3 Easy Hacks To Become A Better Topwater Angler

What are some hacks to become a better topwater angler?

Topwater fishing takes practice and putting in the time to perfect your retrieve.

But you also need to know when the best times are for throwing topwater lures.

Check this out!

Hacks To Become A Better Topwater Angler [VIDEO]

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Get Owner Single Replacement Hooks

After spending an entire year fishing nothing but topwater lures, I learned a whole lot of new information.

But these are the three main takeaways that you should know to catch more fish.

#1 – Be Aware Of The Situation/Conditions

This simply means being aware of the conditions around you and changing your tactics based on your surroundings.

For example, let’s say the day starts off with low light, a slight overcast, with absolutely ZERO wind to account for.

You will fish this scenario with a topwater lure different than you would on a very windy morning.

As wind speed picks up, you will have to change your lures and retrieve speeds.

On flat calm days, you want to downsize your presentation a bit.

I prefer to go for the Rattlin’ Chug Bug on super calm days.

Or if you only have larger topwater lures, you have to work them nice and slow.

When you are working topwater lures over calm water, you do not want to burn it across the surface and cause massive amounts of commotion.

You could risk spooking the fish.

Let’s say the wind then picks up a bit as the day progresses and you are still working topwater lures.

Now, you want to pick up the pace of your retrieve and speed it up a little.

In this scenario, you are trying to create as much commotion as possible to attract fish without spooking them off.

So as the wind picks up and the chop gets worse, you want to increase the aggressiveness of your retrieve.

This will no doubt increase the overall number of blow-ups and strikes you get.

#2 – Use High-Quality Hooks

Change the hooks out on your topwater lures if they are not already rigged with premium hooks.

If you are unsure, it is safer to replace the hooks than to guess and lose out on fish.

There are some topwater lures out there that come equipped with the proper hooks right out of the packaging.

Most notably the Salt Strong Moonwalker.

I personally prefer single inline hooks over trebles and other hook styles for topwater lures.

I also understand that lots of anglers out there prefer treble hooks and they will also catch fish.

But you can still change out treble hooks for higher quality trebles if the factory hooks are of low quality.

Just a couple of weeks back, I was fishing a topwater lure only tournament with fellow Fishing Coach Matt Lanier.

The thing is the topwater lure every angler had to use was a Heddon Super Spook Jr. but right out of the package without any modifications.

Every single angler that entered the tournament had to use a Heddon Super Spook Jr. with treble hooks and the #1 complaint from each angler was missed strikes.

The fish either hit the lure and the hook didn’t catch or it would pop loose just a few seconds after hooking into a fish.

It is within your best interests to change out factory hooks for higher quality single inline hooks.

While you’re at it, it can also be a great time to check the split rings on your lures and make sure those aren’t going to fail you either.

You can always change those out to strengthen that connection and reduce any weaknesses in the entire system.

#3 – Make Sure You Have The RIGHT Equipment

What I mean by this is using the correct leader material and having the right rod action for topwater fishing.

I prefer to use a Moderate-Fast Action rod blank for topwater lure fishing.

Moderate-Fast Action means the bend in the rod is lower down than just a Fast Action.

The reason for choosing Moderate-Fast Action is because you need a shock absorber to help keep your lures pinned to the fish’s mouth.

This goes for any situation I may find myself fishing with hard body lures of any kind.

I always use braided line when fishing anything but you do need some give when fishing topwater.

That give is going to be in the rod you choose.

Bonus Hack

To counteract some of the non-stretch in braided line when fishing with just a Fast Action rod, I recommend using a longer leader of a larger diameter.

This means I will use a 30-40lb monofilament leader of around 4-5 feet in length.

The monofilament line stretches to absorb shock and the larger diameter line stretches even further.

The extra few feet of leader will act as a shock absorber and keep your hooks locked into the fish’s mouth.

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Conclusion

The three hacks mentioned above are things you can implement immediately to start improving your topwater performance.

Remember to stay aware of and in tune with your surroundings because that will tell you how fast you should retrieve topwater lures.

Remain patient and focus on your technique and the strikes will follow!!!

Get the Moonwalker Topwater Lure

Get Owner Single Replacement Hooks

Do you have any questions about these hacks to become a better topwater angler?

Let me know what you think in the comments section below!

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Related Articles:

• I FISHED WITH ONLY TOPWATER LURES FOR A YEAR AND THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED
• THIS IS HOW TO TURN TOPWATER BLOW-UPS INTO HOOK-UPS
• TOPWATER TOURNAMENT TACTICS [HOW I WAS ABLE TO WIN]