Built my own thumper last winter as a fun project and hope to get on the water soon. Do you thumper guys use them year around or just in the cooler months?

I use mine every trip. If fishing topwater I will wait until the topwater bite stops before I turn it on.

I use mine all year as well. I may use a splasher if the fish are above 20’ deep but once they go below that, the thumper will bring them to your boat!

In the heat of the summer, the thumper became less effective. I changed over to splasher and caught a lot of fish. I use both now. In the spring, and in the river above Whitney I found the fish left the area of the thumper in 25 feet of water. I changed my thumper hammer to a smaller one and have yet to try it.

Thumpers work on vibrations, I would reduce your speed vs switch hammer size. In cases where fish move away, decrease your speed and they may come back. I normally use a splasher in 20’ or less. They are both tools in your toolbox!