Topwater Fishing

Back Close

How to Catch Fish Fishing Gear & Tackle Fishing with Lures Fishing with Live Bait Fishing Knots and Rigs Fishing Safety Fishing Tips When to Fish Types of Fishing View All

Types of Saltwater Fishing Saltwater Fishing Gear Saltwater Fishing Tackle & Knots Saltwater Bait and Lures Saltwater Fishing Species When to Saltwater Fish View All

Types of Freshwater Fishing Freshwater Fishing Gear Freshwater Bait and Lures Freshwater Fishing FAQ Learn About Freshwater Fish Species When to Freshwater Fish View All

Fly Fishing Basics Fly Fishing Gear Fly Fishing Flies Fly Casting View All

Ice Fishing Basics Ice Fishing Gear Ice Fishing Techniques View All

Boating Basics How to Boat Boating and Water Safety Choose Your Boat Use our Boat Explorer Tool View All

Select a state to find fishing and boating information:

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho

Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania

Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Get A Fishing License

Get started fishing today, purchase your fishing license online, check regulations and more.

Topwater Fishing: Basics

Fish respond very differently to top-water lures. Smooth water usually calls for a quiet and gentle presentation while choppy water requires anglers to make a statement. Swim a slider or a soft plastic erratically around rocks, edges, deadfall, or weeds but aggressively chug a popper around the same type of water when a strong wind creates a chop. If it ain’t working, try experimenting with a different approach.

Topwater Fishing: Steps

You can use topwater fishing lures such as poppers, which have a concave face that makes a big splash when you jerk the lure sharply on the surface.
Cast the lure to your desired location, then reel in using a retrieval motion that mimics a fish’s meal.
You can also use the “walk the dog” type lures that shake their head back and forth when you just twitch the tip of your rod in a rhythm. This shaking head action mimics a dying baitfish on the surface.