Over my spring break from college, I knew the weather in Jacksonville was still too cool to find many fish eating on top. So, to find a solid topwater bite I decided to travel to south Florida for some warmer weather and some angrier fish.
I used the advantage of my Ocean Kayak to slither through the thickest vegetation to reach sections of canals and hidden ponds that no full-sized boat would ever be able to reach. Once I got into these hidden oases of fish, I used baits such as the Rage Tail Shad to cover as much water as possible to find sections of canal holding the most aggressive fish. In the canal systems, I experienced great success hooking into large snakeheads casting these weedless topwater baits underneath trees and over the top of the matted grass.
In the community ponds, I also fished, there was very little structure along the banks. I had much greater success on largemouth bass using small topwater poppers like the Yo-Zuri 3DS popper. Here I found the bass were chasing small sunfish up shallow, so a small bluegill-colored popper cast at the bank was the ticket to success that day.
When fishing any topwater bait in Florida, you should ideally be looking for areas with the thickest weed or grass mats, overhanging trees or docks. To put it simply, try to think to yourself where a fish will most likely encounter prey scurrying across the surface. Chances are bass will not be hunting frogs in the middle of the lake, but they most definitely will be searching for them underneath a tree, sitting on top of a thick clump of lily pads, or holding very close to the bank.
In bodies of water lacking a lot of structure, using topwater baits like small poppers that mimic small baitfish can be a very successful tactic. Work them over shallow submerged grass in residential ponds. When deciding what type of topwater bait to use in Florida waters, a key thing to keep in mind is how far back into cover you will need to fish to reach the strike zone. If you see large grass mats or overhanging brush, use a bait that is weedless. It can be the difference between catching fish or catching salad.
Regardless of where you are in Florida, as our temperatures continue to climb the topwater bite will progressively become more of a factor in catching fish, so go get out on the water and get ready for some serious blowups. Good luck fishing and remember if you can, be sure to take a kid out fishing with you to experience our great sport!