After launching the boat at the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s Franklin launch, I motored a couple hundred yards upriver to the base of a small riffle.

Traffic buzzed over the nearby bridge that carries Route 322 over the Allegheny River, near the spot where French Creek joins. My friend Dave Lehman cast a popper style topwater bait on to the slightly rippled surface. After a few chugs, a nice bass took a pass at the lure, but Dave missed it.

“I saw the fish and set the hook too fast,” he admonished himself. “That was a nice bass. I always tell people not to set simply from hearing the strike, or seeing it.

“Personally I don’t have much trouble with the sound part, as my hearing isn’t that good anymore. But I sure messed up right there on the sight part.”

A few minutes later my seasoned partner took his own advice, hooking and landing a nice 16-inch smallmouth.

Topwater lures can be effective bass baits throughout much of the year, basically anytime the water temperature is approximately 55 degrees or higher.

But they really excel during late summer or early fall, due to a variety of likely reasons.

Surface baits can be lumped into five basic categories, each one having situations where it fishes best.

Poppers — Poppers have a concave face, one that cups water and spits it out when from motion imparted by the angler. Typically the rear treble sports a feather or silicone/rubber skirt to suggest life.

One can tailor the noise a popper makes by regulating the energy and frequency via rod twitches. A popper can really get a reaction from a bass. By nature, though, the lure is a slow worker, one not well suited to covering the water.

It’s best used when targeting specific spots, like a submerged log or rock, or a point of weeds. Wait until the bait disappears, like a bobber, before setting the hook (advice that applies to most types of topwaters).

Stickbaits — Stickbaits are cigar-shaped, and provide no action on their own, but rather rely on that from the angler. via a method known as “walking the dog.”

It takes a bit of practice to learn to “walk” a stickbait. Basically, you impart short rod-tip twitches with just a bit of slack in the line. With each twitch the reel is cranked to recover the line (since the bait is being pulled toward you), but don’t wind until all the slack is in; leave just a bit.

This way, the lure moves slowly forward, with a back-and-forth head wag. Once you develop a rhythm and cadence, walking the dog becomes a natural thing.

Use a large snap or split ring on the eye of the bait, so it has the freedom to swing side-to-side.

Fluorocarbon line, which sinks, can impede the bait’s action. It’s better to use nylon mono or braid.

Bass often miss stickbaits; just keep the bait moving if you have a “blowup” that doesn’t hook up. Chances are good the fish will strike again.

Buzzbaits — Buzzbaits look similar to a spinnerbait. Most are fashioned on an “R” shaped wire form, though some models are straight (in-line buzzers). A Delta-shaped blade provides the lift to get the bait on the surface.

Buzzbaits are most effective when they make noise. Some feature a extra “clacker’ blade that produces a clicking sound. I prefer buzzbaits that quickly get to the surface, and will stay there with a moderate-speed retrieve (as opposed to having to really burn them to keep them up).

Prop baits — Typically prop baits are also cigar-shaped, and feature a propeller at the nose and/or tail.

Prop baits are versatile, in that you can work them steady like a buzzbait, or twitch them like a popper, or any combination of the two. They can cover the water quickly, when fished fast.

A downside is that if there are floating weeds on the surface, they frequently foul, winding a piece of weed/grass into the prop.

Floating jerkbaits — Floating minnowbaits make great surface baits. They provide a different look in that twitches pull them subsurface, and then a pause allows them to bob back on top.

It’s a teasing method that can initiate reaction strikes, one best used when fishing near obvious targets.

While topwaters can produce anytime of the day, they tend to be most effective during low light periods, such as dawn and dusk witching hours, and during overcast days.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.