Top 3 trout topwaters

Speckled trout are easy pickings in the fall when they are aggressive enough to hit topwater plugs regularly. (Photo by Dan Kibler)

Try ‘em, you’ll like ‘em

It’s tough to beat the speckled trout bite in the fall along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. And for most anglers, nothing tops catching them on topwater lures. It’s the perfect combination of sight, sound, and feel that you can only get from using surface lures, and trout are very cooperative at this game, especially in low-light conditions like early morning.

Plenty of topwater lures are on the market, and most of them do a decent job at catching trout. Here are three that can help you boat your share of specks this fall.

MirrOlure Top Dog

Mirrolure Top Dog

This lure comes in two sizes – a 4-inch model and a 49/16-inch model.

A typical walk-the-dog action is the way to work these lures. This is done by twitching the rod tip, reeling in the slack and repeating this until the lure is all the way back to the boat. Twitch, reel, twitch, reel, twitch, reel. It’s an easy lure to work, and you can change the speed you work it if the fish aren’t responding.

LiveTarget Mullet Popper

Livetarget Mullet Popper

This lure looks so life-like that you’ll be tempted to break out the knife and turn it into cut bait.

The Mullet Popper is available in two sizes (31/2 and 43/4 inches) and several colors. A clear cupped face makes a gurgling or popping sound when retrieved, but the angler can cause a louder noise with more commotion simply by pulling harder when working the lure.

A quick pop, followed by a quick pause, is the best way to use this bait. Anglers should take care in not pausing for too long. Trout are accustomed to chasing baitfish that are trying to get away from them and will turn away from a lure that sits still too long.

Nemire Lures Spoon Buzzer

Nemire Lures Spoon Buzzer

Spoons have been catching fish literally for centuries, but this spoon is definitely an advanced model. Aside from having a buzzing blade in front of it, it also has a sound chamber against the metal body of the spoon. So not only does this lure give anglers the buzzing sound that comes from the blade, another noisemaker calls the fish in at the same time.

This lure is best worked with a steady retrieve with no pausing. Pausing will allow this lure to sink, so anglers should crank the reel the entire time to keep the lure on the surface and making noise.

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