Best Topwater Techniques for Early Morning Bites

Morning Techniques

First thing in the morning, when the sun is just coming up, I like to fish faster and then slow it down later in the day.

In lowlight, early dawn conditions, start with a quicker bait and rhythm. Pick off some fish that are still active and aggressive. That’s what I do first thing in the morning. I focus on points and passageways to pick off the fish.

Once the sun comes up and it’s a bit brighter, I move onto something like a Thunder Cricket. It moves well and makes it easier to get bites early in the morning.

Find the Rhythm

Topwater lures are moving baits. You want to walk it. Working something like the Sexy Dawg or a Sexy Dawg Hard Knock depends on small twitches of the rod. Let the line slacken then pop it to allow that bait to work left-right, left-right. You can even speed it up on the retrieve and twitch the rod to make it hop out of the water.

Any movement with topwater baits is going to attract the fish, but I really like that left-right movement. It almost looks like something trying to get away. It really triggers the bites.