A tale of two topwater popper heavyweights – Offshore Angler’s Magnum Z-Pop & Creek Chub’s Knuckle-Head

About 10 years back, I was fishing with my wife (then girlfriend) on the opening day of Musky. It was a rather hot afternoon, and we were trolling in an S-pattern over 33 feet of water with big custom spinnerbaits. On one pass I managed to hook a rather large Yellow Perch (12-13 inches) and started to bring it into the boat rather quickly. As it hydroplaned along the surface of the water, it flapped its tail and made a ruckus trying to free itself from the large trailer hook of the spinner bait. Suddenly, at about 10 feet from the boat, a massive Musky rocketed out of the water from the deep - like a missile launched from a nuclear submarine - nearly landing right at my feet!. As it fell back into the water like a breaching wale, I noticed that in its mouth, now completely and totally hidden from view, was my spinnerbait and the unfortunate perch. The drag on my spinning reel screamed as my mind struggled to catch up with my floundering hands, which were desperately trying to turn the handle. The struggle seemed to last an eternity, but in reality (as my wife would later attest to) the fight was over in mere moments as the Musky released its grip on the perch. I reeled in the suspected remains, only to find the large perch completely unharmed, physically that is. That Musky was large enough to engulf, on the surface mind you, a 13 inch fish and a 6 inch lure in their combined entirety - incredible.

From that day forward I never once doubted potential effectiveness of super-sized topwaters for trophy fish. I don't fish for Musky or Pike anymore these days as the pursuit of Largemouth Bass is my game (for time and geographic reasons) and I’ve never fished the Amazon, nor have I ever wet a line in Australia or Africa - but if I ever get the opportunity to fish for monster sized freshwater game again, there are two topwater baits that will be in my tackle box to be sure - Creek Chub's Knuckle-Head and Offshore Angler’s Magnum Z-Pop.

Creek Chub's Knuckle-Head is a wonderfully unique, jointed topwater popper made with the trophy fish angler in mind. The most unique feature being the head, which is jointed with Creek Chub's new patent pending "Hold-Tite" link, giving the Knuckle-Head an "injured gill" look. It is appropriately weighted for long casts and made to withstand big game fish, creating a distinctive popping and splashing action on the water that simulates a wounded baitfish. It sports over-sized, realistic inset "3D" eyes and super sharp saltwater resistant treble hooks with a complementing marabou hair tail. The bait is tailor made for for Pike, Striped bass, Redfish and Musky fishing, but the smaller models are just as effective on giant Largemouth Bass. The Knuckle-Head is available three sizes (Original - 5" 1-1/2 OZ/$10.49, Jr. - 4" 5/8 OZ/$8.49 and Super - 7" 2-1/2 OZ/$17.99) in a wide array of colour schemes, including two holographic options. I recommend all three models be thrown on capable spinning outfits with, in the case of the larger sized baits, heavy line tests.

Sleek design complemented by top-shelf hardware - A marvel to look at and to fish.

Offshore Angler's Magnum Z-Pop is a 4-1/2" 1 OZ/$4.99 popping behemoth that offers both outstanding value and quality. Bass Pro Shop's saltwater lures have taken huge leaps forward in terms of quality and design with the introduction of the Lazer Eye Saltwater Series. These baby squirrel-sized poppers are also pre-tuned for long distance casting and feature wonderfully sculpted detail, lifelike prismatic "3D" eyes, and ultra-sharp corrosion-resistant hooks. This is a thick bait - one that commands a heavy rod, reel and line test to throw, but also one that commands a distinct presence on the water.

Robust, stout, bold and well made - The Magnum Z-Pop is a true topwater popper heavyweight.

Topwater Bottom Line: If I am ever in a position to fish for monster fish, those truly large predators who consume baby ducks and large rodents on the surface, I will be sure to give these saltwater baits a throw, as their design, quality, substantive actions and incredible affordability cannot be disputed. In fact, I quite enjoy throwing salt water baits for fresh water fish in general as you can find some really interesting colour schemes not made available otherwise. As a bonus, to me at least, these large lures display fantastically in my collection, and will remain there as eye candy until one day - hopefully - they are called upon to raise a monster from the deep. As always, please practice catch and release with this lure.

Topwater Rating - Creek Chub's Knuckle-Head:

5 out of 5 bobbers

Topwater Rating - Offshore Angler’s Magnum Z-Pop:

4.5 out of 5 bobbers

The head may say "please no!" but big game fish will say "yes!" - "Hold-Tite" jointed head technology links the head of lure to body so that they will not pull apart.

Do Saltwater patterns work in fresh? I think so. Along with traditional saltwater colors, such as mackerel, anglers can choose from a range of other forage fish patterns - pinfish, mullet, pilchard, sardine, croaker, goggle eye, and more.