According to Dean Rojas, "The optimal temperature is when the water starts crossing the 50-degree barrier. Topwater fishing stays hot when the water temperature is well into the 90-degree range."
On the other hand, however, Dave Wolak says "...bass will aggressively bite a topwater at 62 degrees. Grass starts to get a strong hold at that temp, and a frog really begins to shine. A buzzbait, waking a spinnerbait, prop baits, spooks, and poppers also are great this time of year."
The fellas at Tactical Bassin, though, say water temperature really doesn't have anything to do with it. Instead, they indicate that when you start pulling green, growing grass of any kind off the bottom with a crankbait, or see any sign of baitfish activity, the time is right to break out your arsenal of topwaters and go to work. They also have some more advice, all of which you can review for yourself in the video that can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzE_XilEEfk.
Regardless of what battle plan you adhere to for your topwater fishing, I think we all can agree with this general premise: There's nothing that compares to an explosive, water-shattering strike on a topwater bait, to which I personally would add this caveat: "especially very early morning, just as the first rays of dawn are breaking." Many times over my nearly 80 years, I've been blessed to have had the indescribable joy of experiencing that kind of heart-stopping action first-hand...as I'm sure all of you have, too. For me, it simply doesn't get any better than that.
While researching the Internet for this post, I came across an item about Ray Heady, who, years ago, was outdoor editor of the Kansas City Star. He claimed there is nothing that compares to catching bass with a topwater lure.
"When bass come roaring up out of the depths of water, with their big mouth wide open, and you see the fish exploding through the center spray, it gets your adrenaline going like nothing else in fishing.
"The excitement of using topwater lures are just that. They stay on top of the water, and fish come up from underneath and do their best to give the angler a heart attack. Fish hitting a topwater lure are doing more than just picking up dinner; they are trying to kill that frog, bug, rodent, or baitfish struggling on top."
Said the young boy, "I couldn't even sleep the night before. The next morning, I was waiting in the kitchen for my uncle to come in and fill his thermos with coffee, make a couple of bacon sandwiches, put a bottle of Coke in his lunch pail, and get going. I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."
After a short drive through several pasture gates, the uncle stopped his truck, and the young boy jumped out and slammed the door with excitement.
"Easy does it, buddy," said the uncle. "Those big fish can hear a door slammed 100 yards away."
"I was 16 before I learned that wasn't exactly true," said the boy.
The uncle dropped the tailgate, pulled out the rods and reels, grabbed his tacklebox, and handed the young boy the lunch pail. Off they went then through a finger of woods to the most amazing pond the boy ever had seen.
The water was perfectly still. The pond had trees growing right to the edge of the water. It was a clear, aqua-blue hole in the earth that was spring-fed.
"I was most focused on the vast covering of lily pads that stretched almost the width of the pond," noted the young boy. "My enthusiasm wavered as all I could think of was how many times I was going to get snagged on those weeds.
"My uncle recognized the fear in my eyes of losing every lure I had on me in those pads and asked me, 'You have any topwater baits with you?' I shook my head and asked, 'What's a topwater?' He just smiled and pulled a topwater mouse out of his tacklebox and tied it on."
"Cast it in one of those little openings in the pads under a tree limb," said the uncle. "The bass will think a mouse slipped and fell in. Then do a slow steady retrieve back, right over those lily pads."
"I thought that lure was too large and too odd-looking for a fish to go after it, but I did as I was told," said the boy. "I made a cast fairly close to a 3-foot opening in the pads, closed my bail, and literally got one crank on the reel before the water exploded like a WWII mine had been bumped by a submarine. The lure went 2 feet into the air from a missed strike. The ferocity of the hit startled me. By the time I set the hook in the air, the lure landed right in front of me. My uncle let out a hearty laugh and said, 'Welcome to topwater fishing, buddy.'
"Over the next four hours," continued the boy, "I must have had 30 or more strikes, with fish blowing our topwater lures out of the water. I landed about a third of them. While most fish were in the 3-pound range, my uncle said a few of them were over 7. That little meadow mouse had to have a piece of cord tacked to it after an hour because the tail had been ripped off. One eye and one ear were gone as well by the time we broke for lunch. My right bicep was sore, and my nerves were shot. My uncle had to remind me you can't grin and drink out of a bottle at the same time.
"While eating my bacon sandwich and drinking my Coke, my uncle was re-bending some of the hooks on my mouse lure.
"On my first cast after lunch, a lunker broke the line, and the miracle mouse was gone. I was devastated and thought the day was through. Then my uncle said, 'Try this popper.' I asked if it was a topwater, and when he nodded yes, I said, 'Tie that thing on, and let's see if they like it.'
"Whether it is the exaggeration of good memories that takes place over the years, or if it was literally the most fish I ever had had hit topwater baits in my life, I can't really say. All I know is my first experience with a topwater lure ruined freshwater baits for me. To this day, my first passes over a pond or lake are topwater frogs, turtles or buzzbombs. I almost don't care if they hit it. I figure I've had enough strikes from that one day many years ago to last me a lifetime."
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