The topwater bait zig-zagged across the calm surface for most of the way back to the boat. Little did Troy McKinney know that his favorite species of fish was watching.
As he started to lift the bait out of the water and launch another cast, a bass hit so hard that it looked like a large rock had fallen into the water. A startled McKinney was able to hold on and flip the keeper bass into the boat.
As he used pliers to unhook his catch, McKinney shook his head and said, “That bass must have been following my topwater bait for a ways, then that little pause triggered the strike. Unbelievable.”
Fall is Topwater Time
For McKinney (not to be mistaken with Bassmaster star Trey McKinney), that was a striking example of why he loves fishing topwater lures, especially in the fall. “It’s such a visual experience,” said McKinney, one of the fishing tackle managers for the Bass Pro Shop in Olathe, Kansas. “When you have a blowup like that, it gets your heart racing.”
McKinney experienced several moments like that on an early-October day. Fishing a private lake near Kansas City, he watched another bass engulf the Zara Spook he was walking across the water, only to have the fish miss it.
“How does a bass not get hooked when a bait has all these treble hooks?,” he grumbled.
He also experienced the other side of topwater fishing when a bass only slightly longer than the bait rose up and attacked.
“What in the world were you thinking?” McKinney said as he got face-to-face with his catch before releasing it.
McKinney was definitely in his element as he continued to work a variety of topwater baits in coves, off points, over laydowns and through narrow lanes and openings in thick weed beds.
Find the Bait
The lake’s plentiful shad were popping. And for McKinney, that meant it was topwater time.
“Fall topwater fishing is all about shad,” said McKinney, 64, who lives in Raytown, Mo. “Once the water temp falls into the 60s, the baitfish will move to the shallows and the bass will start chasing.
“They’re gorging for winter, and they’re usually active. That’s a great time to throw topwater.”
McKinney has caught some of his biggest bass in the fall. His biggest? A 24-inch monster that was measured and released. But every fall, he will catch and release fish in the 4- to 5-pound range.
He likes to throw large topwaters such as a Zara Spook or other walking baits that he can zig-zag across the surface, a Whopper Plopper, Pop’R, Chug Bug or a buzzbait. The diary he keeps shows that the “big bait, big fish” mantra holds true for him in the fall.
It’s Go Time
October and early November are prime months for topwater fishing, he said. If the weather stays mild enough, he will fish surface baits until Thanksgiving or later.
He varies his retrieve with the attitude of the bass. Some days, it takes an aggressive approach, creating a commotion with his baits. Other days, it requires more of a finesse technique, teasing the bass into hitting. He accomplishes that with a series of twitches and a stop-and-start retrieve. The colder the water gets, the slower he will go.
When McKinney is using big topwater baits in the fall, he will use stouter equipment. He’ll use a 7-foot, 3-inch Bass Pro Shops Carbonlite heavy-action rod with a fast tip. He’ll spool 30-pound braid on his baitcasting reel.
For McKinney, fall is often the culmination of a year of topwater fishing. Though he will fish with other baits such as jigs, plastic worms, spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits throughout the year, he almost always has at least one rod with a topwater bait tied on.
Time Honored
He became hooked on topwater fishing when he would spend days fishing with his grandfather shortly after his father passed away. He remembers the thrill of catching his first bass on a topwater plug.
“I was maybe 10 or 11, and my grandfather had tied on a red and white Bass-Oreno for me to use,” McKinney said. “I went down to the lake by myself when everyone was making dinner and I cast out and just got this explosive strike. I got the bass in and ran it all the way back to our campsite, I was so proud. But my grandfather made me release it because it was just short of being legal (15 inches).”
From there, McKinney developed a lifetime passion for topwater fishing. He started with some of his grandfather’s favorites – a Rapala Floating Minnow and a Hula Popper — and has progressed to a variety of modern baits.
One of his favorites in the warmer months is a topwater frog. “During COVID, I dedicated my summer to learning how to use a frog,” he said. “I set a goal of catching 300 bass in a year’s time. I got to 286, then I got sick and missed a lot of fishing time.”
McKinney has even used quirky topwater baits such as rubber snakes and topwater spiders to catch bass. When he’s not working at Bass Pro or is on the water, he is often pursuing his hobby of collecting antique topwater baits such as Creek Chub Plunkers, Devil’s Horse baits, Crippled Killers and Lucky 13s.
“I’ve caught a lot of bass on topwater lures, but I still can’t get enough,” McKinney said.
