Picture yourself casting for striped bass in water sloshing gently around an island boulder pile. Pop! Pop! Your popper interrupts the calm and draws the eye of an unseen predator lurking beneath. Then suddenly, without warning, BOOM! Your topwater lure disappears with a violent splash.
There’s nothing like the thrill of topwater fishing, and a big striper blowing up on a surface lure has to be one of the most visual, visceral thrills in fishing. During a surface blitz, it almost doesn’t matter what lure you tie on. Frenzied striped bass competing with each other for the next mouthful will nail anything resembling a fleeing or injured baitfish.
However, blitzes are a target of opportunity for anglers. They don’t always happen. When stripers are feeding selectively, especially in calm or shallow waters, choosing the right topwater lure for the situation and fishing it correctly can lead to exciting and productive fishing. We spoke with expert striped bass fishermen and came up this list of five lures that are essential for your tackle box, along with guidance on how and where to use them.
- Best Topwater Striper Lure Overall: Musky Mania Saltwater Doc
- Best Soft Plastic Striper Lure: Lunker City Slug-Go
- Best Striper Popper Lure: Nomad Tackle Design Chug Norris
- Best Striped Bass Pencil Popper Lure: Guides Secret Poppa Pencil
- Best Walk the Dog Lure for Stripers: Joebaggs Skipper
Why Fish Topwater Lures for Striped Bass?
Topwater lures create a commotion on the water’s surface, mimicking the movements of prey and triggering predatory instincts in striped bass. They are designed to generate vigorous strikes that make fishing exciting and rewarding. Striped bass can be aggressive, territorial, and opportunistic, making them prime targets for these surface lures. Topwater isn’t always the best option for catching stripers, but when bass are looking up, there’s nothing better.
Types of Topwaters for Stripers
When it comes to fishing for striped bass off the coast of the Northeast, topwater lures can be broken down into categories: surface jerkbaits, poppers, pencil poppers and sliders. Each of them has its place in your arsenal.
Soft-Plastic Jerkbaits
For years, these floating soft-plastics went by one name: Slug-Go. There are dozens of effective soft-plastic jerkbaits on the market today, but the original Lunker City Slug-Go is considered by many to be the most productive striper lure of all time.
Ranging in size from 3 to 12 inches, floating soft plastics come in a range of sizes and colors that allow anglers to match the hatch for whatever stripers are feeding on, from eels to various baitfish. They are particularly effective when striped bass are not as aggressive and are shying away from louder lures.
Twitch it two or three times and make it dart back and forth, then pause to let it glide to a stop just below the surface. Reel up the slack and begin twitching again. The action resembles an injured and fleeing baitfish. In many situations it proves irresistible to even finicky stripers.
Poppers
Preeminent among topwater lures for saltwater predators, the popper is designed to make a commotion and draw the attention of aggressive stripers. The large concave face of a popper produces the lure’s signature pop when jerked, and it throws a splash that’s said to mimic surface feeding. Nearby stripers take notice and attack the baitfish profile of the lure floating on the surface.
But stripers keyed on baitfish are not the only ones that will hit a popper. Regardless of the prey in the area, poppers play to the predatory instincts of striped bass that are feeling mean. Some poppers include noisy rattles, and all that commotion on the surface is a good way to incite reaction strikes when striped bass are already primed to go off.
Poppers are easy to work. Just give the rod tip a jerk and reel up the slack. Sometimes stripers like a fast, aggressive pop-pop-pop retrieve. Sometimes they want it loud and slow with long pauses. Either way, stop the lure from time to time to let following fish find it. Many times they blow up on a popper when it’s sitting still.
Pencil Poppers
A pencil popper has some of the noisy attraction of a standard popper, and it also brings the erratic side-to-side action of a wounded baitfish. With a smaller concave face, usually tapering out to a wider rear-end, this lure is typically worked faster than standard popper. This makes it a good option for covering more water when fish and baitfish are a little more spread out.
Find the rhythm and work a pencil popper with a steady retrieve while twitching the rod and reeling up slack. It should shimmy side to side, with the cupped face splashing and popping. A pencil popper with rattles makes even more noise. Resembling a fleeing baitfish skittering across the surface to escape prey, these lures draw reaction strikes, and they also fool striped bass that are a little more selective.
Sliders
Sliders are your standard walk-the-dog surface plugs. They are shaped like cigars and come with or without noisy rattles. Hard bodied sliders are much quieter than surface plugs designed to make a commotion. They rely on a discerning striper’s sight to draw strikes with a side-to-side, wounded or disoriented baitfish action.
