Which topwater do you think I should use? I fish around a ton of wood. I fish in water that is about 1-2ft of visibility. My water has lots of small bass. What I mean by that is most of them are 3/4lb to a 1lb.
Dont know which will catch more fish but nothing is funner than buzzbaits .
For me in that situation and sticking with a top water as you mentioned, I'd throw a pad crasher jr and/or bronze eye frog jr.
I'd get to the heart of the cover and not worry about treble hooks of the poper and keep in the strike zone much longer compared to the buzz bait. Just my preference.
Depends how they are acting. I've had days that they would kill one and not the other. Throw one for a bit and if you don't like the results, throw the other.
Around wood I'd probably throw the buzzbait more. I like to fish popr's in more open water and less "cover", unless the cover is submerged a few feet.
If you want to leave it in a place for a long time, then go with the Popr l, but a buz would be good around wood I would think
my favorite place to fish poppers is in wood actually, they produce tons of bass and most of them are decent sized. Just don't cast on top of a stump and you'll be fine
I tend to only fish buzzbaits around dock (which I tune them to run under them), or around trees that just have branches in the water. Either way, nothing beats the witnessed strike on a topwater.
Buzzbaits are awesome, but I love using poppers. You can get real imaginative with your use of them, stopping, starting, letting it sit still, wiggling it a little. I love a good old Hula Popper for some topwater action.
Popper.
My hook up percentage is sooo much higher with a popper, that I prefer using them over buzzbaits.
for all the reasons above i like poppers. i like to throw buzz baits near docks and in open water and poppers around any cover.
I'd be fishing the buzzbait, mainly because it doesn't snag on things very easily and it attracts bigger fish for me. If they aren't in a chasing mood I'd have no problem fishing a popper. Most likely I'd have a jig rod in my hand in your situation though. I'm one of the few that prefers a solid thump on a jig over an explosion on the surface.
Try them both.
I'm in the popper camp myself, pop and pause rules.
On 2/3/2015 at 3:21 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I'm one of the few that prefers a solid thump on a jig over an explosion on the surface.
Wow I've never met a person like that. Interesting.
On 2/3/2015 at 8:24 PM, Green Trout said:Wow I've never met a person like that. Interesting.
Yep, not that I don't enjoy topwater, but a thump on a jig or plastic is just electric to me.
Popper. You can vary the retrieve each cast to find which they want. Around wood, its less likely folks have been throwing treble hooked lures in fear of loosing them. The bass are less likely to have seen the popper there.
Buzz bait covers more water and I find if they are hittih topwater they don't care of its dead or moving . I do a lot of spinner bait waking near docks and submerged timber so I like a blade bait around wood
pop'r I dont throw buzzbait much but my buddy does and tears em up. I am a frog guy when it comes to topwater
There is a time /condition /place/presentation for every lure -Don't get me wrong no one throws the buzz bait more than I but the popper is a killer bait as well. I do not like calm water conditions for the popper-I like some chop on there -I often work in more erratic than anyone as well -same with the spook. I believe it triggers strikes that you might not normally provoke.
I love both, but my go to bait (if the conditions are right) is a pop-r. I've caught more fish on that bait than anything else. If the fish are bedding/picky i'll throw a buzzbait and see if I can't get them going.
I'll also use a buzzbait when there is some sparse weeds that a pop-r can't go through. Anything heavier than that it's frog'n time.
Try both, you'll find out what the bass prefer on any given Sunday.
On 2/3/2015 at 3:32 AM, long island basser said:For me in that situation and sticking with a top water as you mentioned, I'd throw a pad crasher jr and/or bronze eye frog jr.
I'd get to the heart of the cover and not worry about treble hooks of the poper and keep in the strike zone much longer compared to the buzz bait. Just my preference.
x2
The choice between a popper and a buzzbait hinges mainly on the current disposition of bass.
If I believe the bass are active, then I'd opt for the area coverage of a buzzbait.
If I want the lure to linger in the strike zone, then a popper gets the nod.
In short, the bass make that decision.
Roger
I throw a popper I have never caught anything on a buzzbait. Will try again this year but will switch to a popper a spook or a prop bait. I have never caught anything on frogs or buzzbaits.
I fished buzzbaits more last year just because of the wind. Much easier to contol and you don't have to worry about the line getting over a snag.
On 2/4/2015 at 6:00 AM, Bassguytom said:I throw a popper I have never caught anything on a buzzbait. Will try again this year but will switch to a popper a spook or a prop bait. I have never caught anything on frogs or buzzbaits.
Tom, you might try chucking a hollow frog or buzzbait during the 'Post-Spawn' period,
it generally offers the best topwater bite of the year
Roger
Of the buzz baits I've used compared to my poppers I can cast the poppers farther. Seems to me the longer the cast the more water I'm covering. Not only do I think I'm covering more water but doing it in fashion where I'm giving a bass more of an opportunity to focus, I feel I get many more strikes. Not that buzz baits don't work, but the bass have to be in an aggressive mood, IMO they are more often passive than aggressive.
Once the water starts warming fast, usually in April here , I will throw a buzzbait { Lunker Lure } almost every trip for at least a little while no matter the weather or water quality.