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[detroithiker]

I am new compared to all of you folks so I am asking your opinion.
The videos show poppers and hollow frogs hitting bass all day, but in MI it seems to me that they only work in a small number situations and there is a very small window of opportunity to use them.
Are the videos making them look far more effective than they really are?

I have never caught a fish on top water and just don't think it could ever be the best choice for a given lake, it could be the best choice for a spot but never the best choice when you could go to a different section of the lake with better odds and more reliable bait.
Please remember I am new and trying to learn

[dartag]

Ont thing to remember about videos is you are seeing the highlights.  could be quite a while between bites.  a popper type bait is good this time of year.  You will get both large and small mouth.  I have had some great days in the last 2 weeks with a strike king popper and smithwick devil horse.   To me scum frogging is more of a summer thing but i am no expert. 

[djkimmel]

Poppers / Pop R's can be good anytime the water is alive with topwater activities - birds, minnows, fish hitting the surface. Poppers can be good on many lakes in the morning and evening too even if you don't see a lot of topwater activity but you just need to try them to see. Poppers are also good in the fall and sometimes in the spring when bass are more shallow more often.

Frogs can be good on some lakes and can be good anytime you have bass around shallow cover and slop. It's a confidence thing partly but NO lure is magic or works all the times everywhere. I sometimes fish poppers around the outside edge of slop/pad cover early and then throw a frog into them. Sometimes you have to go in after the bass.

They don't school as often in shallow cover - more loaners more often so you get a bite here and a bite there. Not all shallow cover is attractive to bass either but the more life you hear and see in the shallow cover the better like panfish popping bug off pads - you can hear that. If there's panfish in the pad there could be bass too.

Some presentations have broader appeal and some are real specialty techniques. You need to learn some by trial and error but don't forget topwater is really fun so when it's working it's worth the effort!

[Mojo]

The true magic of top water baits is you get to fully experience the hunt by the fish. I think it is a journey well worth the travel.

Let’s start with a pop R. That and a lucky craft Waketail are my true shore line search baits. I’ll pop,pop,pop,pop.  Then stop. Let the tail flutter... do it again.   I’m on an 8.1:1 reel with 10 -12 lb mono..  R.I.P. it in, do it again. I won’t get hit as often as a creature bait say, along some rip rap or rocky bottom, however, in my mind, I’m not looking for numbers. I’m looking for experiences..... I’m fully immersed in each cast, the optimism dopamine rises, every pop could..be.. a fish. Then KAPOW! fish on! Always angry. The fish never fails to excite. in the boat, do it again....

Now let’s talk frogging.... I’ve had days where they hit every 10 casts, some where it’s every 50 casts.... but that type of hunt is different. That one you get a true water explosion, and you MUST wait 1-2 seconds and reel to then weight THEN set the hook. I like smaller frogs with more rear weight. I get hit on the initial plop.... again, a winch 6.3:1 or faster is recommended with 40-65 lb braid on a heavy 7.0” rod does the trick.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.