Addicted to Topwater

[nate01]

I have been addicted to the summertime topwater bite for about a month. Been hitting some of NJ's rivers for smallmouth action mostly on torpedo's. This past weekend I switched it up and hit a local lake chock full of weeds. First fish was a 14 inch largemouth on a popper. Next was a pickerel that destroyed my weedless frog. The next 14 inch largemouth didn't seem to mind a mangled frog, though. Switched to subsurface lures as the sun got high and picked up 12 more fish, mostly largemouth and all smaller than the early morning fish.

[23cardinal]

Great day- and sounds look a good summer-
Did u hook the pickerel- or did he cut it up?

[nate01]

I got him...Knew it was pickerel as soon as I saw a wake come from the lily pads straight for the frog. Picked up a new one today but I usually only use hard baits in lakes with toothy fish...somehow the buzzbait was nowhere to be found. Still holding a grudge as that lure was a good producer. All fish released as usual.

[icebadger]

topwatermania, it's addicting.nice catches. hate when those slime darts tear up your stuff,but thats fishin. have you tried heddon crazy crawlers or zara puppys,also i like chug bugs too.

[AndyS]

Right down to the fly rods with poppers !! It doesn't get much better !

[JDTuna]

Topwater is always a blast! Nice work.

[steelhead52]

Nate, what are your preferred lakes? I am also a popper-guy, but I find that it works best in clear water (not to mention cloudy, calm, low-pressure days -- a pretty tall order).

[nate01]

I agree those conditions are best but I don't hesitate to throw topwater in the weediest, nastiest murky lakes I can find on sunny days either. When I was in college I took a late summer trip to the Rideau River basin in Ontario, and it was covered in huge expanses of this hairy thick green floating algae. The only lure my buddy threw was a moss boss, which is basically a hunk of plastic shaped like a wide spoon with an upturned hook, and he just dragged it across the muck all day. The bass would blast through this thick mat and blow giant holes in it to grab the lure...it really opened my eyes to how awesome topwater fishing can be. I live in Union County and fish anywhere I can reach in an hour or less, both from shore and in a small boat, rivers and lakes. Preferred lakes are Hopatcong, Musconetcong, Westons Mills, Carnegie, Farrington, Mercer, Mountain, Swartswood, Greenwood, Ramapo, Spruce Run, Assunpink, Aeroflex, Wawayanda, Delaware Lake, Furnace Lake, as well as the local Union County spots. Tried Monksville once and got skunked haha. Jeez that's a lot of preferred lakes! I used to fish Surprise Lake in Union County a lot but since it was drained I've gotten out more.