Many veteran striper fishermen use sliders when they’re trophy hunting. The theory is: Smaller schoolie striped bass are forced to be more aggressive and fight for their food, while larger fish with more experience have the luxury to sit back and examine a lure before hitting it.
Again, find the rhythm and work a slider with a series of twitches between cranks of the reel to make it glide side to side. Many times, the more subtle, quieter action is what it takes to convince large striped bass to eat.
Best Topwater Striper Lure Overall: Musky Mania Saltwater Doc
If you’re primary pursuit is large striped bass on topwater, a slider is the best option. The Musky Mania Saltwater Doc is a great one. With its weight and streamlined profile, you can cast it a long way. It catches the largest striped bass in the area, which is why we selected it as the best overall topwater striper lure.
Specifications:
- Style: Topwater Slider
- Size: 7 to 9 inches
- Weight: 2.7 ounces (7-inch version), 3.5 ounces (9-inch version)
- Material: Plastic
- Noise: Internal rattle
Pros
- Convinces large stripers to eat while weeding out smaller fish
- It’s more subtle than a popper, but rattles and action convince big fish to commit
- It takes a little practice, but even inexperienced anglers can work it
Cons
- Because it appeals to large fish, this is not a numbers lure
- It splashes down hard and can spook fish in shallow water
- Relatively heavy gear is required to cast and work this lure
There are numerous slider-style hard plastics out there, but the Saltwater Doc is a time-tested producer of large striped bass heavier than 20 pounds, sometimes much heavier. The original wooden design was intended for catching muskie, the biggest, meanest fish in freshwater, but it was so effective on stripers that it was adapted into a saltwater lure.
The size, weight and balance of the Saltwater Doc has been perfected for long casts and a walk-the-dog surface action that incites blow-ups from the largest stripers. Like any slider, getting the rhythm for the twitch-and-reel retrieve takes some practice, but it’s like riding a bike once you find it. Stop it every now and then during the retrieve and wait. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make a following fish explode on a Doc.
Because they are more subtle, calm conditions are typically better for throwing a slider, but the large profile of this lure makes it noticeable even with a little bit of chop.
Best Soft-Plastic Striper Lure: Lunker City Slug-Go
Want a lure that will catch stripers even when nothing else will? Pick up a pack of Slug-Go soft-plastics. There are many like it, but the tried-and-true Slug-Go is a go-to for vicious topwater strike from stripers.
Specifications:
- Style: Floating soft-plastic jerkbait
- Size: 9 inch
- Weight: 1.4 ounce
- Material: Soft plastic
- Noise: Quiet
Pros
- Works well all the time, but shines with finicky fish
- Stealthy for easily spooked fish in shallow water
- Works great on light tackle
Cons
- Light weight makes it hard to cast with heavier tackle
- Not very noticeable in rough conditions
- Soft plastic is not as durable as other materials
The Slug-Go first gained notoriety among largemouth bass anglers, but striper fishermen picked up on the lure quickly because the larger versions proved absolutely deadly on striped bass. It can be fished weightless on topwater or rigged on a jighead or weighted swimbait hook to fish subsurface. It’s versatile, but the biggest thrill is seeing a big striper cream it on the surface.
It was tough not to call the Slug-Go the best overall lure, because it catches fish when other lures won’t. Its one short falling is during rough conditions when it’s less noticeable than loud splashy lures. The Slug-Go’s erratic side-to-side dance convinces even the pickiest stripers to bite.
For striped bass, a longer 9- to 12-inch Slug-Go is the ticket. They are weedless with a plastic worm hook buried in the belly of the bait, which is great on the flats. An array of color options are available, and the more natural grays and white hues are effective in clear water. Of course, the bright-pink bubble gum color has earned a dedicated following among striper fishermen.
Best Topwater Popper for Stripers: Nomad Design Chug Norris
With a thunderous pop and unique shape that casts like its been shot out of a cannon, Nomad’s Chug Norris is a very productive popper. On retrieve, it sticks to the surface of the water without tumbling, making it irresistible to stripers when they are feeling aggressive.
Specifications:
- Style: Topwater Popper
- Size: 3.75 and 4.75 inches
- Weight: 3/4 ounce (3.75-inch version), 1.5 ounces (4.75-inch version)
- Material: Plastic
- Noise: Cupped head and rattle
Pros
- Loud pops draw the attention of everything in the area
- Unique shape won’t skip over the surface
- Casts like bullet without tumbling
Cons
- Loudness can spook finicky fish
- Not suited for shallow water
Out of dozens of popper options that all work, the Chug Norris is particularly well suited to aggressive striped bass because the deep cup on its face is very loud and draws attention from a distance. It has proven itself to be an excellent topwater option for striped bass, large and small.
