Northwest Fishing Reports

I am going to try Fazon in Whatcom county this evening and was wondering if anyone has had much luck with topwater yet this year. I had a ton of fun last year in August throwing a frog (mostly little guys but still a blast) and was hoping to try that again. I haven't read many reports of people throwing frogs, buzz baits, poppers, or walkers so I was thinking maybe still a little early? Thanks.

Matt

SD, FYI you can start throwing top water baits once the water temps reach 62 + ... I would suggest without question to start out you first hour on the lake throwing top water .. And if you get cloudy cover all day keep that frog and buzzbait wet ! remember to stay patient on the frog bite wait for the fish to start pulling before setting the hook ... good luck bro .. BBD

Thanks for info. I really do have a problem waiting to feel the fish before I set the hook but I never have so much fun missing fish as I do fishing the top. One thing I have yet to try is following up a miss with a different bait like a worm, fluke, senko, etc. I have heard it can be deadly. Really appreciate the response and I will definitely let you know what happens.

I've been getting crazy hits on the frogs I'm tossin,..unfortunately they were all dinks,..still a blast,..but waiting for the "Monster-Outta-The-Salad" to hit,..BBD has some great tips! Keep tossin that line bro! BB

One really cool follow up bait I like to throw when buzz bait fishing is a flipping tube.....only shove a foam ear plug in hit so it floats, then run your hook "Texas" style so it's weedless. Keep one tied up (on a different rod) that's about the same color as whatever buzzbait you're throwing. If you get a blow up on the buzzbait but miss the fish, drop that rod and throw the tube bait out and let it float over the spot.... sometimes the follow up strike is just as aggressive!! It's pretty cool.

It's also a cool topwater to try by itself in weeds and open water, you can walk it like a spook, or crawl it over pads and grass beds..... Give it a try!

As for other follow up baits, it is hard to beat a senko!! Same deal, drop your first rod and toss the senko right into the spot where the bass made its wake, and let it sink, try not to move it.... the bass will almost always reinvestigate the area to see if it stunned any prey, and will 8 times out of 10 just start swimming off with your senko! Then nail em!

Fazon is a cool little lake, have fun!!

Fish your topwaters under lowlight times like early morning or sunset, or on heavy overcast days. As for weedless frogs, fish them over thick weed canopies. Bass under lilies feel secure and are often hiding to ambush prey. However, if there are alot carp slashing about under the pads, the bass will respond to the disturbances by moving to deep water. Then you will throw that frog all day without a rise because there is no one around to hit your lure.

I was fishing yesterday morning throwing a frog into thin pads and this massive wake literally lifted the frog a good 3 inches. It looked like a submarine pulled in under it and hit the brakes. I tossed in a few more times and finally hooked her but she shook the hook. She was probably close to 6 pounds, came out of the water twice and finally got loose. She was a brute and I'll definitely be back in a day or two to see if I can hook her again. I got a few more dinks hitting it, even in open water about 6' deep, so they're hitting topwater. Just gotta be patient and present in as much cover as you can find.

AaronE wrote:I was fishing yesterday morning throwing a frog into thin pads and this massive wake literally lifted the frog a good 3 inches. It looked like a submarine pulled in under it and hit the brakes. I tossed in a few more times and finally hooked her but she shook the hook. She was probably close to 6 pounds, came out of the water twice and finally got loose. She was a brute and I'll definitely be back in a day or two to see if I can hook her again. I got a few more dinks hitting it, even in open water about 6' deep, so they're hitting topwater. Just gotta be patient and present in as much cover as you can find.

There isn't much that can top bassin with a frog!

As most of you know I live down by Seward park.I have a bass question.Do lilly pads mean bass most likely?I too fished with this froggy looking lure with a lil cool propeller on it.I've never gotten a hit yet but after reading what BB said I see I was too early for top water.Now when you say bassin with a frog is that a frog looking lure or a real frog?

I use a Trophy ScumFrog made by Southern Lure Co. It's a frog-shaped hollow plastic lure with a double hook facing upward and protected from snags by the body of the lure. It has a rubber skirt that simulates legs.

