The topwater season has once again kicked into full swing. This is my favorite way to fish, hands down. There is nothing better than having a big bass come up and inhale your favorite topwater plug. However, fishing topwater does not come without gut wrenching disappointment at times. There is a cure for this though, kind of a one-two punch.

This is my topwater fishing backup bait method. Whenever I have any topwater bait on my deck I will also have a corresponding backup bait. This will be a slow sinking bait that is similar in size and color to whatever topwater bait I may have tied on.

Depending on a multitude of factors, and usually split second decisions, this method will put more fish in the boat, guaranteed.

Some days you can cast your topwater bait right back to where the bass hit your lure after a missed strike, and it will strike again. Other days you will need to show the fish something little more subtle and enticing. This all comes with experience and a little bit of intuition, but just like everything else in fishing, the more you fish a method the better you get at it.

The basic rules I follow for my set up:
I try and match size and color of my two baits as close as I can but not to the point of scrutiny.
Let’s take a frog for example: if I have a white frog, I’ll use a sinking Gambler frog in white with a Falcon hook as my back up sinking bait, sometimes even a Senko.

For baits such as a Spook or a buzz bait a Senko or a fluke are my favorites. You want to have a bait that sinks slow and can be twitched and killed to mimic a wounded bait fish.

Most of your follow up strikes are going to come almost immediately, so be ready as soon as that thing hits the water.

When to throw your follow up bait:
This is sometimes a tough decision; however you don’t have any time to think about as you may only have a few seconds to get your backup bait in the water. This is where a little bit of that Rick Clunn intuition shit comes into play. I wish I had some sort of formula for this but we all know if there was one of those we would all be better fisherman than we are.

Just remember: Play it safe.  Next time you’re throwing you favorite topwater bass bait to have a backup plan.