod. Snapping at shadows and splashes results in pulled lures from fish that haven't been hooked yet.
Topwater, soft plastics, crankbaits, and jigs — comprehensive bass lure reviews for CT freshwater fishing. Subscribe to Hooked Fisherman.
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