Explosive, would have to the most accurate word to describe topwater fishing. When you get to the point where you actually fool a fish to come to the surface to inhale an artificial lure, you have reached the highest level in the sport. The biggest, meanest, hardest fighting fish always seem to want that topwater lure. There have to been hundreds and hundreds of different topwater lures on the market, with some working better than others. We at Marsh and Bayou have gathered some of the best and most experienced charter boat captains in the Northern Gulf to tell you what their favorite top water baits are. Luckily, we were able to get inshore and offshore guides in on the story. These boys make a living catching fish so their tackle has to be the best. Some of the Captains do have the same favorite bait, but they little things they do to them make all the difference. Read carefully and yes this article will help you catch more fish. Enjoy…
Fighting Chicken Sport Fishing out of Ocean Springs, Mississippi has been making a name itself over the past few years. With countless state records and very impressive daily catches, Captain Lenny Maiolatesi is not afraid of “going long.” Making 100 mile runs in his 32 twin vee, Captain Lenny is very familiar with catching big yellowfin tuna. His topwater bait of choice is the Yozuri Surface Bull GT. Weighing in it at almost 4oz’s this bait can be launched to busting schools of tuna. Maiolatesi rigs his Yozuri to a 6 foot section of 100lb flouro to 80lb braided line. He casts these monster poppers with a Van Stall 300 connected to a 8 foot custom built tuna stick. Color can be a factor with these baits, as he uses the sun to dictate which pattern to throw. Captain Lenny likes the all black baits at night under the lights of the oil rigs and the dorado pattern in the day light. If the fish are feeding aggressively he will speed up his retrieve making a lot of turbulence on the surface. A slower chug and stop retrieve seems to work better for him if the fish are just slow rolling. Just be ready, Captain Lenny tells of an unexpected visitor, “we did have a small blue marlin on after it nailed one of these baits a couple of years ago.”
Captain Shane Mayfield does not operate out of one specific marina, he runs Adventure South Guide Service out of most of South Plauqemines parish. Being able to move around south Louisiana with such ease, Captain Shane still has his favorite topwater bait. Mayfields stand bye lure for years has been the Mirrorlure Top Dog Jr Favorite color patterns for Shane are bone with either charturesse, orange or silver. Mayfield does have a no nonsense approach for rigging. He ties 50lb braided directly to the bait, and is still able to cast as far as he wants. The larger diameter and the strength of the line make it easy to remove pesky backlashes. Captain Shane uses Okuma C3 seven foot medium rods and Okuma Serrano reels. Ideal conditions for Mayfield would be an over cast day with a light ripple on the water. One thing Shane looks for to fish his Top Dog Jr is bait, as he tells, “man if those finger are getting smashed around, it’s always fun to throw that bait.”
When Captain Dennis “Doc” Henry is not working at his dental office in Harahan, Louisiana he and his sons are running charters on his 32 twin vee named the “Mule Team.” The Henry family run trips in the very fertile waters off Fourchon. When they are not putting a hurting on the grouper, snapper, amberjack and wahoo they take time to pursue tuna. With not much patience for sub par tackle, Doc Henry uses only one topwater lure, the Frenzy Angry Popper. He likes the Frenzy baits for their durability and the fact that they are ready to go “out of the pack”. Henry also uses them because the hooks are very strong and he has never had a lure break on him. Tuna exceeding 150 pounds are not uncommon south of Fourchon, so the “mule team” rigs with only the best tackle. They tie their Frenzy poppers to 100lb Vanish Fluorocarbon, then connect that with a double uni knot to 100lb Jerry Brown braided line (no swivels needed.) Not wasting time or energy, Captain Dennis usually waits for the tuna to start crushing bait on the surface before casting.Knowing what a big a tuna can do to an angler Henry admits, “blind casting these baits can wear you out before you even get to fight a big tuna.”
