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A great way to entice a surface strike,

particularly in stocked impoundments, can be

across the deeper edge of f loating lilypads. In

this instance you’ll want to set up a cast

lengthways across the open water face of the

weed edge. I find a slow and steady approach

best here with a “slow roll” ideal. Walk-the-dog

style offerings and winged walkers work equally

well here. Just be ready to pull hard in the

opposite direction as fish always seem to head

straight back to the salad.

All of the above techniques are best fished

early morning or late afternoon. You’ll find

that apart from fish being more active during

this time, lures will give off far more “profile”

in calm dawn or dusk condtions. In low light

bass are primarily using their lateral lines to

pinpoint the vibrations from potential food.

Couple this with still, windless conditions and

your lure suddenly becomes incredibly

convincing to hunting fish. In these conditions,

bass hit first and ask questions later – there’s no

bream style sipping and mooching involved,

just a freight train smash and a screaming drag!

I just love it when you get your lure in the

perfect position, give it a twitch or two and

BOOM. Any angler that’s seen a big bronze

f lanked fish succumb to a well twitched

artificial will agree it’s blue ribbon angling.

Lures

Back in the day there was a single lure that

seemed to sum up topwater bassing. The

Arbogast Jitterbug is a 4-5cm f loating body

with a metal scooped bib which provides the

classic blip-blip-blip action across the surface.

These American lures have caught countless

bass (plus cod, barra, saratoga and many other

species) and they still perform brilliantly today.

But there are many other choices now

available. Pretty much every tackle

manufacturer has a topwater lure that bass will

take. These can range from longer profile

walk-the-dog style lures that require angler

input to impart a side to side action to shorter

winged lures that imitate a cicada. Other lures

that resemble frogs, f lies, Christmas beetles,

lizards and even f ledgling birds are also

available. In truth they all work. Lures like the

Megabass Anthrax are better suited to larger

bass while other options, like the Fish Arrow

Baby Cicada, are designed to appeal to a

smaller class of fish. Lunkerhunt Frogs,

Luckycraft Sammy’s, Megabass Pagani Sigletts

and the Fish Arrow Cover Cicada are all proven

fish producers.

As you can imagine, the choices are literally

endless but a few styles in the tackle box will

cover most bases. Depending on the terrain

you’re fishing, I would suggest a shorter style

rod that has a bit more control when casting.

Getting hung up in trees can be a part of

backwater surface bassing but with, say, a 6'6"

rod, you’ll definitely have fewer wayward casts.

A baitcaster is my preferred bass reel. I

currently use Daiwa’s Alphas Type R, but most

quality low profile reels will do the trick. Bass

aren’t going to have you strapped in for an epic

fight for hours so line capacity isn’t paramount

• what you want is a nice smooth drag and a
  light body to make casting less fatiguing.
  I personally like braid in the vicinity of
  12-15lb for my bass gear and leader of a similar
  breaking strain is a good start.
  There are few fishing experiences that I can
  honestly say I enjoy more than topwater
  bassing. Those warm mornings or afternoons,
  the hum of cicadas in the trees and the poised
  stillness over the water. The anticipation of
  watching your lure sit motionless or paddle
  slowly across the surface ... it’s hard to beat.
  Once you experience that first strike from an
  angry bass, you’ll more than likely be hooked
  and will want to experience it again and again.
  It’s addictive fishing. So if you’ve been
  wondering about having a try for a bass on
  surface, now’s the perfect time to give it a go.

82 | fishingworld.com.au | March 2015

NATIVE SPORTFISH

nce you experience that first strike from an angry

bass, you’ll more than likely be hooked and will want to

experience it again and again. It’s addictive fishing.”

P

These – and many others – are all proven bass lures ideal for topwater and sub surface work.

Modern ultra realistic bass lures feel and

move much like a real prey item, resulting

in solid hook ups.