Topwater favorites?

[Jim]

You mentioned in a few posts that topwater lures have boated more fish season than in recent years. What topwaters do you like?

[Paul Schlagel]

The are a ton of great topwaters out there - too many to name them all. Here are the one's I'm usually reaching for:

LOW Rider by Musky Buster: This is my all-around favorite topwater for Mille Lacs. This is hands-down the best topwater for rough water. Mille Lacs is generally choppy, and this lure can be fished in the biggest waves of any topwater I've ever used. It's not just for big waves, though. It can be worked across a wide range of speeds - fished slowly it has great action on calm days, fished faster it gets the fish's attention on rougher days. My biggest topwater fish was caught on a LOW Rider in October. The LOW Rider is a big confidenct topwater for me.

Pacemaker by Ty Sennett: Great topwater. I like the action on this lure with it's combination of plop-plop and click-click. The Pacemaker also tracks an irregular line through the water and the cadence of the sound is usually irregular, too. I think these are subtle triggering qualities. This irregularity is sometimes frustrating to fishermen, but I'm convinced that the fish like the inconsistent action.

Topper Stopper by Mouldy: This is one of my favorites for calmer conditions. I like the squeaky, clacking sound of all the metal blades. This bait has put a lot of fish in the boat. It' not a bait for huge waves, but when it's calm or moderately choppy, I like having this bait in the water.

[Backlasher]

Do you use walk the dog gliders? Did you forget the Hawg Wobbler?

[Paul Schlagel]

No, I didn't forget the Hawg Wobbler, I'm just not a big fan. They've certainly caught a lot of fish and they have a big following, but I'm not part of it. I've seem to have had a horrible hooking percentage from them and the ones that were hit didn't hold up very well. In the "something that moves very slowly and makes a lot of noise" category of topwater, there are other choices I favor. I like a 10" jointed Believer clipped on the shallow setting and fished slowly. It moves slow, makes a clack-clack-clack noise and also has the added noise from the rattle. Also, it''s a smooth, hard plastic bait that is a great hooking bait. Another topwater I favor over the Hawg Wobbler but has many similar characteristics is the Nimmer Swimmer, from Greg Nimmer. They're a very well-made, hand-crafted bait and they catch fish.

I don't use surface gliders a whole lot. I use them in more in June and October, and when going back to a fish that was raised earlier in the day. In the glider category I like the following:

Phat Boy by Musky Buster: It's a smaller-sized glider that has a multi-dimensional action. It zig-zags like any glider, and it also has a cool bobbing motion. I think the extra action provides that little extra something to trigger fish.

Weagle by Musky Mojo: It's heavy and it moves a lot of water. It's a winner that has proven to be much more than a bunch of internet hype.

One-Eyed Willy by BS Willy: I really like the way this bait moves water and it simply catches fish. Also, it's hard to top "One-Eyed Willy" for a catchy name.

Like I said, there are way too many good topwaters to name them all. I like a lot of the lures made by Greg Nimmer. I like the Tsunami, Topwalker, and Humper from Musky Buster, and I think the baits from American Hardwood Lures are great, though I haven't used them very much.

[Sam]

Is there any tricks for fixing low riders that don't run any more? I used to use them more but don't so much any more. I have one that I can't get to work and it started bugging me.

[Backlasher]

If the lure has been crushed by a fish it just needs to have the prop blade readjusted. It helps to have more than one in your tackle box. That way, if one isn't running correctly you can use the other one as an example of how the props should look. If it ran correctly for a long time but now it doesn't, then the prop is probably loose in the slot. Some of mine have a stable and some have a little screw that holds the prop in place. The prop gets loose over time. When the prop is loose and sloppy in the slot it won't run right. I use a good-running lure for comparison and then I set the prop in place and glue it with Gorilla Glue. Gorilla Glue is water proof and it's worked well for me.