As predicted the sun is rising and the topwater bite is getting hot. What’s cool about that is we are seeing the sport’s best 50 anglers dialing into the best lures and tactics after Thursday when they just began to figure things out.
Jacob Wheeler told me this morning that his topwater bite is contingent on the presence of isolated bottom cover. That is logical because as the sun rises it draws the bass tighter to the shade—or ambush points—provided by the many brushpiles strategically placed by anglers on the lake bottom. The tantalizing action of a noisy topwater brings them up to the surface.
Justin Lucas just all but confirmed that theory on Bassmaster LIVE. Lucas now has about 10 pounds in his livewell, which was his daily goal for achieving his goal of Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year.
“When you get around them (bass) they are everywhere around those (brushpiles),” said Lucas. He is using a fast-moving topwater to bring them up.
James Elam, the current BASSTrakk leader, also is dialed into the topwater bite. Elam has discovered a pencil popper is ideal for covering water and making the bass show themselves. A pencil popper is a walking bait with a weight-filled chamber at the rear that enables the lure to be cast long distances. The object of using the walking bait is twofold. First, to catch a fish and secondly, to enable Elam to throw a follow up lure into the strike zone. A wake bait is the follow-up lure.
“They are more prone to bite the walking bait because it’s more of a reaction lure,” he said.
That is another enlightening discovery made by more and more anglers so far. The Chatuge bass have grown wary of lures tossed at them on the surface due to angler pressure. Short strikes have been problematic. Giving the bass less time to look at the bait and trigger their predator instinct with a fast-moving reaction lure is a wise move.