Some days you just know they are looking up. Slick water, a bit of ripple, the odd baitfish dimpling the surface… that is when a whopper plopper style topwater lure like this 12 g, 8 cm cup-mouth minnow comes out to play. It is built for one job: make a rude noise on top and drag angry bass and trout out of cover they really should have stayed in.
This particular 12 g whopper plopper style topwater lure sits in the Hardbaits / Whopper Plopper lane on Bass Fishing Tips US. It is a compact, easy-to-cast hardbody with a cupped mouth that pushes water and a tight, buzzing track that calls fish up from a long way off. Think “annoying baitfish sprinting for its life” rather than “polite little popper.”
If you have ever watched proper River2Sea Ploppers at work, you already know the vibe. Topwater can be ridiculously addictive, and this style of lure has become the go-to when you want straight-retrieve chaos without learning a fancy walk-the-dog cadence. This one just happens to come in at a nice, bank-friendly 12 g and 8 cm, so it is easy to chuck on your normal casting setup and let it get to work.
Why This Lure Works – Whopper Plopper Style Topwater Lure Breakdown
There are a few reasons this sort of whopper plopper style topwater lure punches way above its price tag.
1. It is noisy in the right way. The whole point of this style is that steady “plop-plop-plop” trail on the surface. Wired2Fish’s Whopper Plopper how-to guide talks about how the continuous commotion pulls fish from a distance and makes them track the bait for ages before finally losing their temper. You get the same idea here: a straight retrieve that sounds like something helpless and doomed.
2. The size hits the sweet spot. At 8 cm and 12 g, this is “big enough to be worth eating” but not so heavy that you need a broomstick and 65 lb braid to throw it. That makes it ideal if you want a whopper plopper style topwater lure you can chuck on normal medium or medium-heavy gear without hating your life after an hour.
3. It tracks straight and stays on top. Proper plopper-style lures are basically hybrids between a prop bait and a buzzbait. Major League Fishing describe the original Plopper as a cross that floats like a prop bait but churns like a buzzbait on a straight retrieve, with that distinct plopping sound and mile-long castability in their piece on making the most of Whopper Ploppers. This lure follows that template in a smaller package – it wants a simple, steady retrieve, not a complicated dance routine.
4. It is proven topwater logic, not a gimmick. Outdoor Life’s list of the best topwater lures for bass puts the River2Sea Whopper Plopper in the “best for fall” slot, right up there with classics like the Spook and Pop-R. Field & Stream’s breakdown of the 10 best bass lures ever made also calls out the Whopper Plopper as the modern topwater troublemaker. This style works, full stop – this lure just gives you that package in a compact, budget-friendly format.
How To Fish It
The nice thing about a whopper plopper style topwater lure is that you do not need a PhD in rod work. It is basically “point, cast, wind, hang on.” That said, there are a few little tweaks that make a big difference.
1. Classic straight retrieve
The default is simple:
- Make a long cast past the good stuff – grass lines, laydowns, docks, current seams.
- Drop your rod tip and start a steady retrieve until you hear that consistent plop-plop trail.
- Keep the speed just fast enough that the lure stays on top and does not blow out.
Wired2Fish’s video on Whopper Plopper tips is basically a masterclass in this: long casts, straight retrieve, let the bait do its thing and resist the temptation to overwork it.
2. Kill it around cover
If you are bringing this whopper plopper style topwater lure past a stump, dock post or weed edge and a fish swirls but misses, do not just keep burning. Pause for a second or two, then start it up again. That sudden stop-start often flips them from “interested” to “completely unhinged.”
Bassmaster’s article on which topwater to throw when calls out how prop-style surface baits really shine when you work them carefully around specific cover, not just randomly in open water.
3. Play with speed
Sometimes they want a lazy bloop; sometimes they only react to a burning retrieve. Try a few different speeds:
- Medium, steady retrieve for general searching.
- Slow “plop-pause-plop” around obvious targets.
- Fast burn in low light or wind when they are already fired up.
If you get followers but no eats, a quick acceleration and then a sudden stop right by the boat or bank can be enough to make one finally lose its mind. That is classic whopper plopper style topwater lure behaviour – the sound and speed change is the trigger.
When To Use It
You can technically throw this all season, but there are definite “prime time” windows where a whopper plopper style topwater lure really shines.
- Early and late in the day: low light, calm to slight ripple and bait dimpling the surface are green lights. Dawn and dusk are textbook plopper time.
- Warm-water months: once the water is properly warmed up, bass get confident about looking up. Summer evenings with a bit of chop are perfect.
- Wind-blown banks and points: a gentle breeze that stacks bait on one side of the lake is your friend – run this lure down that bank.
- Over grass, laydowns and shallow rock: anywhere you would throw a buzzbait or prop bait, you can sling this too.
