Turkey Swamp Bassin'

[Skunk City]

Topwater is hit or miss, even at night. In the North Jersey spots where I fish, topwater only seems to work from approximately an hour or so before sunset, through the night, and then until about 10am, depending on the heat. From 10am-6pm, it shuts off, as I've never landed anything on topwater between those times. My 2 cents...

[AJFISH13]

Jitterbugs need to be reeled in slow to medium. Reel them too fast, they skip, reel too slow they don't make enough noise. Used to use Jitterbugs a lot. Right now the topwater bite has been from 5-7 am and if you can get out there, dusk is usually good. Topwater fishing is AWESOME when they are feeding. You need clouds for a good midday topwater bite. Dragonflies also help since the fish come straight out of the water when they are feeding on them. This is all from experience. I have an article on topwater fishing in the tips section. Good luck.

[Moz]

I caught my first bass last year on a jitter-bug that's been in my tackle-box for over 20 years. Top water offers a lot of excitement, but not much in the consistent results category.

I do however find that a popper does draw curious bass in. I've had a few instances this summer after using a popper for a couple of casts I quickly get a bite or hook-up after switching over to a plastic worm.

[fish45]

Jitterbugs are at times an awesome topwater choice. I can't comment on fishing them at Turkey Swamp, however early a.m. in the summer and at night at Hopatcong have been great. Lake Champlain is a whole different animal compared to any public lake in Jersey. If you can't catch bass in Champlain take up another sport. Recentley Champlain was rated by touring Bass Pros as one of the top 10 bass destinations in the U.S.