It's the Terrible at Fishing radio show on Gold
Country Radio. Here's your fishing expert and
host, Michael Raffino. Welcome back to Terrible
at Fishing, everybody. Well, I hope you enjoyed
your Fourth of July weekend. It was a warm one.
It was beautiful. The parade downtown was really
cool. Veterans Park was packed. And I'm sure
all the lakes were too. So, July and August.
Two of my favorite months to go fishing. Now,
this year I can't drive, but it doesn't mean
my heart's not out on the lake. Now, why is July
and August my favorite months of fishing? It's
because I'm a bass fisherman, mostly. and the
bass are a warm water fish. I know. And in July
and August, we got warm water. Lakes are like
75 degrees surface temp. It's awesome! And what
happens with warm water fishing? Well, the bass
come up and they're feeding on the surface. And
we're going to talk a little bit about how to
catch a bass really quick. And if you've never
caught a largemouth or a smallmouth bass, you're
in for a fight. And you're in for a show. That's
what's so beautiful about going topwater fishing
this time of year. When you go topwater fishing,
you get to see the bite from the very beginning.
Because the bait is on top of the water and the
fish breaks what we call breaks surface and grabs
that bait and so you get to see it from the very
beginning and the fight in between and then of
course the end when you land the fish. This is
probably, ask any fisherman, this is probably
the best experience when it comes to fishing,
is to see a fight from beginning to end. And
topwater fishing, well, topwater fishing is the
best. It really is. So we're going to talk about
a few different lures to use on the top of the
surface of a lake. So first, we're going to probably
talk, yeah, we're going to wait for, we're going
to talk about the two hardest lures to use later.
so The first lure is probably the easiest lure
because it's very visible to you and to the fish
and It's got the funniest name and it's called
a whopper plopper. I know Whopper plopper a Whopper
plopper is a bait that floats on top of the water
and has a spinning tail It's got it like a propeller
on the back of the tail And as you pull it, you
activate that propeller. The propeller on the
back of the bait creates agitation in the water
like a motor on the back of your boat. It will
agitate or cavitate. Cavitation is where the
propeller is up at the surface and it's just
splashing. And that's what this is doing. You're
the propellers cavitating or agitating that water
and creating a bubbling sensation as you pull
it through. Now the neat thing about this is
why it's the easiest for any bait for you to
use is because anybody can use it from a child
to an adult. You can toss this out there and
it flies through the air. They actually do really
really well. to cast. So you can cover a lot
more surface with a whopper plopper, and then
your retrieve speed is activating the propeller.
So when that propeller activates, just reel it
in at that speed. It's easy. It's basically a
lesson on fishing all wrapped up in a lure, and
it's called a whopper plopper. Do they work?
Absolutely they work! Whopper ploppers are very,
very effective baits. Really effective baits.
There's different designs of them and stuff like
that. But this bait right here, you know, a Whopper
plopper, will guarantee, I mean, to be honest,
these are fantastic. Now, how's the best way
to fish topwater? The bass like shallow water,
and they like cover. So, what you want to do,
and a great thing, too, about top water fishing
is that you could toss it right over submerged
branches and trees, because you're fishing on
top of the water. And those bass are going to
come out of that cover and hit this now. Let's
say you get a big one and they hit it. What are
they going to want to do? They're going to want
to dive. Well, this is where you get to see the
bite right at the very beginning. Right when
they go up and then they descend, that's when
you set the hook. So when they go up and then
when they start to descend, set the hook. And
then you need to keep your tip up and keep them
up on top of the water. This is real important,
as you're going to see in lots of other top water
fishing, is that if they go down and I'll tell
you a story about two years ago. I was at Lake
of the Woods and I was using a seven and a half
inch wake bait. Yeah, no big, big, I mean that
was only three, three and a half inches and so
twice this length. It's a big giant bait that
I make. Big old giant bucket mouth breaks surface
on it. It had to be at a double digit. He broke
surface and I was ready. I set that hook really
hard on him. I didn't really have to do too hard
because I use really sharp hooks. Then he dove
down into the tree. I should have controlled
it better. So I set the hook perfectly. I was
ready, except I didn't keep the fish above the
tree. He went down into the tree underneath the
water and he was able to use the branches to
dislodge the bait from its mouth. Bass are one
of the smartest fish that you will ever fish
for. I mean, they're just smart. And the big
ones, they're big for a reason. I mean, yeah,
we catch and release. We really, I mean, you
don't keep your bass. I mean, it's just, you
measure, you weigh it, and you put it back. And
take a picture, of course. And that's what you
do with bass. I mean, it's a sport fish. They
taste great, by the way, but if you keep a double
-digit bass that you didn't damage on accident,
most fishermen won't like you they just won't
so that's where you know you really got to control
the fight and if you you know yeah I still think
of that moment you know how I could have done
it different what I did do on that seven and
a half inch bait is that I that week I bought
sharper hooks now I was using really good hooks
on that bait, but I went sharper and a different
design of hook. And then I put in a slightly
larger hook. I think I had a 1 .0 and then I
went with a 1 .0. So with a slightly larger hook,
different design, Gamakatsu, and so if I catch,
you know, It would give me a better chance at
landing that fish. And that's the thing. Bass
are violent fish. Big, giant mouths like this.
