Page 16
The Clarion
April 19, 200S
Fishing with Uncle Mullet
Moonlight Jitterbugs & Morning Torpedoes
by Uncle Mullet
Hello again fellow anglers! Spring
has definitely sprung, and Mr. Bass has
been hard at work fix’n up his place for
the pre-spawn dance. The big females are
scoping out the best places to lay some
eggs, or in other words, “who gets a
rose.” So with these two factors, we have
the makings of a good outing on the lake.
As usual, 1 can hear some of you
asking, “hey Mullet...what should 1 throw
at ‘em?” and “by the way...why don’t you
have your own anchor?” First off let’s talk
TOPWATER! There is no greater thrill in
bass fishing than an early morning, on
glassy water, with a frog colored Heddon
Torpedo.
This little lure has been around
longer than goose butter and I can tell
you, I’ve caught more bass on this one,
than any other topwater plug in my tackle
satchel. As the Torpedo hits the water,
make sure you let it sit for a spell while
you scan the area around it for any
movement. After all rings have disap
peared, give it quick twitch, s-l-o-w-l-y
reel that pup in just a hair, and then
twitch, twitch, twitch...like a frog swims
across the surface, just before he finds
himself in the belly of ‘ol bucketmouth!
The propeller on the stem of this vessel,
clatters and spits, disrupting the tranquil
surface like a drunken teen sneaking in at
5 am. If this doesn’t get a strike right off
the bat, be patient and cast back to the
same spot a few more times as if to say,
“good morning Mr. Bass, this is the front
desk, will you be checking out today?”
Your gonna hafta rustle ‘em up some
mornings, but then you best hang on!
When the strike breaks the surface with
an explosive CRASH! you’ll know why
topwater hits have a special place in my
heart. Many mornings have been spent
sitt’n on the dock, watching my ‘ol Pappy
jerk and holler at a topwater hit, followed
by a burning hot sensation of coffee in
my overalls from
jump’n myself
At last glance,
the fish finder has the
water temp, right
around 55
degrees....by the time
you read this here, it’ll
probably be well into
the
60’s...hm mm...which
will soon become the
70’s! Boyhowdy, 1
can hardly wait ‘til
those warm summer
evenings when the
gurgle and commotion
of the classic.
Jitterbug, by our Uncle Fred Arbogast,
hits the water with all the grace of a
busted log splitter! There’s something
about a Jitterbug that drives Mr. Bass a
little looney.
Now for the tip o’ the week: I have an
‘ol fish’n buddy that swears by paint’n
the aluminum lip of Miss Jitterbug, flat
black. For some reason he thinks the less
flashy, more stealthy approach is best.
You can write him for more info at the
county detention center where he washes
dishes when he ain’t fish’n.
No topwater advice would be
complete without introducing a great new
plug that’s been out there on the tackle
shelf for little while now, and that’s the
Pop’n Image by Excalibur This lil’
bughummer comes in a few different size^
each with a lifelike color scheme and a
buck tail trailer. The Godfather of bass
fishing. Bill Dance, liked this one so
much, he put his name onl
it. Fished in a similar
fashion as your new
friend, the Heddon
Torpedo, this plug has a
concave mouth that
splashes and scoops at
the surface to attract you
know who.
Here’s the gravy on
this biscuit (translation:
here’s the point) any
topwater fishing is great
topwater fishing! And,
after writing this, I must
admit, I’v been trying
lately and 1 can’t get a
topwater hit to save my
@$*! But that doesn’t mean you can’t,
and anyhow I’m trying to rush things, the
next couple weeks will improve our odds
as the water warms a bit.
Alrighty, until next time keep your
lines tight, your rods bent, and your
plugs on the surface, and don’t believe
everything you read in those fish’n
magazines....you’ll get information
overload, which is worse than a hungry
beetle in yer’ britches!
Have fun.
Uncle Mullet
P.S. Yer’ letters and comments always
welcome, best o’ luck!
Topwater lures (photo by Joel Graham)