Freshwater anglers have lots of topwater options. In the bass game especially, those looking for surface eruptions can dip into practically any lure genre and find the perfect bait to call up a hog.

Up until the late 1990s, only Slidell-area locals knew who Dudley Vandenborre was. He was the dude who always caught such big speckled trout in Lake Pontchartrain using a soft-plastic lure he designed ...