Best Topwater Lures for Bass: Walkers, Poppers, Frogs, and Buzzbaits

By: FishUSA Staff

September 24, 2025

Few techniques match the rush of a bass crushing a lure on the surface. Topwater baits call fish up, cover water fast, and produce big bites in shallow water. This guide highlights reliable walkers, poppers, frogs, prop baits, and buzzbaits. I explain when each style shines, how to retrieve it, and which proven models you can trust.

What Makes a Great Topwater Lure?

Best Topwater Lures for Bass

When To Throw Each Topwater

Not Sure Where to Start? Quick Picks

Final Thoughts

What Makes a Great Topwater Lure?

Easy cadence: The lure should walk, pop, buzz, or churn with a steady retrieve and light rod work.
Hookup ratio: Good topwaters sit level, keep hooks clear of the body, and track true to pin fish.
Sound profile: Single-knock, rattles, blades, or props help fish find your bait in chop or stain.
Cover ability: Weedless frogs and streamlined shapes move through pads, eelgrass, and reeds.
Cast distance: Longer casts reach unpressured fish and keep the boat away from the strike zone.

Best Topwater Lures for Bass

Walking Bait: Heddon Super Spook Jr.

Walkers trigger reaction strikes with a side-to-side glide. Work a smooth cadence, then pause near ambush points. The Heddon Super Spook Jr. Topwater Bait casts far, walks tight, and carries loud rattles that carry through wind. It is a steady producer on points, seawalls, and flat pockets.

Best For: Calm to light chop, baitfish schools, early and late low light
Setup Tip: Use 12–15 lb mono for stretch and buoyancy. Keep the rod tip down and snap slack, not the lure.

Shop Heddon Super Spook Jr.

Big Walker/Pencil: Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil Popper

When bass chase bigger forage or you need reach, upsize the profile. The Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil Popper throws water, walks wide, and turns 180° to stall in the strike zone. A single-knock sound helps fish track it in stained water.

Best For: Long casts on flats, wind lanes, schooling fish
Setup Tip: Pair with a moderate-fast rod and 30–40 lb braid + short mono leader for crisp walking and strong hooksets.

Shop Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil Poppers

Popper: Yo-Zuri 3DB Popper

Poppers shine when fish want a tight spot presentation with a strong spit. Pop, pause, and let the rings fade. The Yo-Zuri 3DB Popper Topwater Bait sits level, casts well, and shows a flashy tail hook for added draw on the pause.

Best For: Docks, shade lines, seawalls, small bait pods
Setup Tip: Use 10–12 lb mono on spinning or light baitcasting gear for long, accurate skips.

Shop Yo-Zuri 3DB Popper Topwater Baits

Prop Bait: River2Sea Whopper Plopper

Prop baits create noise and lift that pull bass from distance. The River2Sea Whopper Plopper tracks straight and throws a steady bubble trail. It covers water fast and keeps working in light grass or shallow wood.

Best For: Windy banks, riprap, shallow bars, fall bait pushes
Retrieve Tip: Maintain a steady, moderate pace; speed up to trigger followers, slow down when fish swipe short.

Shop River2Sea Whopper Ploppers

Hollow-Body Frog: SPRO Bronzeye Frog 65

Frogs go where treble hooks cannot. The SPRO Bronzeye Frog 65 walks easily in pads and mats and skips under overhangs. The soft body compresses on the strike, and the strong double hook holds fish tight in heavy cover.

Best For: Pads, cheese mats, reeds, matted eelgrass
Setup Tip: Use a heavy frog rod, 50–65 lb braid, and bend the hooks out a touch for better skin-hooks.

Shop Spro Bronzeye Frog 65

Alternate Frog: Booyah Pad Crasher

Keep a second frog with a different body shape and leg trim to change sound and glide. The Booyah Baits Pad Crasher Frog walks in tight gaps and sheds water well after skips. Switch between natural and dark colors to change silhouette.

Best For: Pressure bites in the same water, small lanes in pads
Retrieve Tip: Short twitches with slack create a tight walk. Pause over holes and edges.

Shop Booyah Baits Pad Crasher Frogs

Buzzbait: War Eagle Buzzbait

Buzzbaits cover water fast and trigger reaction bites around grass and wood. The War Eagle Buzzbait rises quickly, squeaks on the surface, and tracks straight at varied speeds. Add a toad or swimbait trailer to change lift and profile.

Best For: Low-light banks, submerged grass lines, laydowns
Setup Tip: Roll it steady so the blade stays on top. Use 30–40 lb braid for strong hooksets.

Shop War Eagle Buzzbaits

When to Throw Each Topwater

Calm mornings: Start with a walker. If fish swirl and miss, switch to a popper and add longer pauses.
Wind or chop: Use a pencil walker or prop bait. The louder sound tracks better in waves.
Heavy cover: Pick up a frog. Work lanes, holes, and outside edges before punching into mats.
Covering water fast: Tie on a buzzbait. Run banks, points, and grass lines to find active fish.
Followers that will not commit: Change sound or profile. Swap from rattles to single-knock. Speed up, then kill it.

Not Sure Where to Start? Quick Picks

Clear water, calm: Heddon Super Spook Jr. or Yo-Zuri 3DB Popper.
Windy flats: Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil Popper or River2Sea Whopper Plopper.
Mats and pads: SPRO Bronzeye Frog 65 or Booyah Pad Crasher.
Cover water at dawn: War Eagle Buzzbait.

Final Thoughts

Topwater fishing rewards clean cadence, sharp hooks, and smart bait changes. Keep a walker, popper, frog, buzzbait, and prop bait on deck. Match sound and profile to wind, light, and cover. The proven models above deliver reliable action, strong hookups, and the kind of strikes that keep you on the water until dark.

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Topwater Baits & Lures

Frog Lures

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