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A Finesse Topwater Approach
By Keeghan Painter
Well, here we are again, that time of year where the man in the big red suit has gone back to the North Pole, the resolutions of the new year are full steam ahead and Aloe Vera after sun spray becomes an integral part of survival… but my favourite thing about this time of year is topwater fishing for Australian bass.
When we talk about topwater fishing, what we mean is targeting the surface of the water to entice a fish to come from below and hopefully smack that lure that you have tied onto your line. There are various types of lures that can entice a topwater bite. Lures that walk (move left and right as they are retrieved), lures that vibrate and disturb the water surface to emulate a bug that has fallen into the water, some surface lures even have a propeller on the tail end of the lure for added vibration. Among all of these available options, one of my absolute favourite topwater lures is without a doubt the ZMan 2.75” Finesse FrogZ.
This lure adapts almost all these topwater techniques into one perfect, compact little design. As it states in the name, the shape of this lure mirrors a small frog, which walks along the top of the water, with its paddle tail legs creating a disturbance. Being a ZMan lure, the soft plastic design is made from award winning 10X Tough, naturally buoyant ElaZtech. In this article I will be specifically talking about the ZMan 2.75” Finesse FrogZ, however ZMan do have other soft plastic frogs in their range, including the ZMan 4” Hard Leg FrogZ, 4” Pop FrogZ and the newest addition to the crew, the ZMan 4” Goat ToadZ.
These larger presentations are a perfect size profile for bigger and meaner fish, like Murray cod, barramundi, mangrove jack and other larger predatory species that eat off the top. The ZMan Finesse FrogZ come in a variety of colours, which can all be found on the Tackle Tactics website, under the ZMan banner. While I use the entire colour range, my personal favourites would have to be Watermelon Chartreuse and White.
Without further ado, let’s dive into how and where the ZMan Finesse FrogZ will become a staple in your fishing arsenal. Being a soft plastic lure, the versatility of this lure, in terms of the areas you want to target, becomes almost endless. Excluding deep water in the middle of nowhere, these lures are a perfect selection for any terrain, on any stretch of water. Now let’s not forget that this lure is mimicking a frog, so just think to yourself, what areas in the water would you most likely see a frog swimming on the surface of the water?
Overhanging foliage and around timber and sticks are a dynamite places to start. Weed beds or strong grass lines are also places where you will want to specifically target fish with this lure. Rivers however are where this lure should absolutely without a doubt always be tied onto your line. Rivers provide such a diverse array of structure, from natural to manmade, all of which is suited to fishing these Finesse FrogZ.
My absolute go-to areas to target fish with these lures consist of long cane grass edges, around bridge pylons, along boat hulls and especially manmade and natural drains. When I talk about a drain, I mean quite literally a drain. All rivers will have large manmade drains that allow rainwater to dump into the river, making it the ultimate ambush spot for predators like Aussie bass, looking for an easy meal washed down with the flow of water. If, however, you are fishing on a dam, look for natural drains or inlet creeks or streams that will act in the same way. Other key areas to look out for include any pockets of shade where the bass can sit in wait for that unsuspecting insect, or frog in this case, to come swimming past.
How you will want to work this lure is the best part. It is so easy anyone can do it. Simply cast at the target area and commence a slow to medium roll (wind) back. The legs of the Finesse FrogZ will paddle on the water surface and hopefully attract the attention of any hungry fish nearby. Raising and lowering the rod tip and slowing down or speeding up the retrieve will impact the action, noise and bubble trail left by the Finesse FrogZ, so you can adjust these variables until you have the action and noise that you are looking for. The paddle foot action, bubble trail and gurgling noise are irresistible to topwater predators.
Being able to skip cast will provide a huge advantage when using this lure, as skip casting will allow you to get right up and into areas that a standard cast cannot access. If, however, you can’t or have never tried to skip cast, this is the perfect lure to practice on. Remember, practice makes perfect, so just keep practicing your skip casting and in no time you will look like a pro and be firing up into all of the seemingly impossible to reach places. These harder to reach pockets are absolutely the red-hot places to fish, that will see the highest concentration of the fish you are targeting.
As the name suggests, this is a finesse lure, so the setup you will want to use is a nice light spin setup. I use a TT Black Mamba and an Okuma 7’ light action rod. The light action allows a nice parabolic tip action that assists in loading up and flinging the lure right up and into those hard-to-reach areas. Paired with those rods I typically use a 1000 size reel, making it the perfect finesse weapon. The new Okuma ITX would be a great option for this type of setup.
When it comes to line weight, I would suggest around a 10lb main, such as the Platypus Pulse X8, along with a 10lb leader, such as the Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader. Feel free to play around with the line rating you use, however just remember that you will get bitten around intense structure, so you will need a class of line that can get you out of a sticky situation. One thing to remember as well, is that the line will not be in the water column, rather on top of it, so there is no need to worry about fish being leader shy as they will not be able to see it, especially with the distraction and attraction of the Finesse FrogZ.
Rigging this lure could not be any easier and all you need is a size 1/0 TT ChinlockZ Finesse jighead and the lure itself. A simple loop knot, tied to the ChinlockZ, will allow a more freedom of movement for your plastic. So, if you don’t know how to tie a loop knot, I would suggest learning one for this application.
That’s it! That’s all there is to it. Seems easy right? That’s because it is. Honestly, this lure and technique is great for a beginner, right through to a more professional angler like myself. So, get down to your local tackle store, grab yourself a packet of ZMan 2.75” Finesse FrogZ and enjoy watching your frog get absolutely annihilated right in front of your eyes. Remember these tasty topwater treats will also appeal to a wide range of other surface feeding predators, including barramundi, mangrove jack and saratoga. A word of warning though, after your first hook up on the ZMan 2.5” Finesse FrogZ, I can promise you that you will be addicted to throwing this lure.
You can catch me on all the socials: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube (Keeghan Painter Fishing). Be sure to subscribe and shoot me a follow, and as always, if you have any questions on what we have covered today, don’t hesitate to fire me a message and have a chat.
Tight Lines guys, enjoy the action!
Gearing Up:
TT Black Mamba Spin Rods - BMS701L 7' 1-3kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reels - ITX-1000
Platypus Pulse X8 Braid - 10lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 10lb
ZMan 2.5" Finesse FrogZ
TT ChinlockZ Finesse Jighead - 1/0