Let’s be honest: there is absolutely nothing in the world of bass fishing quite like a topwater blowup. If there is a more fun way to catch bass, I just haven’t found it yet.
It’s mid-May, which means in most parts of the country, the bass are officially done spawning and into their post-spawn or early summer transitional patterns. Up here in Wisconsin where I live, we’re not quite there yet, but should be getting on beds pretty soon. But overall, post spawn fishing can be a little tricky and that’s largely because fish are all over the place. You have some males who are still shallow guarding fry, you have some females already pushing out deeper, and other females will stay shallow recuperating in heavier cover. Of course, there is also the possibility of the shad spawn (if you have shad in your lake) as well as the bluegill spawn which can draw populations of bass in shallower waters.
So all of that to say… the post-spawn is really the first time of year where I start to pickup topwater baits. Granted, you can catch some spawning fish on a topwater if the conditions are right, you can occasionally catch some in the prespawn as well (I’ve caught a few this year on a buzzbait during a spring rain), but overall, topwater probably isn’t your best option until after the spawn.
Like I said in the into, there’s nothing better than the violent explosion you get when a big bass smashes a topwater, it’s the kind of bite that will have even the most novice angler begging for more. It’s also fun to work a topwater walking bait, or wind a plopper… even when the bite is bad, you’re having a lot more fun, more active participation, than fishing a drop shot or a wacky rig.
So if you want to maximize the chaos this month, here are the top 5 topwater baits you need tied on right now to crush post-spawn bass.
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1. The Hollow Body Frog
As the weather heats up in May and June, and throughout the rest of the summer, the lily pads, moss, and grass start taking over the shorelines. You can’t throw a treble hook in there without dragging back five pounds of salad. A weedless hollow body frog slides perfectly over the muck and the mats right to where the big girls are hiding in the shade. My absolute favorite cover for frog fishing is duckweed… the way it blankets the surface, but is relatively easy to get through makes it primo cover for bass to get shade but still easily see your bait and bust through. The one thing about frog fishing is that you want to resist the urge to set the hook immediately. Give that bass a second or two after the blowup and then crack ’em. Your hookup ratio will dramatically improve.
The only frog I use is the Swamper Walkin’ Frog from Toad Thumper. Founded by Whiskey Myers frontman Cody Cannon, the Toad Thumper frog is just so easy to walk, is pretty durable, yet collapses pretty easily to expose the hooks. My hookup percentage is really good, and most of the time, I don’t even bend the hooks out at all. My main modification is to trim the tails down a bit, and occasionally I’ll add some weight.
Toad Thumper Swamper Walkin’ Frog – $9.99
Colors: Black, Bad Gill, Fire Toad
2. The Plopper
This bait catches giants, and it really takes zero skill to use. Plop baits feature a molded plastic tail that spins and sputters water like a tiny, dying outboard motor. Post-spawn bass are actively roaming the shallows looking for an easy, meaty meal to regain their strength, and they simply cannot resist the rhythmic plop-plop-plop sound. Throw it down the bank, reel it in at a steady pace, and you can occasionally kill it or speed it up to draw strikes. I’ve actually caught some of the biggest bass of my life on a plopper.
There is another one that I think most anglers will be excited to try out this year. A new release from Rapala, the Claptail is a new take on your standard plopping-style bait that virtually combines the metal ringing of a buzzbait with the action of a Whopper Plopper. If you can’t get a bite with a Whopper Plopper, try this one. Since the tech is pretty new, there’s a good chance the bass in your lake haven’t seen it yet either.
River2Sea Whopper Plopper 130 – $16.99
Colors: Bone, Loon, Monkey Butt
Colors: Broken Bone, Night Aurora, True Gill
3. The Classic Walking Bait
A big walking bait darting side-to-side mimics a dying shad or bluegill perfectly. This is your go-to bait when the sun comes up a bit and the bass retreat out to slightly deeper secondary points. You can also use it to call up fish in clear water. The commotion of “walking the dog” will literally call fish up from 10 or 15 feet of water just to smash it out of pure aggression. I like your standard walking “spook” style bait in calmer conditions, and then I rely on a pencil-style popping walking bait when I have some chop on the water.
Spook Style
Berkley J-Walker Walking Bait – $11.99
Colors: Bone, Maverick, CJ Shad
Pencil Style
Rapala PXR Jowler 127 – $22.99
Colors: Broken Bone, Pure Chrome, Ayu
4. The Buzzbait
The squeaky wheel gets the absolute hawg. Post-spawn bass can be incredibly lethargic. Sometimes they don’t want to eat; they just want whatever is annoying them to go away. Enter the buzzbait. It is loud, it is obnoxious, and it squeaks like a rusty screen door. Burning a buzzbait parallel to a dock or a submerged laydown triggers pure reaction strikes. I like it the most in the early morning or right before sundown, or even in a light rain (basically any low-light conditions), and I generally prefer no skirt since you can chuck it further without the skirt catching the wind.
Berkley Toad Riveter Buzzbait – $9.99
Colors: Black
Colors: Black, White
5. The Popper
Right after the spawn, male bass hang around the shallow cover to guard the “fry” (the massive balls of tiny baby bass). If a bluegill or another predator gets too close to their babies, they attack. A popper is perfect for this. You can cast it right next to a stump, give it a couple of quick pops so it spits water, and then just let it sit there. The bait stays right in the strike zone, driving that protective bass absolutely insane until it finally snaps and eats it.
Storm Arashi Cover Pop – $10.99
Colors: Green Gill, Ghost Pearl Shad
And for a more detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor. Just input your ZIP code or share your location, and Bass Forecast will give you 5 bait recommendations, a bite rating, and suggestions for peak feeding times.
Bass Forecast Bait Advisor
What is Bass Bait AI – Powered by Bass Forecast
Our advanced bass fishing algorithms analyze over 11,000 factors, including weather shifts and bass behavior, to predict what baits will give you the best chance at success for any GPS location. Just enter your location, and it does the calculating for you. Giving you the complete bait breakdown for major and minor Bass feeding times in any bass fishing location. Click HERE to learn more.
