The shallows

[Striper_MIKE]

This is my first fall season with a yak and I've heard people talk a lot about increased success in the shallows and a better-than-average topwater bite that can be expected. My question is ... where would you go (and is anyone headed out some time in the next 2 weeks in the early AM on a weekday so I could join)?

[kayak456]

go in any river any launch somewhere,ive only every tried south river. start fishing around 5 30 in the evening. buy a stillwater smackit and a bomber badadonkadonk(its a lure). then tie 20 inches of 25 pound flouro to your 8 pound braid using a uni knot. then tie on the smackit if its windy,bomber if its calm. cast near the shore or where the water looks different from other places, IF YOU SEE MENHAEDEN JUMPING ,LEAVE. everytime the menhaeden are out i catch no fish on top. find an area where you see no menhaeden(it has been best for me) cast pop and bam! fish on

[chex]

Striper_MIKE, I've never caught a topwater striper, so I'm curious too.

kayak456, have you ever tried buzzbaits for topwater striper action? Like the type largemouth bass fishermen use. I wonder if that would work...

[jsquare]

Kayak456 gives good advice that matches what I have heard. I, too, have been trying to get on the topwater bite. I can only fish evenings during the week though. What body of water are you looking to get out on?

[CB kayak 02]

I'm gonna try some jetties around annapolis hopefully a couple evenings this week. I'll let you know if I have any success..

[kayak456]

never tried buzzbaits,you got to use lures bigger than 4 inches.weekdays are better since there is not as much boat traffic

[DOGFISH]

Kayak456 gives good advice that matches what I have heard. I, too, have been trying to get on the topwater bite. I can only fish evenings during the week though. What body of water are you looking to get out on?

Evenings tend to be good or even the best for top water. Find an area where depth comes up to a flat. That seems to always be a good bet. Then follow Kayak 456's advice on lure action. The closer you get to dark, if you are in a good spot, you will likely see fish making surface strikes. Good luck.

[Memory Maker]

Striper_MIKE, I've never caught a topwater striper, so I'm curious too.

kayak456, have you ever tried buzzbaits for topwater striper action? Like the type largemouth bass fishermen use. I wonder if that would work...

used to use white 3/8 oz buzzbaits over the susky flats high tide in the summer decades ago with great success ..........

[chex]

used to use white 3/8 oz buzzbaits over the susky flats high tide in the summer decades ago with great success ..........

Neat, thanks for the info. I can't imagine why it wouldn't attract a hungry striper's attention with all that buzzing and splashing...

[dhawk]

when i was younger long before my kayak I used to wade out in rock creek on the north side and catch stripers with one of my bass buzz baits. Actually forgot about that technique it was always fun cant remeber what time of year it was but i will have to try it out again

[kayak456]

use mono for spooks and braid for poppers

[Redfish12]

Shallow water with structure with deeper water (more than 8ft is usually what I look for) nearby. I use full sized spooks or chuggers (smackits or popper style) and generally prefer the spook. I'm not a topwater expert by any means but I have had some success this year on it for sure. One of the biggest things to remember is to keep the retrieve erratic. Pop pop pop pop pause pop pause pop pop pop paaaause, same goes for the spook. Sometimes you can do no wrong and other times it's really specific. I had fun in MA catching them on top when I couldn't see the plug, really helps you get the technique down for waiting till you feel weight to set the hook. Medium action (not power) rod will give you more action on the plug and mono will also help you keep from pulling the plug from the fish.

I've been a topwater hater for a long time and only just last year caught the bug due to snakeheads and rock. I was a dry-fly guy growing up so it's nice to get back to the visual strikes!

[MDFishin]

Im guna try some topwater during the evening/nighttime this weekend. I like spooks, and have some big Rebel Pop-Rs, but I just bought some lunker city Slug Gos some 7.5" and 2-12". They are just GIANT soft plastics, I used to love Bass Assasins in freshwater hopefully these will be as effective.

[dsiekman]

Im guna try some topwater during the evening/nighttime this weekend. I like spooks, and have some big Rebel Pop-Rs, but I just bought some lunker city Slug Gos some 7.5" and 2-12". They are just GIANT soft plastics, I used to love Bass Assasins in freshwater hopefully these will be as effective.

I've got a few of those, too, and have been thinking about rigging them wacky and tossing them under docks. Anybody tried that yet?

I gave top water the old college try last night, but got no love. Looks like I'm going to need a private lesson from Kayak456! I hit shallow points, shoals, and shore line with a black smack-it with white feather tail. There were a few times I had fish jumping within casting distance, but I'm pretty sure they were just taunting me.

[DOGFISH]

I've got a few of those, too, and have been thinking about rigging them wacky and tossing them under docks. Anybody tried that yet?

I gave top water the old college try last night, but got no love. Looks like I'm going to need a private lesson from Kayak456! I hit shallow points, shoals, and shore line with a black smack-it with white feather tail. There were a few times I had fish jumping within casting distance, but I'm pretty sure they were just taunting me.

I hate it when fish are taunt.