Best Topwater Lure For Trout: Super Spook Jr. vs Skitter Walk vs Topknock
- By: Wyatt Parcel
- on
It’s topwater time!
Want to know what the best topwater lure for trout is?
There are tons of options and it can be confusing which one to go with, so I made this video to explain the main differences between some of the popular topwaters, including:
- Rapala Skitter Walk
- Yo-Zuri Topknock
- Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil
- And the Heddon Super Spook Jr.
You’ll learn:
- Which lures have the best action
- Which lures cast the best
- Which lures have the best sound
- And much more
See the best topwater lures for trout in the video below!
Best Topwater Lures For Trout [VIDEO]
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Get the Super Spook Jr. and Skitter Walk from our shop here:
Alright, now let’s get into the pros and cons of these lures.
Rapala Skitter Walk
Price: $13 for the larger version, $8-9 for the smaller version
Pros: Wide body and loud sound make it perfect for when trout are feeding on big baitfish like mullet.
Cons: Doens’t have a very wide walk, which is a con since trout are visual predators.
Notes: If I’m fishing murky water where trout might rely on sound more than sight, I’d choose a Skitter Walk
You can get the Rapala Skitter Walk from our store here.
Yo-Zuri Topknock
Price: $6-7
Pros: Has a cupped face so you get a little more splash on the surface.
Cons: Doesn’t have great action.
Notes: The Yo-Zuri Topknock is like a budget version of the Skitter Walk, although the Skitter Walk has slightly better sound and action.
Although it doesn’t have great action, it still catches fish and the sound and cupped face make it good for dark water.
Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil
Price: $5-6
Pros: Has a good walk the dog action and has a ribbed belly, which Yo-Zuri claims helps give off more vibration in the water (I can’t tell a difference or verify that in any way).
Cons: Sound is less pronounced than the other lures on this list.
Notes: This is like a freshwater version of the Topknock and is good because it’s cheap and still catches fish.
Heddon Super Spook Jr.
Price: $5-6
Pros: Has the best action with wide, trout-attracting cuts through the surface and casts better (farther and more accurately) than all the other lures on this list.
Cons: Doesn’t have the best sound.
Notes: This is usually my go-to topwater lure because it has great action, catches fish, and is cheap.
Conclusion
The Super Spook Jr. is cheapest and works well in the widest variety of scenarios, so that’s my go-to topwater lure for trout.
But if I’m fishing murky water where I want more sound and splash, I’ll throw a Topknock or Skitter Walk.
You can get the Super Spook Jr. and Skitter Walk from our shop here:
Have any questions about the best topwater lures for trout?
Did I forget your favorite?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who loves catching trout on topwater, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Have you tried the freshwater version of the Spook One Knocker? I replace the hooks with saltwater hooks. The Pearl Melon, Okie Shad and Bone Silver are amazing!
Nice video!! The Spook lures in the video were the Spook Jr and the OneKnocker. The Super Spook has 3 hook hangers. I also have found the the Yozuri OneKnock does cast very well… like a bullet compared to the skitterwalk and the Spook lure. The other plus of the Yozuri lures it the the paint is on the inside of the lure and does not wear off as quick as the Spook lures. I have fished the Skitterwalk lures for over 20 years. The speckle trout pattern is killer. The bone and chrome on the Spook lures is also a favorite!!
I’ve had the best luck with Mirrolure Top Dog Jr over the Spook Jr. Like zero strikes with the spook, change to the Top Dog Jr and within 2-4 casts a hook up over the same structure. Could be the sound or the action, don’t know for sure. Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the comprehensive video,Wyatt.
No problem Brett! Thanks so much for watching!
Looking for the blue speckled /yellow lure on the bottom right ,In the picture, can’t find color as a skitter
walk ,is that color discontinued
Not sure what the color is called… I picked it up at Academy Sports.
It’s the Spook Jr. for me, consistently. My 1st tournament, one of the anglers gave me one. He told me to look at the other anglers’ gear, as I would find them on every boat/yak. He was right and I tip my hat to him. Been crushing trout with them ever since.
Those spooks are the real deal! Thanks for watching Jack!
Thanks for the info. Just a quick question off topic. What kind of pants and boots do you use? Thanks
Thanks for watching Kenneth! 90% of the trips I wear XtraTuf Wheelhouse Boots and Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants.
Alright here’s the challenge. You’re going to fish the ICW in SE Florida and you can have any 4 topwater lures including size and color patterns that you want to take with you, which ones would you take?
I would want to know a bit more about the ICW area (how fast is the current, how deep is it, what species are frequently found there) before I made some informed choices, but without knowing any of those variables,
I would go with the Bone Super Spook Jr, the Rapala Skitterwalk in the Silver Mullet color scheme, the Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil in Bone, and the Rapala Skitterwalk V (in case it’s super windy or choppy). The SkitterV wasn’t in this list because I personally haven’t used it more than a handful of times and couldn’t bring myself to add it in the list without testing it more.
Thanks! The areas closest to me on the ICW commonly have plus and minus about 3 knot currents from there to the inlets in either direction. Here it is common for the the depth of channels to be between 12′ and 18′, with areas nearer the shore 2′-4′. My boat lives in Lantana, FL but it’s clearly not a flats boat. I’m more of an offshore fisherman but I want to fish more in the ICW on those windy, “big seas” weather days, rather than restricting myself more to the freshwater canals and lakes/ponds. You might say that I fish one extreme or the other, but I would like to get more into the inshore saltwater fishing as a middle ground. Peacock Bass are tons of fun in those canals, so it will be interesting to see if the saltwater ICW can match that level of fun.
It’s the Ima Skimmer – no contest.
I’ll have to give that one a go! Thanks for the recommendation Gary!
I’m a real Spook Jr fan, and I use the single hooks. I tried the Rapala Skitterwalk, and found that the eye for the front hook (at least in my opinion) is too close to the front of the bait, causing it to get hooked in the leader and ruining the cast. This happens occasionally with the Spook, but much more often with the Skitterwalk.
I completely agree. As I mentioned in the review, the Skitterwalk’s fat body is a pro and a con because while it creates a large splash and presence in the water, it’s unwieldy to cast and I do find it gets caught on the hooks pretty frequently.
Good video on these topwater plugs. I also like the Skitter V and the Top Pup/Dog, too. Don’t use the Yo Zuri’s as much for topwater but may pick up up a Pencil to try out. Anyway, this was an interesting comparison. Thanks!
Thanks so much for watching Glenn! I have used the Top Pup and Dog before but honestly wasn’t too much of a fan of the action or sound (it’s loud but the sound isn’t natural for the profile of the plug, and the action wasn’t really that great). As for the Skitter V, it wasn’t in this list because I personally haven’t used it more than a handful of times and couldn’t bring myself to add it in the list without testing it more. That being said, I have caught fish almost every time I’ve used it and actually took it out this morning (after reading some of these comments) and put it to use under some windy conditions. It preformed extremely well with several trout (the largest being 23″). So far, I’m a fan!