Captain Matt Tusa with Shore Thing Charters out of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi has always been a big fan of topwater fishing. With so many choices of topwater baits to choose from, Captain Matt has one that stands out. The Rapala skitter walk is Tusa’s go to top water bait. Tusa rigs his skitter walk with 18 inches of fluorocarbon to 20lb power pro line with a double uni knot. A medium fast rod allows Tusa to easily produce that “walk the dog” action. One thing he is not afraid to do is to let the bait stop for a few seconds. Tusa explains,”some of my biggest strikes come when the bait just sits still mid retrieve. Matt always looks to the sky to tell him what color he should be throwing. Tusa uses a hot pink or fluorescent orange at sunrise and sunset. During the bright midday hours, Captain Matt will throw a bone or yellow pattern. If it is foggy or overcast, Tusa will opt for a blue and grey or black and grey color. With such a wide variety of colors Captain explains, “I think that the fish is looking up at a silhouette and the sky is the background.” With this year being his 14th year in the business, Captain Scott Simpson with Impulsive Fishing Charters out of Long Beach, Mississippi knows top water fishing. Specializing in barrier island fishing off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Simpson biggest topwater trout to date is 8.8lbs! The lure that did it is still his favorite, the Mirrorlure she dog. Simpson likes a chartreuse and a pearl bottom she dog. Captain Scott takes an interesting approach to “tweaking” lures to get the most out of them. He will take sharpie markers and draw an extra set of eyes and gills on the opposite ends of the bait. After making his bait a double threat, he gets up close and personal with his lures. Simpson tells, “I actually jumped in a swimming pool and had a buddy a cast top water lures over me so I could listen to them. The she dog just has a higher pitch, that I believe sounds like a croaker.”
Dulac is simply put, one of the best places in south Louisiana to catch fish. Captain Buck Pellegren, with The Buck Stops Here Guide Service, gets to call this majestic area his back and front yard. Being somewhat of a top water fanatic Pellegren has many favorite topwater baits, but one does stand out. The Mirrorlure Top Dog Jr is his go to bait, especially when it comes to redfish. Captain Buck likes this particular bait because of its ability to walk the dog, even at a slow retrieve. Captain Buck explains, “if you put this bait near a redfishes face even with a half crank twitch, he has no choice but to eat it, they can’t stand this bait.” Buck’s favorite color is a black body with a bright orange bottom, he keeps boxes full of them. A 12-15lb Berkley Big Game monofilament on a 7ft Deadly Dudlely casting rod with a Shimano Calcutta is what he uses for this bait. He will also use a Shimano Stradic casting reel on a 7ft falcon rod for less experienced anglers. One thing Captain Pellegren does do to enhance the performance of his Top Dog Jr is replacing the hooks. Buck removes the galvanized hooks and replaces them with blood red treble hooks.
Captain Damon “Super D” McKnight with Super Strike Charters out of Venice, Louisiana has logged enough time fishing offshore to know what topwater baits catch big fish. Being meticulous with his boats, engines, electronics and tackle, McKnight only uses the best of the best. The Frenzy Angry Popper is Captain Damon’s one and only choice for tuna, dolphin and other deep water brawlers. McKnight likes a very fast retrieve with a lot of commotion to generate strikes with this bait. He rigs the Frenzy popper with 80lb mono to a barrel swivel. McKnight then attaches the swivel to either 65 or 80lb Jerry Brown braided line. The 65 is for the distance and the 80lb is when the big fish show up. Captain Damon uses Cape Fear rods and Shimano Thunnus reels to battle even the biggest blue water giants. Just last year McKnight and his crew boated a massive 48.6lb bull dolphin on the above mentioned setup. Captain Damon explains,“color of the popper does not matter; tuna, bull dolphin, all the way to little chicken dolphin will hit that Frenzy Popper.”
Captain Sonny Schindler
Shore Thing Fishing Charters
Bay St Louis, MS
228-342-2295
www.shorethingcharters.com