I fish bass and panfish year round here in southern California. For much of the year, topwater presentations are mostly a waste of time if I want to catch fish. During the late spring through early fall months when topwater is most productive, it still tends to be a poor choice from late morning to early evening except for really small fish. Most of the reservoirs have pretty clear water and the fish retreat into the depths or into deep cover. I prefer to fish topwater, and will often fish topwater when I know the odds are not in my favor, but 90% of my bass and panfish catches are on subsurface patterns, often fished as deep as 20ft.

I tie many flies with rubber or silicone legs but I don't notice much difference in catch rates between flies with or without legs. I always incorporate materials that provide motion in the water such as marabou, webby saddle hackle, bucktail, angora goat, rabbit fur, or very fine synthetics like simi-seal. I often omit rubber or silicone legs on topwater patterns because tiny bluegill will often grab the legs and yank the flies around, which I find annoying but probably doesn't hurt anything.