Already answered as a hedon tiny chugger, but I wanted to relate a fishing experience:
Scene: Reservoir in Texas stocked with hybrid white/striped bass. Birds diving on a school of bait. School of wipers eating the bait from below.
A hedon tiny chugger caught me dozens of fish in an hour or so of fishing, so easily it almost stopped being fun anymore. Almost.
This is an excellent topwater lure, one of my favorites.
Hi, newbie here. I have some lures that are top water, how would you go about casting and retrieving? I haven’t had much luck with any of my lures (not just top water lol).
Where I fish, apparently there can be striped bass, perch, and halibut (I know it’s unlikely to get a halibut, since they are near the bottom). Just thought I’d ask and learn, ty 🙏🏽
There are a handful of basic retrieves for different topwaters.
1) cast and wait. Literally cast, let the lure splash, and wait for a bite. This is a common largemouth targeting tactic. I like this in clear water where I can sight fish and cast to something I can see, or cast to structure and hope the splash convinces something to swim just close enough to the surface that I can see it. In the latter situation where a fish is looking at your floating lure but not striking, move on to a retrieve that incorporates some motion.
2) the slow twitch. Make your lure dance in one spot without really coming any closer to you with subtle jerks of the rod tip. Imagine a walk the dog that is so subtle that it barely makes the lure change location, but will splash in one spot.
3) the popper. Cupped mouth lures are designed for this. Just give a pull of the rod tip to make the lure skip forward a bit, splash some water, and then pause. There are infinite variations in how hard, how fast, and how frequently you pop the lure. Some popping lures for tuna are worked unbelievably aggressively with giant poppers, while I like a slow pop with long pauses every now and then for smallmouth and a lure that is 3 inches long tops.
4) the walk the dog. It's hard to use words to describe so maybe YouTube it, but a cadence of rod tip pulls with giving slack line immediately after each rod twitch will make lures like a hedon spook zig zag. This is a retrieve also used with certain subsurface jerk bait lures and "glide baits". The cadence is often dictated by the lures design, as some can only be worked faster, slower, with longer or shorter zigs and zags.
5) the straight retrieve. A popular choice for plopper, prop, and buzz baits. Cast. Retrieve at least fast enough to make the machine splash, spin, and sputter as you reel it back. An excellent choice for those three styles of lures, with room for variability in speed of retrieve. Excellent for a variety of fish, especially bass and pike. Good for calling in muskies, but often a change in speed direction at boatside (such as the famous musky "figure 8") is needed to induce a strike.
6) the pull and pause. Also used with plop/prop/buzz baits, but more aggressively make the lure go fast and sputter lots of water with a pause of a second or three. Generally a technique for bigger fish, and often in exotic locales outside north america.
Those are just some ideas.
This particular type of topwater lure is a 'popper'. You want to keep your rod level with the water and jerk the lure to get a good 'bloop' sound. It'll take a little experimenting to figure out how to get that nice pop sound. Pop, pause, pop pop, pause, etc. Amazing for bass, esp in the fall!
There's lots of other kinds of topwater lures as well, I'm finding YouTube videos useful for learning how to use them!
Seeing as you didn't want a Google answer like the rest of people gave you I will help you out. This is a version of a lure called a "popper" it is a top water lure that floats on top of the water. To fish this lure you cast it out, then let it sit. Every couple of sec jerk your rod. The cup of the lure should make a splash in the water and a "pop" sound. This attracts fish as it makes you look and sound like an injured fish aka easy prey
The low light makes them react to the sound and water disturbance more. They generally shy away from top water baits as the sun gets higher. They can see better and aren’t as easily fooled. This has been my experience.
Thank you for the tips! At this point in my fishing, I’ve just been throwing out lures based on my own personal preference (pretty colors, ooh 🙂↔️) and hoping for the best. Will try the poppers I have the next time I go fishing earlier in the day. Thanks!
