Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Call it a bad taste in my mouth from Monday's float with missing a number of fish on the fluke or the fact that I didn't feel like working, but I took Wednesday off.  I knew it would be raining on and off and cloudy and a good day to make a dedicatedly effort fishing topwater.  I want to make that another confident and fun way of fishing and know I need to make a dedicated effort and not change it out after 10 minutes.

I got to the area and tied on a Berkeley Choppo on one rod, along with a fluke on another rod for my top water lures.  I got a few swipes on the fluke right away but they missed it.  Started working my way upstream and also started getting some hits on the choppo using a jerk and pause retrieve to spray water in the air.  Fluke was still getting hits as well as long as the rain wasn't coming down too hard.

Fish were holding both in the bunch of push water areas and in the eddies below the fast water.  Often I was getting multiple hits in the same area and catching smallies 12-14", which was an absolute blast on the top water.  They were just smacking the choppo with the cloudy and rainy conditions.

From 10;30-4 I ended up with 21 smalles landed, with another 15 easily that either completely missed the choppo or fluke or I just didn't keep hooked.  16 of those were on the fluke or choppo, with rest on craw, crank bait and swim bait. Got a 15 on the crank.

Highlight was coming up to an area next to the shore where water was less than a foot deep. Cast the choppo and gave it a couple of jerks and one blew up on it.  Managed to wait to feel the weight and then set the hook on this chunk of a smallmouth.  17" that put up a great fight.


Days like this help give you the confidence to throw lures you aren't comfortable with. It was the same way with the crankbait last year, now I will always throw it.  And now the pure topwater like a choppo or buzzbait or prop bait will be thrown confidently if the conditions are right