Bassmaster’s topwater coverage, including their seasonal breakdowns and topwater tackle system tips, all make the same point: warm, shallow, bait-rich water plus cover equals topwater time.
Does It Actually Catch Fish?
Short answer: yes, if you put it in the right place. The whole whopper plopper craze did not happen by accident. Field & Stream and Outdoor Life both rate the original as one of the most productive topwater baits in modern bass fishing, and Major League Fishing have whole features dedicated to squeezing more bites from it.
If you want some real-world reassurance, have a scroll through r/bassfishing’s Whopper Plopper threads. You will see the same theme: “they definitely catch fish,” “pike go crazy for them,” “I called smallmouth up from deep water.” That is the exact same job this 12 g whopper plopper style topwater lure is doing – drawing fish up and making them do something stupid on the surface.
Think of it as a reaction-bait. You are not trying to feed them a subtle meal; you are trying to crash a noisy intruder through their living room. If the conditions are right and you commit to it, this lure will absolutely get chewed.
Gear Pairing (real-world setup ideas)
You do not need a crazy specialist combo for this lure, but a sensible topwater setup definitely helps you land more of what blows up on it.
- Rod: something around 6’10”–7’2” medium or medium-heavy with a moderate or mod-fast action. Enough backbone to throw a 12 g bait, soft enough to keep trebles pinned. The kind of rod Bernie Schultz mentions in Bassmaster’s topwater tackle systems is bang on.
- Reel: mid-speed baitcaster (around 6.3:1–7.1:1) or a 3000-ish size spinning reel if you are more comfortable with that. The key is a smooth, easy retrieve you can hold all session.
- Line: a lot of anglers like straight braid for big Ploppers, but with a lighter 12 g whopper plopper style topwater lure you can happily run braid to a mono or copolymer leader. The bit of stretch from mono can help keep fish glued on.
On Bass Fishing Tips US itself, this lure slots nicely into a little “surface to sub-surface” system:
- Use this whopper plopper style topwater lure when they are looking up and you want noisy commotion.
- Swap to the Plastic Float Crank Bait when you need to grind just under the surface and bang off cover.
- Add a more subtle swimbait option like the Meredith Easy Shiner Swimbait when they follow but will not fully commit on top.
- When they are sulking deeper, a jointed option such as the 3-Piece 8 Segment Fishing Lure Set or even a worm like the Plastic Tigertail Worm lets you stay in the same areas with a more subtle look.
Together, that gives you a simple little progression: start on top with the whopper plopper style topwater lure, then work your way down the water column if they stop looking up.
Specs
- Lure type: topwater hardbait in the Whopper Plopper / prop style family
- Body style: 8 cm minnow / darter profile with cupped mouth
- Weight: 12 g
- Buoyancy: surface-running topwater
- Target species: bass, trout and other freshwater or inshore predators that will smash surface commotion
- Colours: multiple patterns (A–N options on the product page) so you can match local baitfish or just pick what looks spicy
- Category on site: Fishing Lures → Hardbaits → Whopper Plopper
FAQ
Can I throw this whopper plopper style topwater lure on spinning gear?
Yes, mate. At 12 g it is well within the sweet spot for a 2500–3000 size spinning reel and a medium or medium-heavy rod. Just run a floating mainline or a braid-to-mono leader so the line does not drag the nose under.
Will it work in rivers as well as lakes?
Absolutely. As long as the current is not ridiculous, you can cast this slightly upstream or across, then bring it back so it plops naturally with the flow. Wired2Fish point out in their Whopper Plopper pieces that casting across current seams and letting the bait work over ambush spots is deadly on river smallmouth – same idea here.
What colour should I start with?
Simple rule of thumb: natural baitfish patterns in clear water and brighter or darker, high-contrast colours in stained water. Outdoor Life’s topwater coverage leans on the same idea – you are not painting a masterpiece, you are just making it easy for them to find and kill it.
How long should I commit to topwater before switching?
If the conditions look right – warm, shallow, low light and bait on top – give this whopper plopper style topwater lure a solid half hour on good water. If you get follows or boils but no hooks, tweak speed and angles. If it is totally dead, that is when you drop down the water column with a crankbait, swimbait or worm instead.
Final Verdict
If you want to get into the whole whopper plopper game without throwing around big, expensive hardware, this 12 g, 8 cm cup-mouth minnow is a cracking place to start. It has the right size, the right sound and the right retrieve style to give you everything people love about the original Ploppers, just in a more manageable package for bank sessions and normal casting gear.
Fish it in the right conditions, over the right cover, and it will absolutely pull some daft ones off the top. And let us be honest – watching a decent bass detonate on a whopper plopper style topwater lure is about as much fun as you can have with your feet still on the deck.
Tie it on, send it down the bank and get ready for violent surface tantrums.
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