Topwater Time
By: Will Whitehead – aka "The Fishin' Gypsy"
One of the greatest things about summer… Other than warm weather, homegrown strawberries and tomatoes, and vacations, is the arrival of “Topwater Time” on my local lakes and rivers. NOTHING beats seeing a bass smack a lure on the surface! They attack it with a vengeance and that is one reason for my love affair with the Smallmouth Bass.
I like the water to be 58 degrees or better before I start tossing topwater offerings. I have had strikes, though not so aggressive, at lower water temps, but 58 degrees seems to be the magic temperature when the bass start to hit surface lures with determination.
WHICH topwater lure I throw, in WHAT color and HOW I will fish that lure, at a given time and place will be determined by several factors… Species targeted; water clarity; geographical location; wind conditions and light conditions. That’s not to say that a lure I would normally throw on a windy day, with a lot of ripple on the water, won’t catch fish on a flat calm day. You will need to do some experimenting, and let the FISH tell you what they want. A few “Rules of Thumb”…
- a. The more of a ripple there is on the water; the lower the light condition; the murkier the water condition; the larger the fish species you are targeting… The bigger and LOUDER topwater lures will produce best.
- b. The calmer the water; the clearer the water; and the brighter the day… The smaller and more subtle your lure choice and action should be.
- c. Murky water and low light… Noisy but SLOW.
- d. Clear water and low light… Noisy but QUICKER.
- e. Clear water and bright light… Subtle and SLOW.
My NUMBER ONE choice in topwater lures is the Zara Spook series of lures by Heddon. I have EVERY color of Zara Spook ever produced and a few “Special” colors the fish have never seen before. And I fish them ALL… The standard Zara Spook; The Super Spook, Jr.; The Excalibur Spook and the Zara Puppy Spook. Different sizes for different applications.
As with ALL new lures I purchase, the first thing I do when I take a new “Spook” out of the package is to remove the split ring from the “eye” of the lure and pinch the barbs down on the hooks. Most of the “Spook” series are then ready to fish. The exception being the standard “Zara Spook”. This was and is and always will be a “Salt Water” lure at heart, and so comes outfitted with nickel plated hooks, hung directly onto the hook hangers of the lure. I remove these hooks and save them for other uses. Then I place a small split ring onto the hook hanger. Next I put new hooks, like Excalibur Rotating Hooks, onto the split rings. This does several things to improve the performance of the lure. It lowers the hook slightly more away from the lure body; gives the hook more freedom of movement and gives you a better and sharper hook on your lure.
I use a six-and-one-half foot St. Croix bait casting rod of medium action equipped with a Quantum PT baitcasting reel, loaded with Super Silver Thread mono of appropriate size… Usually 10 or 12 pound test, unless I am going after the really BIG BOYS! I tie my line to a stainless steel “Duo-Snap” and attach the Zara to the snap. This will give the lure total freedom of movement. I normally use the “walk-the-dog” retrieve in a slow and steady cadence for clear water and bright light situations, and with a faster, noisier rhythm in murky water or low light. My favorite color of Zara Spook is the “Silver Flash” model. It is basically a white body with an olive green back and silver flake down the sides. It has been my best producing color over the years, but like I said before, I own and use every color they ever made… And then some! Any gamefish that swims will eat a Zara Spook. I have caught Tarpon, Snook and Barracuda in the Florida Keys and Smallmouth Bass in Canada, and every species, in every location in between. It is my ALL TIME favorite lure choice for BIG Northern Pike in Quebec too. If I had to choose ONE topwater lure to fish with the rest of my life… I would definitely be a Zara Spook… Without hesitation!
I use the same rod and reel combo to fish the Super Spook, Jr. and the Excalibur Spook, but for the smaller Zara Puppy I prefer a seven foot light action spinning rod and six or eight pound test Silver Thread.
Once the topwater season begins, I am NEVER without a rod that has a Zara Spook of one form or another attached to it. I use the darker colors with a quicker, more active retrieve, and the larger sizes of “Spooks” when water conditions are murky and/or light conditions are poor. In clear water, and/or in bright light conditions I tend to throw the more natural, lifelike colors and work them with a slower, more gliding retrieve. But… Sometimes the fish will respond to the exact opposite of this. THEY’RE FISH after all… What do they know??
Other personal topwater favorites are...
Smithwick = Floating Rogue Minnow and Devil’s Horse
Rebel = Floating Minnow and Pop-R
Arbogast = Jitterbug, Hula Popper and Sputterbuzz
Heddon = Tiny Torpedo, Dying Flutter and Crazy Crawler
Tight Lines,
Will Whitehead
"Pro Staff Director"
|
