Surface lures

[GG89]

Many moons ago Harris Angling used to sell all the surface lures , crazy crawlers etc …. Who sells surface lures now and are they being sold in the UK ?
I’d like some more surface lures for the late spring early summer .
Cheers all

[Monts]

Many moons ago Harris Angling used to sell all the surface lures , crazy crawlers etc …. Who sells surface lures now and are they being sold in the UK ?
I’d like some more surface lures for the late spring early summer .
Cheers all

Amazon sells the Heddon Crazy Crawler. Or try one of these from Chico

https://chicoslures.co.uk/water-baits-c ... 7d0o92dj45

If you Google Top Water Lures loads and loads come up.

[Steve Dennington]

What type/size are you after?

[Monts]

What type/size are you after?

Tell him about your love of Frogs

[Steve Dennington]

What type/size are you after?

Tell him about your love of Frogs

Don't even mention them! I own just one frog now and I don't even know where it is. It hasn't got wet for what must be the best part of ten years now, after that soul destroying session of take after take and not a single one landed!

[peteren]

I have caught more on frogs than all my other topwaters together.
Most hits in or around weed in weedy venues hard to fish without weedless rigs.
Surface hits in open water much rarer for me.
Lots of misses too - but I'd rather that than no hits!

[GG89]

What type/size are you after?

I’m after any sort or surface lures . I’ve a couple of crazy crawlers and I’d like a couple more . Preferably the bigger of the two sizes.
Any help is gratefully appreciated.

[Monts]

What type/size are you after?

Tell him about your love of Frogs

Don't even mention them! I own just one frog now and I don't even know where it is. It hasn't got wet for what must be the best part of ten years now, after that soul destroying session of take after take and not a single one landed!

I like to fish them a few times a season, I agree at times the hook up ratio can be frustrating. But they are great fun to fish.

[Steve Dennington]

What type/size are you after?

I’m after any sort or surface lures . I’ve a couple of crazy crawlers and I’d like a couple more . Preferably the bigger of the two sizes.
Any help is gratefully appreciated.

Chico's Smity Scuttlebugs would be a good addition if you haven't got one https://chicoslures.co.uk/water-baits-s ... 4j9vgqe8o6

I'll be starting making a batch of various cedar topwaters in the next week or two, but they won't be ready for a while and the hardware for crazy crawler type baits is horrendously expensive now (and there's VAT to pay on arrival thanks to Brexit...), which obviously pushes the price of the finished lure up.

https://www.lureparts.nl/en/creeper-wings.html

[Steve Dennington]

What type/size are you after?

Tell him about your love of Frogs

Don't even mention them! I own just one frog now and I don't even know where it is. It hasn't got wet for what must be the best part of ten years now, after that soul destroying session of take after take and not a single one landed!

I like to fish them a few times a season, I agree at times the hook up ratio can be frustrating. But they are great fun to fish.

They do allow you to fish spot where you couldn't throw much else, 'tis true. I struggle to combine a dozen missed takes and a blank with the word "fun" though!

[ErikB]

Get yourself a (couple) whopper plopper, basically unbreakable and pike hit them like a truck! Go for black, black stands out in surface water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJT0LGA3HC4 <--Whopper plopper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UWJTWmY_Vw <--6:08

Great for evenings in the warmer months!

[Mark Phillips]

All you need for pike... Giant Jackpot, 6" Hawg Wobbler, Scuttle Bug, Top Cat, Bucher Top Raider, Bucher Dancin Raider, Frogzilla and a new one I really like, the Savage 3D 30cm Snake.

Probably have to buy from the States for a few of those, as no one seems to import them anymore. Jackpot is the one that seems get the bigger fish and the Top Raider is very good when there is a chop on the water.

[Jack H]

Never done well on surface lures, Not sure why . Got a couple of the savage gear ducks, some from arbogast in America and a savage gear frog. I do make sure I’ve got one with me just in case, although they rarely get used.