I dated a person who fit that description.Hehehe :-)

racfish wrote:As most of you know I live down by Seward park.I have a bass question.Do lilly pads mean bass most likely?I too fished with this froggy looking lure with a lil cool propeller on it.I've never gotten a hit yet but after reading what BB said I see I was too early for top water.Now when you say bassin with a frog is that a frog looking lure or a real frog?

Hi racfish, Baitfish always hide in the stalks of the lilly pads - where there are baitfish, there are typically bass. Add a nice natural shade source, higher water temp which makes them active - and boom - great bass habitat (great for catching bass too)

The people here are referring to using a frog lure - typically these days are hollow plastic, with legs, or plastic bands ( like a jig ) Although the jitterbug used to be a predominate bait (frog look alike with huge lip to displace water ) the plastic type seem to be the preferred these days. They are fun to use, and after you get a nice one, it's pretty damn addicting.

Your lure is mostly likely called a prop bait, which works great in the areas described, expecially with a slight chop on the water. The wind disorients the baitfish, (and hides imperfections in lure, line, presentation, etc) and get the bass feeding, the propeller displaces water and imitates baitfish, frogs, mice, bird - etc, protein sources.

Remember to go shallow with the baits, even when it is hot as hell. I consistantly catch bass in ridiculously shallow water in the heat of the day.

Remember to experiment with presentation, that is the key. Follow up baits can't hurt if you miss a strike, try have 2 rods ready if you get serious. A 4" tube is one of my preferred follow ups.

And please, please, please C&R the bass! (Perch, Crappies, RBT taste better anyway!)

Not bad Paul,..not bad at all,..!

BB

SDAngler wrote:...so I was thinking maybe still a little early?

its never too early

Wow Paul Thank you very much.Like I said in another thread.Everyone or 99%of everyone is so very helpfull.Its no wonder fishing is such a great sport.Its the people that we learn from that make it this way.Again thanks to all of you.I ve also learned that any piggy I get will be CPR.

LOL,..CPR,..I like it,..isn't that a cavdad thing? Very cool,..LOL!

BB

I am a very big fan of topwater baits! They can bring the most excitement in my opinion. My favorite is the average popper but the drawback is you can really catch some dinks on regular sized poppers. I try to buy the bigger sized poppers or putting larger hooks on. The larger hooks keep most of the dinks off! I use poppers throughout the entire day. During mid-day throw your popper in shady areas. Frogs the same.

Buzzbaits are awsome for the thinner patches of pad fields.

Any walk the dogg baits are really fun early in the morning. If you find very active fish this time of day I like to really speed up the walk the dogg technique and watch the bass create a wake behind my bait just to catch up to it.

Anyone new to bass fishing must try some of the topwater baits that are out there!

I too am a big fan of Top-Water. Very exciting to see the swirls of boils when the Bass takes your Lure. I throw my Frogs all day long finding as much shade as possible. I'll do the typical and if the Bass misses the Frog or Crank, I'll follow up with something different casting in the same spot. It usually follows with a good hook-up more times than not. Top Water has been picking up for me just have to land some BIGGUNS. I'm also throwing some Big Swimbaits but haven't gotten a hit yet, I've only tossed them on one ocassion so we'll see, but definately throwin frogs as much as I can!

BH

Thanks to Basstrodamoss I got me some great gear.I went out saturday for a lil trial in Seward Park Shoreline.I had toon problems but only after I hooked and caught a bass on a top water plug with a propeller.WOW do they hit it.I did release it unharmed and I have to admit to you guys it was a great feeling to catch and release it.Funny I never thought of it that way.Im so used to eating my catches.Someone at the lil launch asked if I caught and I said yes but released it and he was like all good.So I guess I might have been wrong about the C&R thing.I didnt get a camera so no pic except the one in my head which is totally cool.After the hook up I had disaster strike but oh well.

BrownBomber wrote:Not bad Paul,..not bad at all,..!

BB

Thanks BB - I'm sure you could still teach me a few things about bassin!