And they do this. They shake. They shake like
a crazy thing. And by shaking, it's creating
some momentary slack. your line. That's why you
got to keep your tip up and keep it tight. They're
trying to shake that hook out of its lip. This
is where, I mean, it's just fun is what it is.
So this thing is just shaking. Big ol' Giant
Bucket Mouth. Little mouths have a harder time
removing a hook. Alright? Little Mouth Fish.
That's why they're easier to catch like trout
and pan fish but a large mouth I mean, I mean
it's it can have an 8 -inch mouth on it and it's
just violently shaking that that hook out of
its mouth. That's why you really got to plan
it right and practice practice practice. But
they love shallow and cover. Now, the best way
to fish is from a boat or a raft or something
like that. Cast towards the shore. Smallmouth
bass love to hug shorelines. They love to hug
the shorelines. So, you're going to be out about
100 feet and you're just going to cast, you know,
or 50 feet or 75 feet or whatever. You're going
to cast that lure within a foot of dry dirt.
and you're going to pull this lure from three
inches of water out over between you and that
cast. And what will end up happening at about
half distance between you and the shore, a smallmouth
will hit this. If you are shooting for a largemouth,
smallmouths are better fighters. All right? They're
better fighters. They have to be. They've got
smaller mouths. Large mouths can get bigger.
Yeah, a lot bigger than a smallie. Well, we call
a smallie a smallie. Typically, if you catch
a two -pounder in that range, that's a great
small mouth. It really is. Biggest one I ever
caught is, you know, three and a half pounds.
I mean, that's a big smallie. And I caught it
at Lake of the Woods. Lake of the Woods has great
bass fishing, really good bass fishing. And what
I usually like to use when I catch smallmouths
is what's called a wake bait. A wake bait is
also a hard bait, but with a lip that goes straight
down. And what that does is it creates exactly
what it says. A wake and a nice V wake. So, again,
with a whopper -plopper, activate the propeller.
That just retrieves speed. With a wake bait,
create a V on the top of the surface of the water.
You know, a V like in a wake. Once that V is
created, that's your return speed. That's your,
you know, that's the speed you want to reel it
in. And you can pop it a couple little times,
try to create some little bit more agitation.
But when you retrieve a wake bait, you only want
to retrieve it to create that that V of a wake.
You don't want to retrieve it any faster. As
soon as that V happens, that's your retrieve
speed. I've told you time and again that it's
not what you throw and where you throw it. It's
how you pull it back. Presentation is crucial
to catching fish. Understanding your bait and
its speed of retrieve to activate its best action
is the most important thing when it comes to
fishing. It really is. It could be a worm or
anything like that. Its presentation is very,
very important in the water. Hard baits want
to be retrieved at a certain rate of speed. And
a wake bait, what you want to do is just create
that V. Just create the V and then pull it across.
and use a very small finesse, you know, quarter
ounce or lighter bait and throw it out there.
And you're going to throw it towards the shoreline.
Smollies love hugging the shoreline. Really like
to hug the shoreline. It's amazing. The swimmers
at Lake of the Woods, because it's a good swimming
lake, you know, they'll be swimming and I'll
catch a fish. a smallmouth 20 feet from them.
They have designated swim areas that fishermen
cannot fish in, but the rest of the lake, I'm
sorry, I'm going to throw a bait near you. I'm
a very good caster, so you don't have to worry
about me catching you, but you'd be surprised
with swimming around your feet. And that's a
fish that I want to catch so stay tuned we're
gonna continue talking about Very specific ways
of topwater fishing so stay tuned and we'll be
right back after this message This is Dave Dave
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results. Out in the backwoods under the stars,
I turn in the radio from my old car. Go country
radio on Friday night. Terrible at fishing but
it feels just right. Okay welcome back to terrible
at fishing. We're going to continue warm water
fishing and we've already covered a whopper plopper.
wake bait and my favorite small mouth bait to
use is combining kind of both those and it's
called a whopper. I call it a whopper plopper
popper. Okay, we haven't talked about poppers
yet, but a popper is a bait with an open mouth.
