Complete Guide to Saltwater Surface Lure Fishing

If you enjoy catching fish on artificial lures, one of the most fun and effective ways to fool several popular saltwater species is to call them to the surface with topwater lures. Surface lures come in a broad range of sizes and styles, and the best specific lure depends on the target species, season, nature of the waters fished and conditions.

If places like Florida and the southern half the Texas coast, topwater fishing delivers year-round excitement, and there are some highly successful veteran anglers who seldom fish any other way. Even in the Northeast, where cold weather hits hard during winter, the surface action heats up in late spring and can continue far into autumn.

We’ll discuss what makes topwater lures so effective, compare characteristics of different bait kinds and their best applications and then look at some of the species that lend themselves to topwater approaches. Finally, we’ll highlight a handful of specific lures that can help maximize your topwater fishing success.

Saltwater predator gamefish species commonly push mullet, menhaden, shrimp and other forage species to the surface, where the prey species have nowhere else to go. Lures working on top, therefore, look vulnerable and match the behavior of fleeing prey. They prompt reactions from aggressive fish and convert cruisers into feeders.

Feeding gamefish also tend to hold in places where breaking waves, rips over shell bars and other current lines formed by shallow structure or cover disorient baitfish and create ambush positions for predators. Again, they are accustomed to orienting upward to watch for food in these areas, so topwater lures “match the hatch.”

Topwater lures are also highly effective for finding actively feeding fish. Many lend themselves to long casts and quick presentations, so it’s easy to cover water to trigger strikes. Because the action is visible, surface lures also help you decipher more about the fish’ s behavior and pattern them effectively.

Not to be overlooked, topwater lures provide an excellent option simply because surface strikes are fun and exciting, and that excitement is magnified with several popular saltwater species because they hit surface lures so aggressively.

Topwater lures come in a variety of styles, and the shaping substantially impacts the way a lure moves across the surface and the disturbance it creates. No single style is necessarily best. Species targeted, forage available, fish behavior and conditional factors like wave action, tidal current, water clarity and wind strength can all impact the best topwater lure style choice.

Many lures, including various Heddon Spooks, are dubbed walking lures because their primary action is “walking the dog.” Rhythmic snaps of the rod tip make these lures dart diagonally, shifting directions with each movement. Some lend themselves best to long, smooth strides. Others work better for quick side-to-side darts, and some move more erratically. Walking baits are extra good for covering water and finding fish, and the action mimics fleeing baitfish.

Also very popular and effective for saltwater applications are chugging and popping lures, which typically have cupped faces to grab water and create popping or chugging splashes. These baits create more commotion than walkers, making them extra good when choppy water or dark skies lessen visibility. They effectively imitate feeding fish and bait fleeing frantically. They also lend themselves well to working specific locations, like marsh edges, seawalls, oyster tops and riprap banks.

Some topwater lures, including the Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper and Heddon Chug’n Spook, combine walkers and poppers. Still others, including propeller baits and tail-spin lures like the Heddon Spin’N Image, are neither walkers nor popper but have their own set of attractions as they move across the surface.

Within any category, topwater offerings vary substantially in size, profile and the sound made by rattles or a lack thereof.

Size-wise, Heddon Spook models provide a great example. Among those that come in saltwater colors and with saltwater-tough hooks and hardware, they range from the Super Spook Boyo, which is only 3 inches long and weighs 3/8 ounce to the Super Spook XT, which is 5 inches long and weighs a full ounce. Conditions and the size of the targeted gamefish and prevalent forage are among those things that impact choices related to topwater lure size.

Profiles of baits with a similar action also help set apart different lures. While a Spook is fairly slender, the Heddon Spit’N Image and Bomber Badonk-A-Donk are thicker and rounded in the back and belly. Pay attention to the kinds of baitfish that are around and seek to match their profile with the topwater lure shape you select.

Sound might be the most overlooked distinction among topwater lures because differences in surface action and splash are so readily recognizeable. Some lures have loud, high-pitched rattles. Others feature a single ball that knocks instead of rattling, creating a duller, more subtle knock. Still others are silent, and these can excel when the water is extra slick and clear or when heavy fishing pressure has the fish more tentative.

Redfish – Despite a downturned mouth that would suggest bottom feeding tendencies, red drum, most commonly called redfish, absolutely crush topwater lures, especially in the marsh and other inside waters.

Bluefish – Whether in the surf or a sound, bluefish hit surface lures violently. They react best to lures aggressive presentations that keep the bait moving quickly.

Speckled Trout – From the Mid-Atlantic Coast to Texas in surf and inside waters, specks chase shrimp and baitfish and are quick to attack topwater lures.

Snook – Where available, which is mostly Florida and Texas in the United States, snook are exciting gamefish that terrorize baitfish, hit topwater lures hard and fight even harder.

Jack Crevalle – Not everyone appreciates jack crevalle or even sees them as sportfish, but they are powerful, hard-hitting fish, that create chaos when they push baitfish to the surface and that blast topwater lures with anger.

Striped Bass – Stripers provide big-fish opportunities in the surf and inside waters, especially during spring and fall in the Northeastern United States and will smash a Pencil Popper.

Heddon Super Spook – A longtime favorite of many coastal anglers, the Super Spook is 5 inches long, weighs 7/8 ounce, is equipped with heavy duty hardware and hooks, and comes in a great variety of saltwater-specific colors. It walks easily, with gliding strides and has a loud rattle.

Heddon Super Spook Jr – Highly popular, even for large predators like snook and big redfish, the Junior offers the same profile, action, sound and tough build as the full-sized Super Spook, but is only 3 1/2 inches long, which matches a lot of forage and makes it look like an easy meal.

Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper – A coastal favorite, especially in striper and bluefish waters, and a lure that has been imitated for decades, the Cordell Pencil Popper has a cupped fact to chug and splash and a narrow profile and can be walked or skimmed quickly across the top. Three models range from 4 1/2 to 7 inches in length.

Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow – The Jumpin’ Minnow profile and the 4 1/2-inch size of the T20 model mimic many common saltwater forage species. A walking bait, the Jumpin’ Minnow walks erratically by design, like a frantic baitfish, at times skipping on the surface. For extra fast predators, like bluefish and jacks, reeling quickly with the rod tip high can prompt fierce strikes.

Creek Chub Knuckle-Head – Don’t sleep on the Knuckle-Head when you want a big sound and profile in the surf or on windy days. This 5-inch chugger/popper makes a major splash with every sweep of the rod, and the jointed configuration makes the movement erratic and suggests injured forage.

Heddon Spin’N Image – Borrowing the shape of Heddon’s Spit’N Image is a rotating-tail topwater lure that churns the surface as it moves and offers a different sound and action than other topwater lures. The gurgle calls fish from far away and its subtlety prompts attacks even when they are fussy. The Spin’N Image comes in two sizes.