Burle Topwater 14g Pencil Popper – Insect Tractor Surface Lure for Freshwater Bass

If you like your fishing loud, visual and just a little bit ridiculous, the Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper is right up your street. This is a surface insect bait with a long pencil body, a chunky head and those trademark “moving wings” that throw spray and commotion as it waddles across the top. Designed as a topwater lure for freshwater, it is especially deadly when bass are feeding up on insects and small baitfish near the surface.

Why This Lure Works

The whole point of the Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper is to look like an easy, slightly panicked snack. That 14 g weight gives you enough heft to chuck it a fair way, but it is still built to float and “wave climb” on the surface, so you get that classic bug-in-trouble profile instead of a diving crank. The body sits high, the face pushes water, and the wings add that erratic flicker and splash that makes predators come up to investigate – and then lose their temper.

Those moving wings are more than just decoration. As you pull the lure, they flick and flap, throwing off micro-vibrations and a small spray trail. In clear or slightly rippled water this gives the illusion of a drowning dragonfly or a struggling cicada. Bass are hardwired to smash anything that looks like a bug in trouble, and this little tractor lure leans into that instinct perfectly.

Because it is a pencil popper rather than a tiny crankbait, it also naturally lends itself to a subtle “walk the dog” style action, sliding left-right while still burping water on the surface. That combination of pops, glides and splashes is exactly what a lot of the big-name pencil poppers trade on, and there is a reason they keep showing up in topwater round-ups from the big sites.

How To Fish It

Think of the Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper as your “troublemaker” on a warm day. Cast it long past your target zone – reed edges, laydowns, the edge of a weed bed or a shady bank – and point your rod tip down towards the water. Give it short, sharp twitches while keeping a bit of slack in the line so it can dart and spit rather than just plough in a straight line.

If you have ever fished walking topwaters like a Zara Spook or a pencil bait, the principle is the same: small taps with the rod, not big sweeps. Most pros will tell you the magic is in that slack line and rhythm, which lets the lure walk and roll side to side. With this insect version, those same taps also make the wings kick, giving you both the “walk” and the bug flutter in one go.

Work it in three main styles and let the fish tell you what they want on the day:

• Slow creep: One or two twitches, then a pause. Perfect for calm mornings when bass are sipping bugs off the top or cruising under overhanging trees.
• Steady tractor wake: Constant, medium-speed twitches so the lure throws a noisy V-wake and the wings keep flapping. Great with a bit of ripple and wind, as a lot of pencil popper specialists recommend.
• Burn and kill: Wind it quickly to get interest, then slam on the brakes and let it sit. That sudden stop is often when a bass rockets up and absolutely trucks it.

If you need a visual, watch a good pencil popper walkthrough and simply copy the cadence; the Burle bug just adds insect theatre on top of the usual walking action.

When To Use It

The Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper comes into its own once the water has warmed up enough that bass are happy to come up for a feed – think late spring through early autumn for most places, or whenever night temps are not freezing your fingers off. Articles on topwater walking baits and poppers often talk about water temps above roughly 12–13°C (mid-50s °F) as the point where surface bites get properly consistent, and this little insect bait plays right into that window.

Best times of day? Dawn, dusk and overcast days are your bread and butter, especially around mayfly or dragonfly activity, but do not be afraid to throw it at midday if you have a nice bit of shade, breeze and active bait. Topwater specialists have shown time and again that the “topwater window” is much bigger than most anglers think, especially when you match the hatch with the right profile.

Target areas where bugs naturally end up in trouble:

• Overhanging bushes and trees, especially when insects are dropping onto the water.
• Wind-blown banks, where wings and bodies get pushed into little surface corridors.
• Edges of weed beds, pads and grass lines where bass sit underneath waiting to ambush.
• Shallow stream mouths feeding into lakes or reservoirs, where current funnels food.

The lure is labelled for everything from streams and rivers to lakes, reservoirs and even inshore saltwater. Realistically, on BassFishingTips US your main game is freshwater bass, but if you fancy a laugh on perch, trout or even small saltwater predators, that noisy insect profile will absolutely still get attention.