And so, when you tug on it, it splashes forward.
So it's got an open mouth, and when you tug on
it, it splashes forward. And this tiny finesse
bait has a propeller on it. And it has holes
in the propeller. So it creates more bubbles
behind it. And so, basically, I can use this
as a popper, a whopper, plopper, a wake bait,
anything I want. And this tiny little bait gives
me three different presentations to get to capture
a fish. So I could just pull it straight to me,
and if indeed that propeller is doing its job,
great! I can pop it, creating a forward splash
on it, if that catches me a bait fish awesome
and I can swim it basically on top of the water
creating both a wake and a bubble trail on it
a whopper plopper popper it's fun to say isn't
it whopper plopper but whopper popper plopper
whopper plopper pop I don't know anyway I like
this bait I've never seen one in the stores.
I paint these and I just love them. Now typically
if I see some children out there and I've got
some extra ones, you know, I'll give them to
some kids. One time at the Aspen ramp I saw a
little boy getting in the boat with his parents.
He had a fishing pole and he was tossing it off
the dock there. So I went over to him because
I was going to take a break and I says, you know,
I was talking to him and saying hi to his folks.
I says, do you mind if I give him a bait to catch
some smallmouth? And they were like, really?
Smallmouth? I go, oh yeah. So I get his line
and I tie on a whopper plopper popper. And I
told him, I says, cast it right over there by
those bushes. It was just on the other side of
the ramp. I go, just toss it over there, and
I go and do a steady retrieve in. So he toss
it once, and I'm teaching him, I says, okay,
faster, stop. I go, that's the speed. Now do
it again at that speed. second cast he made a
really good cast right where I thought there
was some fish and within a second a smallmouth
jumped up and hit it and he reeled it in and
his parents go how did you do that I go it's
all about presentation about you know the baits
that I make and so had a great time kid had a
great day that's a tiny little bait. We use it
on an ultralight or a light rod and with very
light line. I use fluorocarbon. I don't like
monofilament. But this is really the way to do
it. And that's a Whopper Plopper Popper. So let's
talk about a popper. Poppers are a hard bait.
with an open mouth. Big open mouth. Okay? And
when you toss this out there, you're just going
to tug, tug, then you're going to splash, splash,
splash, splash. That's what you're doing. Splashing
it, splashing it, splashing it. And you can let
it sit. Let it float. Splash, splash, sit. Splash,
splash, sit. try to vary it, you know, one, two,
three splashes, and let it sit. And a popper,
you know, this is hard to see because it's green,
but you know, I got green screen on on the video
here. A popper is a great, great bait for lots,
for anything that hits surface. And They come
in all different sizes. You know, the bigger
the bait, the bigger the fish. Now, I will tell
you, I mean, what we've covered so far, the whopper
plopper, the wake bait, the whopper plopper plopper,
and then a popper. These are all beginner baits.
These are easy, easy baits to have anybody catch
a fish. and catch a lot of them. And you're thinking,
Mike, why would I go with anything else? Because
there are a few more options for topwater fishing.
And you're thinking, well, how many baits can
there be? But there's a lot of them. And again,
you want shallow water over cover. or as close
to the shoreline as you can for those smallies.
Smallies, they don't necessarily look care for
color cover. I mean, they like it, but they don't
have to have it. They could be on a hard pack
bottom and you don't even see them. I mean, because
of that that yellowish green sort of blends right
into the water. So a lot of people, they don't
see what's by their feet. But this is, a popper
is an easy bait to just tug, tug, tug, sit. Tug,
tug, tug, sit. And just bring it into you. This
is a great, great, great bait. Again, topwater
baits. Now, all right. All right, I'm going to
show you my seven and a half inch wake bait.
and a seven and a half inch wake bait. These
are my sharpest hooks that I put on here. So
I put hook keepers on it. So these are the sharpest
hooks money can buy. And so on these, these hooks
are very expensive by the way. I spend about
$3 a hook on these. But this particular bait,
jointed, double jointed, seven and a half inches.
I have them painted several different ways. This
one's more of a rainbow trout sort of, you know,
coloring. And it's got that big lip that's facing
down. This thing right here you control very
slowly. And, I mean, nice thing about this bait
you're limiting your catches to one pound on
fish. So I've actually had smaller fish at this,
but most of the time it's a big fish. But with
a big bait like this, because this weighs about
two ounces, you can't throw this on most rods.
