Apex Predator tests topwater lures for speckled trout

Strike King’s 4 ¾-inch KVD Sexy Dawg proves to be most effective, Chauvin says

Topwater action is really exciting, but it can become frustrating when speckled trout are only slapping at the bait or constantly coming unhooked during the fight. Since trout often feed on the surface only for short durations in the early-morning or late-afternoon, having a lure that puts fish in the boat as quickly as possible is important.

Just because I’ve caught well on common lures like MirrOlure’s She Dog and Top Dog, I’m always trying to find ones that produce even better, and I did.

Many topwater lures only have two treble hooks, but the lure I’ve been using — Strike King’s 4¾-inch KVD Sexy Dawg — has three trebles. And in my opinion, three work better than two.

Just like all my outdoors experiments, I try to limit the test to using only one variable. On one recent trip with perfect calm conditions, the variable was using a different brand of a similar-colored topwater lure while fishing the same school of feeding trout with the same rod and reel.

I fished my Sexy Dawg for about 20 minutes when the trout were busting on the surface feeding on shrimp. Most hookups happened within seconds of the bait being worked, with the trout getting hooked on the first, second or third slap at the bait.

I only lost two of the 21 trout I hooked with the Sexy Dawg. (One was due to a shark chasing my trout, so I fought that fish too hard.) Three other unfortunate specks fell victim to shark attacks that day.

After approaching my limit, I switched to a two-treble hook MirrOlure She Dog lure in a similar color. It took me more than 20 minutes to catch the final six fish at the same location working the same school of feeding fish.  On many casts, trout would take four to six slaps at my lure before a fish got hooked, and many more fish were lost during the battle.

On that day, I caught several bluefish, gafftops, and Spanish mackerel on the Strike King Sexy Dawg as well. And I had several seagulls and sharks chase after the lure, too, but I quickly pulled the bait out of their reach.

None of my trout had to be measured, but none were huge either — just a nice limit of 14- to 17-inch tasty specks. After experiencing the Sexy Dawg hook so many fish, I got hooked on the lure, too.

The video shows some of the topwater action before my camera battery died.  Also, it features a trip where I caught a bunch of trout on topwater lures with a treble hook stuck in my hand. (I took the treble hook off the lure and kept fishing through the pain.) The trout only bite for so long, so there is not a second to waste trying to take a hook out when it’s game time.

The Sexy Dawg throws just as well as many other similar lures, and has loud rattles. The She Dog may be a tad louder, but the Sexy Dawg is louder than MirrOlure’s Top Dog. I find the toughest topwater lures to cast are the prop baits, which have a lot of wind resistance.

The Sexy Dawg comes in very realistic colors and is very durable. I like oyster and sexy shad for muddier water. At night or in low light conditions, I use black with sparkles. In clear water, I use the clear sexy shad and green mullet colors, which have semi-translucent bodies.

As for action, the Sexy Dawg walks just as good if not better than all other topwaters I’ve used. It walks the surface very easily, and its slightly-flattened face gives great zig-zag action.

I use the lure on 20- or 30-pound PowerPro green braid on a spin cast 2500 reel. For the rod, I like a 7-foot foot lightweight medium-heavy rod that has a lot of action in the tip but a stiff backbone for long casts.

Sometimes the braid will get tangled to the front hook of the lure, but this seems to happen with all topwater lures I use from time to time. Still, the braided line gives me far superior strength, low line tangles and further casting distance than any similar sized monofilament. And fluorocarbon sinks, which makes it a poor choice for throwing topwaters.

The lure cost around $8, and I buy them on tacklewarehouse.com.  It comes in many colors, including several different shades of white which mimic shad or shrimp. To me the extra couple of bucks are well worth it, because the bait is tough and durable.

I recommend that anyone who loves a good topwater bite try the Sexy Dawg on your next trip, and you just may be surprised that you’re tossing bigger fish in the boat quicker than others fishing live bait or artificial lures under a cork.

About Josh Chauvin 117 Articles
Joshua Chauvin is a health-focused ultra-marathon runner who goes on solo manual-powered public land adventures focusing on hunting big game and large fish by using challenging methods and weapons. He enjoys self-filming and sharing the tactics and details from his expeditions to help others learn from his unique techniques.