Jack

[Steve Dennington]

All you need for pike... Giant Jackpot, 6" Hawg Wobbler, Scuttle Bug, Top Cat, Bucher Top Raider, Bucher Dancin Raider, Frogzilla and a new one I really like, the Savage 3D 30cm Snake.

Probably have to buy from the States for a few of those, as no one seems to import them anymore. Jackpot is the one that seems get the bigger fish and the Top Raider is very good when there is a chop on the water.

The cost has made it unviable, Mark. Ten years back, you could buy blank Burts for less than a tenner, but they're about £20 now, plus shipping, plus VAT, so it makes them far too expensive to even consider importing.

Same goes for shipping. I've sent lures to the States for little more than a tenner (tracked & insured!), but try to do it now and it'll set you back £25 or so

[barnsy]

Mark Houghton is currently doing his (really good) floating mice in a variety of styles. You can find him on Facebook.

[brendan taaffe]

Mark Houghton is currently doing his (really good) floating mice in a variety of styles. You can find him on Facebook.

I was about to say the same thing! He does a super mouse in various patterns at very reasonable prices. And as above ... you will find him on fb.

[Mark Phillips]

All you need for pike... Giant Jackpot, 6" Hawg Wobbler, Scuttle Bug, Top Cat, Bucher Top Raider, Bucher Dancin Raider, Frogzilla and a new one I really like, the Savage 3D 30cm Snake.

Probably have to buy from the States for a few of those, as no one seems to import them anymore. Jackpot is the one that seems get the bigger fish and the Top Raider is very good when there is a chop on the water.

The cost has made it unviable, Mark. Ten years back, you could buy blank Burts for less than a tenner, but they're about £20 now, plus shipping, plus VAT, so it makes them far too expensive to even consider importing.

Same goes for shipping. I've sent lures to the States for little more than a tenner (tracked & insured!), but try to do it now and it'll set you back £25 or so

Yes you're right to highlight that, I know it has become expensive, but it is still viable; you just have to accept the cost. Having said that, I don't ever recall shipping costs were that cheap, even back in the day.

There's still gear that you can only get from the States, stuff like high spec' livescope mounts and yep, larger surface lures. Sure, you could make do with what's available here, but if you want the best... I just take the hit. The one thing I found to mitigate some of the costs was to do joint orders with a mate, which reduces the overall shipping costs, of course you won't avoid the VAT.

Decent surface lures are something that is severely lacking from a lot of EU suppliers. Almost everything I use is from the States

[davelumb]

Floating Squirrely Burt.

[Mark Phillips]

Never done well on surface lures, Not sure why . Got a couple of the savage gear ducks, some from arbogast in America and a savage gear frog. I do make sure I’ve got one with me just in case, although they rarely get used.

Jack

Do you fish in the spring? That's when they're most effective on a lot of enclosed waters. Some days, most of my fish will be caught on them. Just takes confidence to use them and not put one on for a few casts, then swap back to sub-surface lure. On some drains I fish early season (not summer), you'll catch all day on them. It's a bit like when someone says they can't catch on spinnerbaits, a lure type that I've had several Red Letter Days with - nine times out of ten, they don't use them enough or just lack confidence. Give them a proper go and you will catch, then you'll start to use them more, and you'll catch more. Pike also are far more aggressive when it comes to hitting them, so even if they muck it up, they'll go again. Mind you, hook up rates, not the greatest with some surface lures. Still, good fun it is.

[Frenchieboy]

I find surface lure fishing extremely exciting even if the hook up ratio is somewhat lower than with sub-surface lures.
There's nothing to beat seeing a good blow up when fishing with a frog or a rat, and as has been said if a pike misses a frog or a rat on the surface surface lure on the first "attack" it will often follow on and "attack" the lure again!
I always have a couple of frogs and rats in my lure boxes but I have to admit that I have never tried any of the "Whopper Popper" type of lures, maybe one or tow of them should be the next addition to my lure collection, any suggestions as to which ones might be best please anyone?

