In my earlier outlaw years of bassin' in west St. Louis county golf course ponds, subdivision lakes and landscape ponds on certain corporate campuses, traveling light was essential.  One rod, a pocketful of lures and I was fishing. 

As we age we get burdened and blessed with large tackle boxes, boats, electronics and years of experience that sometimes cloud our judgment on what to throw at the bass on any given day.  Most of the bass we have ever caught have been caught on a select lure or style of lure.  Our busy lives dictate far fewer trips to the water than we would like and less time to put a few in the boat.  We make a few choices, tie on our favorites and really do little changing on the water or between trips. 

Instead of a pocketful of lures we have the four or five that are tied on to our four or five rods in the boat.  The tournament guys came up with this one.  It is easier and faster to pick up a rod with a different lure tied on it than it is to tie a different one on,  thus we can maximize our time with lures in the water rather than tying a "double improved palmar knot" on the end of our line every new fishing situation we come across.  Certain lures sit in the box seldom used.  Many outings we might just as well have had our pocket full of lures because we only used four different ones anyway. 

My rules for using top water lures had been: 

• Low light (first and last half hour of the day or at night)
• glassy smooth water
• when fish are actively seen feeding on the surface

Top water bass fishing is so old fashioned.  That Jitterbug and Hula Popper in your box came from your grandpas tackle box.  Grandpa didn't know anything about modern ways and means of bass fishing.  Grandpa only used those lures because he didn't have a choice.

None of us can deny the thrill of a bass boiling on a top water lure but it is easy to push them back on our list when we have caught so many bass on all the other lures in our box.  Let us see if we can expand the number of situations in which we use top water lures.

Glassy smooth water

The picture in our minds of a popper sitting in the middle of disappearing rings on a glassy smooth lake surface at dawn just before Mr. Bucket Mouth makes it his breakfast is what dreams are made of.  This dream is as it should be, it makes sense.  Of course every bass in the lake knows about that pop on the silent surface and you know in your heart one of them is not going to let it get away unscathed.  Sometimes this dream comes true often times it does not.

A little chop on that surface or even a lot of chop and waves doesn't fit our perfect little dream.  We can't see that popper as easily as we could if there was a smooth surface so we assume the bass can't see or find it either.

I came to this realization a number of years ago when my brother-in-law came back from a business trip to Lake of The Ozarks.  This business trip included some recreation and the company paid his way on a little guided fishing excursion.  The guide took him to a place that was definitely not off the beaten path.  In fact the spot was the boating equivalent to standing on the shoulder of a super highway during rush hour, the tip of Horseshoe Bend mid afternoon.

Not only did they catch fish but they caught quite a few, and keepers too.  When I heard his recounting of the excursion and how they had to struggle to keep their footing in the boat and all the fish coming with surface lures I could not believe it.  This opened up another situation for me to try to use top water lures that I would not have thought of before.

LOW LIGHT

If the surface is choppy less light penetrates the surface.