With a heavier rear-end, the back of this lure rests below the surface. When you jerk it, the rear rises and the head digs in. The round bottom and square top of the deeply concave face create a resonating pop and splash. It can also be worked with minimal effort and casts a mile.
The design keeps the lure in contact with the surface without cartwheeling. Even in—and perhaps especially in—rough conditions, the Chug Norris really performs.
Best Topwater Pencil Popper: Guide’s Secret Poppa Pencil
This large pencil popper produces large striped bass. It casts a mile, it’s noisy and erratic, and it gets the job done.
Specifications:
- Style: Pencil popper
- Size: 8.5 inches
- Weight: 3 ounces
- Material: Plastic
- Noise: Internal rattle
Pros
- Large profile causes a commotion
- Walk-the-dog action imitates a wounded menhaden
- Casts a mile
Cons
- Too big and heavy for back-bay use
- Likely to scare fish in shallow water
- Requires fairly heavy gear to cast and work correctly
When they’re keying on a school of menhaden, the biggest stripers seem to home in on wounded baitfish. The Guide’s Secret Poppa Pencil presents itself as slower-moving dazed or injured member of the school.
This is a giant-sized pencil popper, and it mimics a dying bunker very well to catch the eye of big lazy striped bass looking for an easy meal. Throw it around pods of menhaden that are being hounded from below by stripers. There’s a good chance it will get hit.
The Poppa Pencil is shaped like most pencil poppers, only it’s much larger, and its plastic body keeps it on the surface where it slashes and pops with each rod twitch to draw attention to itself. Swim this pencil popper slowly with frequent pauses and be ready to get blown up.
Best Topwater Slider for Striper: Joebaggs Skipper
While the Doc is a proven big striper lure, the 8-inch Joebaggs Skipper is a slightly shorter slider with a similar weight. For some reason, striped bass eat it when other options topwater offering aren’t producing. Perhaps it’s the unique low-frequency rattle?
Specifications:
- Style: Topwater Slider
- Size: 8 inches
- Weight: 2.75 ounces
- Material: Plastic
- Noise: Internal rattle is tuned to a unique low frequency
Pros
- Large, but not too large to deter smaller fish
- Covers water with a wide walk-the-dog action
- Casts far and rides balanced in the water
Cons
- A little too heavy for light gear
- At times, it can be too much for the backwater
- At times, it’s not obtrusive enough for open water
Under the right conditions, the Joebaggs Skipper performs well in the back bays and in open water, so it’s an excellent slider option when conditions permit. If it’s a little windy in the shallows, this 8-inch lure gets the nod when a smaller, lighter lure would get lost. When it’s slick offshore, the Skipper sometimes performs better than the Doc, which lands with giant kerplunk.
The Skipper is balanced well, so it doesn’t feel like 2.75-inch lure on the retrieve, but it does cast like one. The action is also versatile. Walked slowly, it glides 3 feet to either side, which means you can cover a 6-foot swath of water on the way back to the boat. Work it aggressively, and it slashes and splashes across the surface with an action somewhere between a slider and a pencil popper.
The low-frequency internal rattle is supposed to echo through the water. At the very least, it sounds different from other rattles stripers have heard. When you get the urge to tie on something different, give the Skipper a try. It catches striped bass.
FAQ
What is the best color lure for striped bass?
Lure color is a personal preference, especially with topwater lures designed to draw reaction strikes based on noise, action or commotion. Color preference can also vary seasonally and regionally based on what prey species are present. Bone is a productive color choice for topwater lures for many species, including striped bass. Red and white is a classic saltwater combo.
The realistic, sometimes holographic paint jobs on some lures today mimic actual prey species, such as the menhaden that form the base of a striper’s diet. Some silver flash in a color pattern is helpful for reflecting light the way a real baitfish’s scales would. Especially where squid are present, bubble gum pink is another color proven to catch striped bass.
What’s the best time to fish topwater for stripers?
Striped bass don’t have eyelids or sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun. Bright sunlight tends to drive them deeper, which means they’re less susceptible to topwater tactics. Low-light periods have the opposite effect, meaning stripers push into the shallows in search of prey or they move up near the surface in open water. Daybreak is generally considered the best time to fish topwater lures for striped bass, and dusk is also a good time. On overcast days, the topwater bite might continue throughout the day.
What lures catch striped bass?
Along with the topwater options listed above, striped bass will hit a wide variety of artificial lures because they are aggressive and opportunistic. Suspending jerkbaits, lipped plugs, jointed plugs, jigs, soft-plastic swimbaits, stickbaits and eel imitations, anything that resembles or mimics the action of a striped bass prey species can be productive.