P.S. The wife thinks I am ill because I have not bought any new lures over the last couple of weeks - At least the closed season is saving me some money!

[paintman]

Do the frog lures with the extra hook that you attach to the two in the body hook any better with it attached?

[Jack H]

Never done well on surface lures, Not sure why . Got a couple of the savage gear ducks, some from arbogast in America and a savage gear frog. I do make sure I’ve got one with me just in case, although they rarely get used.

Jack

Do you fish in the spring? That's when they're most effective on a lot of enclosed waters. Some days, most of my fish will be caught on them. Just takes confidence to use them and not put one on for a few casts, then swap back to sub-surface lure. On some drains I fish early season (not summer), you'll catch all day on them. It's a bit like when someone says they can't catch on spinnerbaits, a lure type that I've had several Red Letter Days with - nine times out of ten, they don't use them enough or just lack confidence. Give them a proper go and you will catch, then you'll start to use them more, and you'll catch more. Pike also are far more aggressive when it comes to hitting them, so even if they muck it up, they'll go again. Mind you, hook up rates, not the greatest with some surface lures. Still, good fun it is.

Not tried fishing in the spring, but a carp lake on my new club ticket does hold some decent pike. I’ll have to give it a thorough go this year. Only ever tried surface lures in the late summer/early autumn on the river, depending on the weather.

Cheers
Jack

[Steve Dennington]

Decent surface lures are something that is severely lacking from a lot of EU suppliers. Almost everything I use is from the States

I make and sell topwaters (always from western red cedar - same as all the best lure builders in the States) albeit on a very small scale. It's fair to say I make some big ones though (pic attached of one I made last year).

I'm about to start a batch (WTD, crawlers and propbaits) in various sizes, but not quite as big as the one in the pic. The very large ones aren't widely popular in the UK though, I've found

[Daniel]

Do the frog lures with the extra hook that you attach to the two in the body hook any better with it attached?

Yes.

[paintman]

Do the frog lures with the extra hook that you attach to the two in the body hook any better with it attached?

Yes.

[Jack H]

Decent surface lures are something that is severely lacking from a lot of EU suppliers. Almost everything I use is from the States

I make and sell topwaters (always from western red cedar - same as all the best lure builders in the States) albeit on a very small scale. It's fair to say I make some big ones though (pic attached of one I made last year).

I'm about to start a batch (WTD, crawlers and propbaits) in various sizes, but not quite as big as the one in the pic. The very large ones aren't widely popular in the UK though, I've found

Amazing paint job . Knowing my luck I’d lose it up a tree 1st cast

Jack

[Steve Dennington]

Decent surface lures are something that is severely lacking from a lot of EU suppliers. Almost everything I use is from the States

I make and sell topwaters (always from western red cedar - same as all the best lure builders in the States) albeit on a very small scale. It's fair to say I make some big ones though (pic attached of one I made last year).

I'm about to start a batch (WTD, crawlers and propbaits) in various sizes, but not quite as big as the one in the pic. The very large ones aren't widely popular in the UK though, I've found

Amazing paint job . Knowing my luck I’d lose it up a tree 1st cast

Jack

Thanks. On the plus side, losing topwaters is incredibly rare - I can't recall losing one ever!

[Mark Phillips]

Decent surface lures are something that is severely lacking from a lot of EU suppliers. Almost everything I use is from the States

I make and sell topwaters (always from western red cedar - same as all the best lure builders in the States) albeit on a very small scale. It's fair to say I make some big ones though (pic attached of one I made last year).

I'm about to start a batch (WTD, crawlers and propbaits) in various sizes, but not quite as big as the one in the pic. The very large ones aren't widely popular in the UK though, I've found

Very nice

[Davecott83]

Bucher top raiders are my most successful surface lures. Problem is I’ve not got any at the minute

We used to be spoiled for lure choice. I got some cracking imported lures in Harris anglings deals of the day