Favorite topwater?

[summersoff]

It's snowing, I'm bored, so what is your favorite topwater?
I'll have to say the Stillwater Smack It. It cast well enough, its loud and obnoxious. My biggest gripe about them is they are a pain to find. Rarely are they on-line, and stores always seem to be out. Never in BPS, or Anglers (at least when I checked). I may have to resort to the Tsunami popper if I can't find a few more Stillwater's. I usually throw the small, may try the large this year.
One topwater I never like throwing are spooks. I love them from a boat or Shore, but the angle on the yak never works for me.
So what's your favorite topwater, it's almost Spring and we have to be ready.

[Oldbayrunner]

It's snowing, I'm bored, so what is your favorite topwater?
I'll have to say the Stillwater Smack It. It cast well enough, its loud and obnoxious. My biggest gripe about them is they are a pain to find. Rarely are they on-line, and stores always seem to be out. Never in BPS, or Anglers (at least when I checked). I may have to resort to the Tsunami popper if I can't find a few more Stillwater's. I usually throw the small, may try the large this year.
One topwater I never like throwing are spooks. I love them from a boat or Shore, but the angle on the yak never works for me.
So what's your favorite topwater, it's almost Spring and we have to be ready.

Here you go....http://www.fishermansheadquarters.co...ater-lures.htm
Currently I'm having a lot of fun with the Whopper Ploppers

[summersoff]

^^^^
I have to take a look at the the whopper popper, is that fished like a spook?
If you look closely at that Fishermans headquarters link, they are always out of stock of Smackits except one or two colors.

[Oldbayrunner]

I have to take a look at the the whopping poppers.
If you look closely Fishermans headquarters is always out of stock of snackits except one or two colors.

This is where I get mine, always have a lot of color selection http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/River...e-R2SWP13.html

[DanMarino]

I caught a couple of hundred bluegills fly fishing with a pink foam spider in 2016. Also got a few smallmouth bass and some fallfish.
Over the years caught a mess of smallies on a black/silver rebel pop-r.
White buzz baits also are fun.
I like the Lucky Craft wake tail 85 too for bass.

[Mark]

For conventional tackle I am partial to Rapala's Skitter Pop. However, I modify it to remove the trebles. I replace them with a single in-line hook on the tail of the lure. Here's the result:

P1020464.jpg

Note that I removed the middle hook entirely. I have caught largemouth bass and stripers with this very lure as configured, including my largest striper of last year, a 29 incher.

For topwater flies I use homemade foam poppers.

I use elongated flies like these for stripers:

P1000573.jpg H.jpg

Pickerels have also hit them in tidal creeks.

For fresh water bass, pickerels, bluegills and crappies, I make foam poppers with rubber legs:

A.JPG B.JPG C.JPG D.JPG

[brianisoutside]

^^^^
I have to take a look at the the whopper popper, is that fished like a spook?k.

It's kind of a buzz bait if reeled continuously and a spook or popper if paused but it doesn't dart side to side. I guess the best comparison would be a heddon torpedo.

My favorite top water is the old jitterbug.


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[J.A. Veil]

I do not throw topwater very often. I currently have one rod with Smack-It Jr. tied on. I bought that lure at Marty's -- they usually have them in stock. Like Mark, I removed both trebles and added a J-hook with hair to the rear. I recall a day last summer near the mouth of Eastern Bay when Mark was catching a few stripers on his popper. I picked up the Smack-It Jr rod and quickly nailed a 24" striper.

When I fish in Tampa Bay with a guide he uses a MirrOlure C-Eye Poppa Mullet for his topwater fishing. It is the same size as the Smack-It Jr. The MirrOlure website gives this information about that lure:

Poppa Mullet™ - Dual Action Lure that calls them in.

It Pops! It Walks! MirrOlure’s NEW surface lure, the Poppa Mullet™, offers two very effective top water actions. First, Poppa Mullet™ achieves a walk-the-dog action with ease. Second, you can easily fish this lure with a popping action. Both are equally effective on gator Trout, huge Redfish and trophy Snook


I have caught some large speckled trout on that lure. He gave me one to bring home. I plan to use the same hook replacement when I tie it on.

[Mark]

...I recall a day last summer near the mouth of Eastern Bay when Mark was catching a few stripers on his popper. I picked up the Smack-It Jr rod and quickly nailed a 24" striper.

I remember that day too.

Count on John to find the big one!

[rugbyfish]

I really like the poppa mullet, it casts like a bullet and has a nice action to it. That was my go-to topwater this summer.

[rwh]

I have had really good results with the Bomber Badonk-A-Donk saltwater grade for puppy drum and striper. 4" silver flash/pink/chartreuse. I always have a couple with me anytime I go flats fishing.

http://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-h2nin/...0.1280.png?c=2

[ronaultmtd]

Tsunami 5 inch black/silver popper is my favorite, no telling how many big, keeper stripers that thing has caught- but the paint is about completely gone...and it still works- although I have caught fish with the Whopper Plopper and the Chug Bug- caught a lot of stripers right at dark on the Chug Bug- big noisey, commotion causing popper... I fish top water a lot- usually keep a rod rigged with the popper...and I replace the trebles with in-line single hooks on my poppers

[summersoff]

Seems like a consentious to pick up some poppa mullets, they look very similar to smack-it's. And the whopper popper.
Anybody try the Lonely Angler wood poppers? I always have a soft spot for wood. Hopefully he will be at the Flea Market, I remember buying some spooks from him last time I was there.

[HeaveToo]

If I throw top water it is a fly. I have caught some bruisers, smallmouth, on poppers and lost a few monsters. What is really exciting is site casting a big smallmouth with a popper in very clear water. Or seeing a large smallmouth come up, in slow motion, and take the fly. That is some serious adrenaline when it goes right.

I have also had a few really nice Largemouth bass on poppers. I had a snakehead go after a popper a few times but never hooked it.

I will say that I was throwing an extra large Letort Hopper one summer in the Rappahannock. The water was slightly stained and I was wading so I never got a look at what took my fly but something took the Letort Hopper and took off like a freight train. I never did turn that fish. I have a feeling that it was one of those monster carp that you see patrolling the river from time to time. It was insane!

One of my favorite theories that I buy into is big fly, big fish. Yeah, there times when I want to break a skunk and I throw a small popper to catch anything that will bite, but other times I pull out the massive flies.

I tie a fly called a Shannon's Streamer. It is a huge white fly tied on a 2/0 hook. It is just below the surface and has a really cool action. It has caught some big smallies on the Potomac and I lost a monster last year. I watched the fish rise up and strike the fly. The mouth on that fish was HUGE. I had it on for five minutes before it jumped and spit the hook.

[gliebig]

Stillwaters and spooks.

Are there other lures?