Topwater CrawBuggin'
By ALTON JONES
Everyone is talking about how productive the 4" YUM CrawBug is. But I'm catching lots of big fish on this bait in some pretty non-traditional ways.
Ever thought about using it as a topwater? Yep, you heard right, a topwater. Rig the bait weightless on a 4/0 Excalibur Tg wide gap hook and use at least 20 pound test line. Look for areas of matted vegetation such as hydrilla or coontail moss. Any place you'd throw a moss boss, rat or scum frog is a perfect place for this technique.
Pull the bait slowly across the mats with a stop and go motion. When you come to a hole in the mat allow the CrawBug to sink slowly beneath the surface. Bass aren't used to seeing something so realistic looking that far back in the slop.
I've been in many situations over the past couple of years where the bass will crush the CrawBug, but they won't even look at anything else. In Florida I caught a 20-pound limit right behind another pro that was fishing a frog. He didn't even get a strike!
Alton Jones is one of the most consistent and accomplished professional bass anglers of all-time. Alton, who is an 8-time Bassmaster Classic contender (consecutive 1996-2003), has career winnings over $1,000,000. Alton's most recent victory was a 2024 Bassmaster Tour win at Clear Lake, Calif.
