Fishing plastics on top can add a new level of realism to your topwater game.
I had to pinch myself, looking eastward along the mostly deserted beach. The late morning sun glistened off the brilliant white curl, not much of a wave, but a long rolling arc topping impossibly clear water. So clear, and warmer than usual, that the scene could easily be mistaken for a Caribbean turquoise coastline.
But the reality, while beautiful in its own right, was a South County, Rhode Island backdrop. I know it’s May, but this story found its origins during an Indian summer albie excursion. The morning had given us a couple of chances, and a hookup, but the weather was the true highlight so far.
Albie Lessons
The albie rush was short-lived, before they completely moved on; but now, just west of the main beach, a rocky point protruded seaward, and was harboring large masses of bait, primarily peanut bunker. Migrating stripers had found the bait balls, and were now pounding away. Checking my albie gear, which was pared down for the initial targeted species, I was down to epoxy jigs and a couple of Albie Snax. The epoxies were swiped at, but not as enticing as the topwater spook my buddy was tossing. Witnessing the success of the topwater was all I needed to see to make the switch to the Albie Snax. However, rather the typical retrieve expected for the little tunny, a fast to moderate rate, with an occasional twitch, I worked it just so, until the cadence mimicked the “walking the dog” action.
The resulting action was nothing short of absolutely outstanding. Bass after bass slammed the Snax, until I had exhausted my supply. A short hike back to the truck revealed a handful of pearl, 7-inch Hogy originals, which, while not as suited for “walking the dog”, did a decent job as a replacement. For these baits, I essentially fished them as close to as I would a popper. Short jerks, rod tip low, to keep the bait right on the surface, and throwing water. Not as easy with a stiffening breeze, considering the weight of the baits. At the time, following such a successful outing, I made sure to keep an ample amount of Snax, and assorted plastics, as more of a plan B, during the remainder of albie season, and planned as such for future outings.
The following spring, March brought show season, and with that, new offerings being introduced, such as Super Snax, more of a squid-like, 9-1/2-inch soft plastic, and similar larger baits from Game On lures. I knew immediately I would be putting these to the test in May, when baitfish in the form of herring, pogies, and squid invaded the warming southside waters of Cape Cod.
May Day
When mid-May arrived, I was ready. A few earlier expeditions revealed better than average schoolie bass in our typical haunts and backwater salt ponds, but now the water was warming nicely on the flats. Arriving at our somewhat secluded parking locale, my fishing buddy Mark and I donned our waders, carefully packed our surf bags, and made our way through the wooded trail, past the osprey nest, and out onto the marshlands that line the mouth of this fishy inlet.
A quarter mile down the beach, currents have formed an expansive flat, with a decent shelf where we reliably find being bait pushed up and over the flat on a low, incoming tide. With the sun rising along with the tide, we waded out and scanned the rippling, mirrored surface. With nothing showing immediately. We worked our way toward the shelf, and began blind casting in a search pattern. Mark was first to hookup, with a decent 30-inch striper taking a liking to his spook. A short while later, I had a follow and then the fish quickly darted away, losing interest. Somewhat perplexing, this pattern began to repeat itself as the sun inched higher in the morning sky. What made this even more frustrating, was we were now seeing schools of larger bass gliding over the flats all around us. Could this be a result of a gluttonous feed during a nighttime worm hatch? Or possibly, some other smaller bait offerings, like the surprising influx of shrimp that year? We were also seeing squid, typical for the spring flats, coasting along. Regardless, it was time to try out my new, larger soft plastics, recently added thanks to winter show purchases.
Proving Grounds
Rigging up a Super Snax on a 7/0 swimbait hook, unweighted, I let the big soft plastic fly into the blue, I was immediately impressed with its distance and that was one of the main things I was hoping for. I had already seen the success these baits can have, but I wanted something that could really sail, and imitate larger bait. These do exactly that, and more. With this particular bait, and the prevalence of squid, rather than working it like a spook, I opted for slowly swimming it across the top, with the tail tantalizing in a teasing manner, similar to squid tentacles… the hit was instant.
A large striped bass slammed the bait, and proceeded to fly across the flat, burning drag, as I watched my braided line slice through the water’s surface. A short time later, I hefted a beautiful 35-inch bass for a quick photo op, followed by a well-earned release. Mark stuck with the spook for a determined while longer, with bass now falling for the Game-On 13-inch, DuraTech Eel. When he heard me yell out, “bluefish”, and turned to see my tailing 10-pounder, he was ready to give it a go.
We stuck with the plastics for a bit longer, with surprisingly little damage, but eventually switched back to harder baits to save what we had left for soft plastics. Although without any doubt, the evidence was clear; the soft baits were out-fishing the hard baits, at least five to one. The next few weeks proved to be the testing period that laid the foundation for a permanent adjustment to the “must-have” offerings in the surf bag for springtime and early summer outings to follow. Now I never leave home without Albie Snax, Super Snax, DuraTach Eels and those 6-inch Hogy Originals and they have caught me a ton of fish that I believe I likely would not have hooked if I had stuck with my old hard-bodied favorites.
Last year, with the arrival of May, came a new soft bait added to the arsenal that would also find a permanent spot in my bag. The FishSnax XL is basically, a super-sized version of the Albie Snax that boasts the same profile, but a beefier and longer body. These things casts like little rockets and the results, once again out of the flats, proved to be exceptional. Perhaps the best thing about the XL, even over and above the casting. Is the ability to stay on the surface of the water and walk-the-dog with greater precision.
| RIGGING RIGHT |
| An unweighted swimbait hook is the way to go when you need topwater action out of your soft plastics. I use Owner Beast and BKK Titanrider hooks, pretty much, interchangeably. I like these hooks because they are reliably strong and dangerously sharp, plus the corkscrew twistlock system is so easy and long-lasting. I use the following sizes for the corresponding baits.
Albie Snax 4/0 |
One important note to add here, the topwater action is definitely enhanced by using an unweighted hook. I believe you could use a weighted swimbait hook, but then you would lose some of the flexibility of slowing down your presentation. I also like the portability of these lures. If you want to go light, and take a quick walk on the beach, you can throw a few baits in a bag, a sleeve of swimbait hooks, toss them in your pocket, grab some pliers and your rod, and hit the surf.
The action of soft plastic baits just has more life to it and if the fish are keyed in on an abundant bait source – and shunning your preferred poppers and spooks – consider tossing some of these long-casting softer options. You may find, as I did, that the subtle suppleness of these baits adds another dimension of realism to your typical dog-walk routine, and sometimes, that’s all it takes to turn on the bite. Give it a try this season and I’ll see you in the suds!