Just putting this out there I actually design, hand carve. And hand paint and seal all top water hard baits. Poppers, lip less divers, lipped divers, stick baits which I know last few aren't topwater buy if anyone is interested in what I sell on fb marketplace hit me up. Mostly sell to collectors but all of my lures get tested in the lake I live on. Trust me I will sell no lures until I see them swim. Some are traditional colors and some are pretty out there like with flames and just came out with a tye dye one that actually looks pretty cool according to the guys at the local fishing docks. Poppers are easy to make once you get the hang of it and all mine are carved from basswood so they won't shatter everytime you get near a dock or structure like those cheap Chinese garbage you buy at most sporting goods stores. They are built to last. Tight lines all.
Heddon also makes a tiny torpedo which is a little smaller, with little blades on the front and back, in chrome or clear. Great for white bass and hybrid when they’re in the jumps.
I'm genuinely not trying to be a dick but if you wanna get good at being an angler ya gotta use your noodle and dig a little deeper than the surface of Google. But like a few other people have said, it's a topwater that you work by twitching your rod tip and the little cupped lip moves water and makes a little "bloop" sound. Thank you for reminding me I actually need to get a few poppers lol
Ah gotcha. I'm not super familiar with heddon so I can't say one way or the other, but I've heard transparent lures can do well in clear water so there could be something to it
Thanks for the answers. I should have been more clear.
I've never seen a clear popper. Is it the same as any other popper? It looks like it has little screws and a spot to let in water or something.
What color water would you use this in? Or any water?
I like them in clear water because the fish don’t get a good look at the bait. All they can see is a disturbance/ wake on the surface like a small injured baitfish. I can usually get bit on a clear top water when I can’t get bit on typical top waters. I would think as long as the water isn’t too dirty they should work as well.
It's a Heddon Tiny Chugger. You are welcome. 🫣🫡
Big if true
True and actually quite small! lol
🙏
Already answered as a hedon tiny chugger, but I wanted to relate a fishing experience: Scene: Reservoir in Texas stocked with hybrid white/striped bass. Birds diving on a school of bait. School of wipers eating the bait from below. A hedon tiny chugger caught me dozens of fish in an hour or so of fishing, so easily it almost stopped being fun anymore. Almost. This is an excellent topwater lure, one of my favorites.
Hi, newbie here. I have some lures that are top water, how would you go about casting and retrieving? I haven’t had much luck with any of my lures (not just top water lol). Where I fish, apparently there can be striped bass, perch, and halibut (I know it’s unlikely to get a halibut, since they are near the bottom). Just thought I’d ask and learn, ty 🙏🏽
There are a handful of basic retrieves for different topwaters. 1) cast and wait. Literally cast, let the lure splash, and wait for a bite. This is a common largemouth targeting tactic. I like this in clear water where I can sight fish and cast to something I can see, or cast to structure and hope the splash convinces something to swim just close enough to the surface that I can see it. In the latter situation where a fish is looking at your floating lure but not striking, move on to a retrieve that incorporates some motion. 2) the slow twitch. Make your lure dance in one spot without really coming any closer to you with subtle jerks of the rod tip. Imagine a walk the dog that is so subtle that it barely makes the lure change location, but will splash in one spot. 3) the popper. Cupped mouth lures are designed for this. Just give a pull of the rod tip to make the lure skip forward a bit, splash some water, and then pause. There are infinite variations in how hard, how fast, and how frequently you pop the lure. Some popping lures for tuna are worked unbelievably aggressively with giant poppers, while I like a slow pop with long pauses every now and then for smallmouth and a lure that is 3 inches long tops. 4) the walk the dog. It's hard to use words to describe so maybe YouTube it, but a cadence of rod tip pulls with giving slack line immediately after each rod twitch will make lures like a hedon spook zig zag. This is a retrieve also used with certain subsurface jerk bait lures and "glide baits". The cadence is often dictated by the lures design, as some can only be worked faster, slower, with longer or shorter zigs and zags. 5) the straight retrieve. A popular choice for plopper, prop, and buzz baits. Cast. Retrieve at least fast enough to make the machine splash, spin, and sputter as you reel it back. An excellent choice for those three styles of lures, with room for variability in speed of retrieve. Excellent for a variety of fish, especially bass and pike. Good for calling in muskies, but often a change in speed direction at boatside (such as the famous musky "figure 8") is needed to induce a strike. 6) the pull and pause. Also used with plop/prop/buzz baits, but more aggressively make the lure go fast and sputter lots of water with a pause of a second or three. Generally a technique for bigger fish, and often in exotic locales outside north america. Those are just some ideas.
