Doc's Perspective On Fishing Topwater Baits

The shallow flats along the lee shores of Ship Island and in the shadows of Fort Massachusetts are ideal for fishing a floater for spotted seatrout during the Spring and Summer months...

There is nothing more exciting than to catch fish on topwater baits, and there is no fish more exciting to catch on a floater than the spotted seatrout. Topwater trouting is trout fishing at its best; and I know of no one who is more skilled at catching topwater trout than Long Beach's Dennis Fleming.

As it has been most every weekend in recent memory, the wind was gusting out of the southeast when I first pulled up at the pier. "What else is new," I remember thinking as I groped around the truck bed for my tackle. Already fishing was my old buddy Dennis Fleming. I hadn't seen Dennis in quite some time but recognized his pickup right off. Under the dim glow of the mercury vapor lights, I could see a dark figure stooped over the railing near the end of the pier. "Yes, that's Dennis alright," I thought as I hastened my pace. "How 'ya doing, ol' timer?" I asked. After the usual exchange of tales between fishermen who haven't seen one another in a while, we got down to the more serious business of trying to catch a fish that morning.

Casting a variety of different jigs produced short, quick little strikes so characteristic of small fish. And when Dennis finally hooked one of these, it was sure 'nough a little schoolie. By daybreak, Dennis had already caught and released several of the small males. Then, he tied on a red and white Mirrolure - a floater. "You're gonna try a floater in this rough water?" I asked. "Once it starts getting light, I've caught more fish on topwater than with anything else," he replied with confidence.

You don't argue with the guy that showed you your first Mirrolure; you just shut up and watch. Within minutes, Dennis had hooked the first of many trout on his topwater plug. Sure, they were just schoolies as before; but still he was catching them, and I wasn't. Of course I was casting a red and white topwater by then too. "Pride commeth before the fall," you know. Still, I could not manage to get so much as a strike. Quickly realizing that Dennis was fishing the big floater while mine was the smaller, two-hook version, I reached into my tackle bag to switch. Unfortunately, I had left my box of larger plugs at home.

By now, it had become light enough to see the surface activity on the water - just beyond my casting distance. The larger, heavier plug could be heaved out there; but the smaller, lighter one just wouldn't get there. I anguished and reached back into my bag of tricks. Pulling out a red and white Tasmanian Devil, I immediately tied it on and began casting. Though not a floater, the Tassie was red and white and, more importantly, had the necessary weight to cast to the fish. The ploy paid off. No sooner than the bait hit the water my rod tip dipped low under the weight of my first fish. At fourteen-inches, this fish was a little bigger than the rest of the schoolies that had been caught, but still far from a keeper in my books. Quickly removing the hook from its jaw and letting it slip from my fingers, I watched as the little trout darted off into the depths. Several casts later I received another jolting strike. "For little guys, they're sure hitting hard," I remarked to Dennis. Nodding in agreement, he was continuing to entertain the trout with his topwater Mirrolure. Thick and deep- bodied with vibrant coloration, these were indeed finely conditioned little fish. Releasing another fish, I watched as Dennis worked his Mirrolure with masterful technique.

Fishing a topwater plug effectively is not just a matter of dragging it through the water. It must be twitched, vibrated and coaxed through the water. It must tantalize and entice. It must be fished magically. And there is no better topwater trout magician than Dennis Fleming - no one who can coax a sulking yellowmouth off the bottom with a floater then he. I studied him carefully as he caught one fish after another, hoping perhaps that, by osmosis, I too might acquire a bit of that magic.

Then as subtly as the sun had risen, the fishing slowly came to a halt. Within several minutes not even Dennis could coax a strike out of the quieting waters; and he knew it too. Grabbing his tackle bag without further adieu, he headed for the house. Unconvinced that the fishing was over, the rest of us cast aimlessly for the next thirty minutes. Finally I too headed for the house, thirty minutes too late...