You need a heavy rod. you know, a rod that has
a heavier action and thicker line. You really
do. You cannot, you can't throw this on a trout
rod. You just can't. You're going to have to,
and then you wonder why bass fishermen have lots
of rods is because, you know, we have little
baits, we have medium baits, we have heavy baits,
we have frogs, which we'll talk about, but this
next bait, this next bait, is an advanced bait.
This next bait is what we call a spook, or a
walking bait, and this one's had so many fish
on it. This one's had so many fish on it, and
a walking bait It doesn't have feet. I know this
is radio and I'm also recording this. So if you
go to my YouTube channel you'll be able to see
the video of it. A walking bait is an advanced
bait. You're going to throw this out there and
they cast forever. So these things cast a mile.
They have a weight transfer system within the
hard bait and it causes it to just travel. then
what you do is you're going to tug, tug, tug,
tug. What ends up happening when you're tugging
the tip, flicking the tip of your rod, is that
the bait shoots back and forth on top of the
water. Back and forth, back and forth as you
tug, tug, tug. It takes a little bit of practice,
but when you get it, walking baits, You know
and I've got huge ones This is a 180 but this
is not a huge one. I've got really big ones and
You're gonna walk it on top of the water and
it's just boom boom boom back and forth back
and forth back and forth then it's creating a
splashing action do and it's going back and forth
and then if you know a fish sees that and just
Just is What we call a walking bait or a spook
these things right here There's they're killer
These things are so cool and You know, I think
I've got oh I got it. Oh, yeah, I've got a much
bigger one here. I have a lot of walking baits
and Walking baits are just and here's a much
bigger one so compare that to that and again
heavier baits require heavier gear so please
do not try to throw a big bait with a rod that
cannot handle it you'll just lose your bait although
you'll have to go retrieve it because these float
as long as you can see it you can you can get
it Fantastic baits. A walking bait or a spook
is one of the more advanced baits, and it's one
that fishermen, experienced fishermen, use all
the time. Now, I love wake baits too. I like
whopper ploppers. I like my whopper plopper popper.
I like all these, but these baits right here,
you really can't go wrong. and I'm telling you
this month and next month at Lake of the Woods
is the best time to catch bass. Now these are
all easy baits to hook a fish because they have
treble hooks on them and they're you know good
hook is really really really sharp and when they
bite when they go up at it they get hooked. But
At Lake of the Woods and other lakes, Dog Lake
is another really good lake for this type of
fishing. It's called lily pad fishing. Lily pad
fishing is a type of fishing that you're going
to throw what we call a soft body, a soft body
frog or creature on top of the lily pads. they
have an upturned double double hook that's upturned
and just hugging the body of that soft body when
the fish bites on it they crush it crushes the
body and then hooks themselves now soft bodies
they come in lots of different designs they can
come looking like rats One of my favorites, which
is fun to toss it towards swimmers. Spiders.
Big spiders. Spiders are so cool, by the way.
They don't last very long, but they're fun to
walk on top of the water. Then we got these things.
They don't look like frogs, but they're called
frogs. This is what we call a walking frog. See
the front of it? and then we have a popping frog,
which has that big cupped mouth on it. So, there's
lots of different soft bodies. Now, the reason
they don't snag is because, one, they float,
and the hooks are upturned, and in this bird,
these are called Toad Thumpers, and Toad Thumper
What they do is they mold They mold the hook
into the tip of the hook into the body. There's
really no way for that to catch so what you end
up doing is you throw this over the lily pads
and It's just going to pop right down on top
of the little pet. Don't be surprised Okay, if
you get a hit right when it lands because that
happens a lot We call it, you know on the drop
When it drops, boom, you get a hit. And then
a walking frog is very much like the spook. You're
going to walk it and it's going to dart back
and forth. A popping frog does exactly that.
It's going to pop, pop, pop, and you're going
to tug it a lot. Basically working them similarly,
except they have two different actions to them
for presentation. This is the hardest form of
fishing, but this is the most entertaining form
of fishing. So, I want you guys to just go out
there and have a great time. We're at the end
of the show. I will tell you, if you get a bite
on a frog, a soft body, count one thousand one
and then set the hook. Do that and you'll land
your fish. Take care everybody, tight lines to
you and we'll see you hopefully out on the water.
That was Terrible at Fishing, the radio show
with fishing expert Michael Raffino. Check out
Terrible at Fishing on YouTube and tune in next
week for the next episode and more great fishing
tips. Terrible at Fishing, Fridays at 7pm on
Gold Country Radio. you