How Top Water Bass Fishing Works

As with most outdoor sports, weather conditions can often affect the outcome of your ­performance. The season, time of day and weather can determine how productive your top water experience can be.

Top water fishing is best during the post-spawn, late spring season and into the fall months. After spawning, the fish are sluggish, starving and looking for food. In the summertime, the bass' metabolism has kicked into high gear and will provide a fun retrieval challenge. In autumn, the water temperatures are still warm enough to keep the bass biting.

Fish are cold-blooded and prefer to hang out in warmer waters. The colder the water, the lower the bass' body temperature and the slower the fish. You can still fish in cold water, but you must adjust your bait and lures accordingly. If the water temperature is too high, oxygen levels at the surface will decrease, making bass less likely to come to the surface.

Dawn and dusk are the most appropriate times of day for bass. Bass are sensitive to light, so fishing under low light or cloud cover is best. Fish have a highly tuned internal barometer and are sensitive to storms and fronts. They will stay under deep water during a cold snap or a heavy rain; fishing will be better before a cold front comes in or before a storm.

There are other factors that you can take into account, such as tides and water levels. You can even go so far as to check your lake's generation schedule. These schedules give you a fairly in-depth look at the characteristics of a particular lake and may even tell you the perfect time to go fishing for record breaking bass.

You can't go fishing without a pole -- or bait! Read on to find the best ones.

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Top water lures are made with materials like wood, hollow rubber or hard plastics. Th­ey're designed to float on the surface while the angler maneuvers the lures to move like fish prey. Each lure is designed to look, move and sound like the food bass hunt for. The vast quantity of available lures may seem overwhelming, but here is a basic overview of the more popular top water lures:

Lure color should match the color of the food available to the fish in the water. For example, if the fish mostly feed off of small, green frogs, a dominantly green lure will be your best bet. The secondary colors should come from the surrounding conditions. If it is night, a secondary black lure will work best. In clear conditions, a lure with clear or white secondary coloring will bring the best results.

Next, we'll take a look at some tips from the pros.

The No. 1 rule for top water fishing is always to keep your eye on the lure. An explosion of bass from the water may happen at any second, so it is important to always re­main attuned to what's happening in the water.

­Tension on the line is also key. When maneuvering or just waiting for a bite, the line must be held tight enough so it doesn't tangle or get pulled away from you, but not too tight. Leave a bit of slack on the line and make a snapping motion with your wrist to set the hook [source: Bassdozer].

One of the biggest challenges anglers face in top water fishing is the hook. The excitement of seeing the bass about to bite will cause many to jump the gun. Once you feel the bass on your line, take a deep breath and wait until you feel the pull of its weight. Snap your wrist to set the hook, and then reel your fish in!

When top water fishing, use the lightest line you can find. This will allow for more maneuvering and movement with less work. If you plan on fishing top and deep waters, keep a rod with a top water lure close. When you see a bass top feeding nearby, grab the rod and cast your lure over to the fish [source: Cromwell].

The maneuver and retrieval are equally important in the success of a catch. The amount of noise and motion a lure makes is what attracts the fish to the hook. The speed of retrieval must be timed appropriately to capture and bring the bass back to you.

To find out more about top water bass fishing, visit the links on the next page.