Does It Actually Catch Fish?

Insect-style topwater plugs are not a gimmick – they are just a slightly more cartoonish way of doing what classic pencil poppers and poppers already do: make noise, move water and look like an easy meal. Big sites and pros have been banging on for years about how pencil poppers and walking baits can pull big fish up from a long way off, which is exactly the job description for the Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper when you are fishing it over shallow structure.

On the listing side, this lure shows up across multiple marketplaces, all selling it specifically as a bass-focused topwater insect pencil with those moving wings and a floating, wave-climbing design.:contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12} You are not dealing with some mystery Franken-bait; you are buying a proven style that is already doing the rounds with other anglers.

Will it outfish every walking bait or frog you own? No lure does. But when bugs are on the menu, fish are tight to the surface, or you just want something different to show pressured fish, this thing is a proper wildcard that can quickly turn a quiet session into chaos.

Gear Pairing

Because the Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper is still a fairly small, light topwater, you do not need broomstick gear. A 6’8″ to 7’2″ medium or medium-heavy rod with a fast tip is spot on – enough backbone to launch 14 g and drive hooks home, but with a soft enough tip to work that twitchy, walking action without ripping it out of the water.

For reels, most topwater anglers lean on a fast ratio baitcaster or a 3000-size spinning reel so you can quickly pick up slack and stay in contact during the walk-the-dog routine. Something in the 7.1:1 range for casting gear, or an equivalent high-speed spinner, keeps you in control.

Line-wise, braid to a short mono or copolymer leader is a solid option. Braid gives you long casts and crisp twitches; a mono or copolymer leader adds a bit of stretch and keeps the nose from being pulled under as easily, which is exactly what a lot of topwater guides and writers recommend for surface baits.

If you want to nerd out on the theory behind all this surface business, your own topwater theory piece is worth a tea break: try the science behind topwater lures article on BassFishingTips US and pair this bug with something like your floating pencil prop bait set for a full topwater box.:contentReference[oaicite:15]{index=15}

Specs

• Product name: Burle Topwater 14g Pencil Popper Surface Insect Bait Tractor Floating Wave Climbing Freshwater Moving Wings Bass Pencil Fishing:contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16}
• Brand: Burle (sold under generic “Choice/No Brand” on marketplaces):contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17}
• Type: Topwater pencil popper insect bait (“tractor” style)
• Weight: 14 g main model (9 cm), with some listings also offering an 8 cm / 10 g version:contentReference[oaicite:18]{index=18}
• Length: Approx. 9 cm for the 14 g size:contentReference[oaicite:19]{index=19}
• Buoyancy/action: Floating, “wave climbing” topwater bug with moving wings and pencil popper profile
• Target species: Designed primarily for bass, but labelled for trout, pike, perch, zander and seabass as well
• Positions listed: Stream, river, lake, reservoir pond; also flagged for ocean beach, boat and rock fishing on some listings
• Construction: Durable material, made in mainland China:contentReference[oaicite:23]{index=23}
• Quantity per pack: 1 lure per pack:contentReference[oaicite:24]{index=24}
• Colour: Multicolour insect patterns

FAQ

Final Verdict

If your topwater box is all frogs, Spooks and traditional poppers, the Burle Topwater 14g pencil popper is the daft-looking cousin that turns up and steals the show. It casts well for its size, floats high, kicks and spits on command, and those moving wings give bass something a bit different to hate.

Use it when insects are on the menu, when fish are cruising just under the film, or whenever you fancy some full-blown surface explosions instead of staring at a bobbing float. It is not trying to replace your favourite walking bait – it is there to give you another gear when the usual stuff feels a bit “seen it all before” to the fish.

Stick one in the box, get it over some shallow cover on a warm evening and see how many times you can make your heart stop before dark.

When the Burle bug starts chugging across the top, be ready – the hits are pure chaos and exactly why we fish topwater.