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Surface fishing: efficiency and sensations
Surface fishing is one of the most enjoyable types of fishing. This is often the case when the weather is fine, as fish like to swim on the surface in search of food and warm, oxygenated water.
The pleasures of this type of fishing are manifold: you can watch your lure evolve on the surface, see it swim and work it, but what makes this technique so attractive are the fish attacks. Everything happens in front of our eyes, whether furiously or gently, but in all cases we have a front-row seat to see our lure being snatched up.
In my opinion, it's the best way of fishing to get the thrills and adrenaline flowing! Another strong point and advantage of this technique is that it allows you to catch some very fine black bass, perch, chub and asp. Indeed, these species have a strong tendency to feed on the surface.
There are several reasons why many predators feed on the surface. Firstly, prey are easy to spot and intercept from below, as they have few escape routes. In addition to the ease with which this food can be spotted, the prey are also hard pressed to spot predators coming from below, and literally "offer themselves" to the latter... Last but not least, these prey are plentiful on the surface during the summer months, making them a real godsend for carnivorous fish, who would be wrong to deprive themselves of them...
The topwater fishing I'm about to introduce is light fishing, because as with soft lure fishing, what we call "down sizing" enables you to catch fish that have become educated and wary of conventional-sized lures. What's more, these hard-to-bait fish are often also the big fish. Finally, as I said in my introduction, besides the relevance of fishing light in terms of efficiency, it also increases tenfold the sensations and pleasure already provided by surface fishing.
Mini lure, why?
When we take a closer look at the diet of surface-feeding fish, we quickly realize that the most common prey are insects, small amphibians or fry, but rarely large bites (except for pike and catfish). It therefore seems natural to fish for these fish with small, easy-to-gulp imitation lures that match the size of the most commonly encountered prey.
On certain days, predators appear to be very selective about the type of prey they target, and small imitation lures often help them decide to attack. These mini lures are less distrusted by predators than larger, heavier lures, which emit overly "violent" and unnatural signals. This is exactly the philosophy of downsizing: don't emit too many "false" signals or stimuli that will put off educated fish, but rather play on the most natural aspect of the lure on offer. You need to present them with small lures that evolve naturally and subtly. This type of prey requires little effort to feed and arouses real interest on the part of predators.
Finally, even if the prey (the lure) is small, it will always be against the light, contrasting sharply with the sky in the background, whether cloudy or not. As you can see, these small prey items are real treats, easy for predators to catch and suck in. What I call mini lures include several types of lure measuring no more than six centimetres and weighing no more than three to four grams.
What's more, contrary to popular belief, it's perfectly possible to combine light surface fishing with prospecting, not necessarily on sight. You just need to choose the right lure for the right situation.
The different types of lure
There are many models of miniature surface lures. I've chosen to detail here three categories of hard lures that I use regularly and which, in my opinion, cover the vast majority of situations that can be encountered.
CRDD
SSRs (super shallow runners) are crankbaits with a very short, almost vertical lip. As a result, it offers little grip on the water and won't cause the lure to submerge much. As a result, the lure swims with a strong amplitude, characteristic of crankbaits, while moving through the water film.
These lures will move a lot of water and attract predators from quite a distance, even if the lure is small. The retrieve will be linear (cranking) like a traditional crankbait, and it's also a good idea to make a few pauses (do-nothing) to arouse the curiosity of a predator or sometimes even to trigger a strike. It has the advantage of moving in about 10 cm of water, sub-surface and creating big disturbances.
Poppers
Poppers are lures with a round cross-section, a more or less conical body and a bevelled or hollowed head. This particular head generates a "pop", a very peculiar and noisy sound on the surface. This sound is vaguely reminiscent of a carnivore sucking up prey (black bass in particular often make a noise when they seize prey on the surface, corresponding to the opening of their mouth and the suction of air). In addition, this hollowed head causes numerous splashes, giving the illusion of surface hunting or fry escape. This has the unfortunate tendency to excite predators...
As far as imitation is concerned, it's hard to say what the shape of a popper is supposed to represent: in my opinion, it depends more on the animation you impart to your popper and the color you use. On this type of lure, I have a clear preference for models with a feather on the triple caudal fin, as it helps give our lure the natural appearance of prey, even during pauses. What's more, it allows predators to target the lure's attack.
Stickbaits
Stickbaits, or should we say pencils, are lures with a pisciform silhouette. The primary stroke of these lures is "walking the dog". A zigzag swimming action imitating a fleeing or panicking fish, trying to escape a predator or swimming nonchalantly, completely unaware of the danger...
This is a lure that will displace little water, but has a natural swimming action and creates a wake and small V-shaped ripples betraying its presence. Its streamlined shape allows the stickbait to be cast far. This is particularly useful for reaching distant hunting grounds or outposts.