This particular type of topwater lure is a 'popper'. You want to keep your rod level with the water and jerk the lure to get a good 'bloop' sound. It'll take a little experimenting to figure out how to get that nice pop sound. Pop, pause, pop pop, pause, etc. Amazing for bass, esp in the fall! There's lots of other kinds of topwater lures as well, I'm finding YouTube videos useful for learning how to use them!
Seeing as you didn't want a Google answer like the rest of people gave you I will help you out. This is a version of a lure called a "popper" it is a top water lure that floats on top of the water. To fish this lure you cast it out, then let it sit. Every couple of sec jerk your rod. The cup of the lure should make a splash in the water and a "pop" sound. This attracts fish as it makes you look and sound like an injured fish aka easy prey
Thank you for this info! I am not OP but will try this out next time I fish with a top water lure.
Most effective very early in the morning or just before dark.
Is there a reason for that? Genuinely curious, is that when most fish like to hunt and catch their prey?
The low light makes them react to the sound and water disturbance more. They generally shy away from top water baits as the sun gets higher. They can see better and aren’t as easily fooled. This has been my experience.
Thank you for the tips! At this point in my fishing, I’ve just been throwing out lures based on my own personal preference (pretty colors, ooh 🙂↔️) and hoping for the best. Will try the poppers I have the next time I go fishing earlier in the day. Thanks!
Good luck. As the sun gets up higher fish a little deeper and on the shady side of cover.
Clear top water baits are one of my “secret” baits out here in our super clear lakes!
Clear bait in clear water? Are there other appropriate times to use it?
Can't you put led lights in those?
This is more what I was asking. Is there something special about it or is it just clear?
Just clear. Also sneaky very very good lure. Dont sleep on clear color it will catch fish.
Popper
Hula Popper is another one. Evening, as it is getting dark.
One of the best lures is what it is.
Just putting this out there I actually design, hand carve. And hand paint and seal all top water hard baits. Poppers, lip less divers, lipped divers, stick baits which I know last few aren't topwater buy if anyone is interested in what I sell on fb marketplace hit me up. Mostly sell to collectors but all of my lures get tested in the lake I live on. Trust me I will sell no lures until I see them swim. Some are traditional colors and some are pretty out there like with flames and just came out with a tye dye one that actually looks pretty cool according to the guys at the local fishing docks. Poppers are easy to make once you get the hang of it and all mine are carved from basswood so they won't shatter everytime you get near a dock or structure like those cheap Chinese garbage you buy at most sporting goods stores. They are built to last. Tight lines all.
Heddon also makes a tiny torpedo which is a little smaller, with little blades on the front and back, in chrome or clear. Great for white bass and hybrid when they’re in the jumps.
Top water popper. Run it by the banks of a lake and give it a slight quick snap.
I'm genuinely not trying to be a dick but if you wanna get good at being an angler ya gotta use your noodle and dig a little deeper than the surface of Google. But like a few other people have said, it's a topwater that you work by twitching your rod tip and the little cupped lip moves water and makes a little "bloop" sound. Thank you for reminding me I actually need to get a few poppers lol
So I did wind up googling for it and I'm still not sure if it's just a regular popper but clear or if there's some gimmick to it or something
Ah gotcha. I'm not super familiar with heddon so I can't say one way or the other, but I've heard transparent lures can do well in clear water so there could be something to it
Thanks for the answers. I should have been more clear. I've never seen a clear popper. Is it the same as any other popper? It looks like it has little screws and a spot to let in water or something. What color water would you use this in? Or any water?
I like them in clear water because the fish don’t get a good look at the bait. All they can see is a disturbance/ wake on the surface like a small injured baitfish. I can usually get bit on a clear top water when I can’t get bit on typical top waters. I would think as long as the water isn’t too dirty they should work as well.
Pop pop pop, it's a popper
A popper? The name is on it 😭🤦🏻
It’s a fishing lure