Lightweight equipment
We have seen several types of lure that come in "mini" sizes. From the lures described above, select only small or even micro lures, no bigger than six centimetres and weighing just a few grams. You'll need the right equipment, particularly a rod, to match these light lures.
For my part, I opt for a rod between 2 m and 2 m 20 long, fast-acting and not too nervous, to avoid misses and cast-offs. The power range should allow you to cast small, light lures and make hard casts. For this fishery, I use an Illex Ashura Pepper S2102ML Akoya Pearl. It combines finesse and lightness, while retaining a high reserve of power thanks to its blank, enabling it to tackle large black bass or chub. Another perfectly adapted rod is the Ashura Blue shadow S198ML Power finesse, very versatile and particularly suited to this type of fishing.
On my rod, I use a 2000 to 2500 mm reel fitted with braid or nylon. If you opt for a single-stranded reel, choose nylon with low elasticity, which allows you to strike effectively, even when the attack is far away. I recommend Illex Sporster nylon, one of the best for this purpose.
Nylon also has the advantage of being buoyant (unlike fluorocarbon), which is a plus for cleanly animating these small lures on the surface. Braid, which is finer for the same strength, will require a leader, but should be preferred in areas of weed beds (very present in summer). Its fineness allows you to "cut" the weeds and avoid piling them up on your line during a fight.
In bait finesse too
Bait finesse is the lighter version of casting. This type of equipment has a few advantages, but also a few disadvantages. I use an Illex Ashura Delivrance Bait Finesse Special B210UL fitted with a Shimano Aldebaran BFS XG on which I use a 5-lb fluorocarbon. The bait finesse allows for more delicate and precise lure placements than with a traditional light spinning combo. It's a real plus in difficult conditions and for tackling educated fish.
Still on the subject of advantages, bait finesse increases sensations tenfold and pleasure is even greater. The downside is that this type of fishing requires a good or even very good level of casting technique, and casting distances are shorter than with spinning. In this respect, Illex's B210UL, with a length of 2.10 m, remains quite long compared with many other rods on the market and offers a slight gain in casting distance. This length allows the blank to be worked more progressively without affecting the nervousness and gives better control of the fight.
Several species targeted
This type of topwater fishing with mini lures is aimed at a wide range of fish. In fact, many species don't hesitate to take their meals on the surface, since as we've seen, it requires minimal energy expenditure to feed.
Black bass and chub are the main targets, but perch, asp and ide melanote are also very receptive to mini lures presented on the surface. Surface fishing also offers the advantage of quickly finding a spot where the fish are active, as they often betray their presence on the surface by gobbling, chasing and swirling.
When it comes to black bass, anglers looking for big fish often go for them with soft lures. However, it is possible to make record catches on the surface with micro lures, which are more natural. I still remember one session, when the big fish swore by the Illex Chubby Popper 42. It was then possible to be noisy by generating big "pops" that made the big black-bass rise, then to trigger attacks by performing a subtle "walking the dog". As a result, in one hour's fishing, we caught four big bass with this lure (42, 47, 48 and 50 cm), whereas soft lures only made them react a little.
On the cyprinid side, chub are very receptive to small hard lures during summer evening strikes. Surface fishing selects the bigger fish. Fish over fifty centimetres are not uncommon and the first chub rush is well worth the effort. Seeing a big chub get on its lure makes your heart race!
The asp, a fish known to be often fussy or even stubborn, will at certain times only take small lures imitating fry. This reflects the asp's ability to focus only on a specific prey size (fry) and almost systematically refuse lures larger than 5 cm. This is even truer on educated fish, where downsizing takes on its full power.
For asp, we recommend lures that can be reeled in very quickly. This fish has an impressive attack capacity and literally strikes its prey. This fast-fishing strategy is designed to trigger reflex attacks in asp, with no questions asked. When it comes to color, opt for realistic natural colors or white. Personally, I always use a "bleak" or "white" coloured lure when fishing for this cyprinid. When the asp is marauding along the banks, you can also use an insect lure, a bit like when fishing for chub.
To finish with the beautiful fish that can be lured on the surface, I'll finish with the perch. To seduce them, prefer evening or morning shots in summer. This hunter will then stick to the fry balls near the banks or in shallow areas. Take advantage of the fact that perch hunt in groups to multiply your catches and play on the effect of food competition. My favourite lure for perch is the Illex Chubby Pencil 55. Like its brothers in the Chubby range, this lure has a high-pitched, crystal-clear sound, much appreciated by the perch. Its "walking the dog" swimming action and realistic colors make it a real treat for perch, who won't hesitate to grab it.
Light topwater game!
Take advantage of mild weather to practice this addictive sport. This method can be used almost anywhere and on a wide range of predators. It will give you a lot of pleasure and adrenaline rushes on light tackle. In addition to the pleasure, it's an efficient and productive technique that yields great surprises and beautiful fish.
