Topwater Tips Part 2

Zell Rowland's rule of thumb is to start out with a smaller topwater, and that usually means the Heddon (or Excalibur) Super Spook Jr. "It's an incredible bait," he says. "That bait couldn't be any better. It's weighted right and its action is perfect."

Because of that, the Spook Jr. has become one of the must-have baits for many pros. They like it for its smaller size (and thus wider fish appeal) vs. the standard Spook, and for its slightly lower line-tie, an innovation Rowland brought to Heddon. The line tie allows for better and easier "walking the dog" action.

Though Rowland loves the bait as is, he does put a third hook in the bait -- between the two existing hooks -- and then downsizes the hooks so they don't foul each other. For an example of why he does this, he related his experience pre-fishing for this year's BASSMASTER Tour event on Lake St. Clair.

"Heddon sent me some chrome/black back Spook Jrs.," he says. "I flew up there to fish with a friend and only took three of those baits. The first day I had 14 fish blow up on the bait and caught three.

"That night at my friend's house I screwed a third hook in there. The next day, I had 12 strikes and caught every one -- and all the fish had the middle and back hooks in their mouths.

"We all know bass strike a shad at the head," he says. "But when a bass is looking up at a swimming shad, it will just try to get it. One he has it he'll turn it (headfirst) in his mouth. So the more hooks you have on a bait without affecting the action, the better the odds are of hooking a fish when he strikes."

One more thing. He says the St. Clair smallmouths "ate the chrome off that bait in 3 days."

Equipment

> Reel -- "I use a fast-retrieve reel because you have to be able to take slack up quickly," Rowland says. He prefers Quantum reels.

> Rod -- He uses an All-Star TWS rod, which stands for Top Water Special. "It's a blank that no one else in the industry has," Rowland says. "I helped them design the mandrel (form) for the blank.

The TWS rod is a 6-foot 6-inch rod with an action that's "hard to explain. Three or four different actions are built into blank," from the "extremely light" tip to the stiff handle, he says. The rod's softer action takes the "dummy factor" away, he adds. By allowing more "give," it's not as apt to jerk a bait away from a fish on an early hookset.

> Line -- Rowland prefers PRADCO Silver Thread AN-40 line. "One thing you have to always remember is that the lighter the line you use, the more action you'll get out of any lure in your tacklebox," he says.

With that in mind, Rowland uses whatever he can get away with throwing. "At times I've thrown a Pop-R on 20-pound test, but at other times I've thrown 12- pound line and gotten 10 times the bites I got on 20. You have to be good at working the bait," he adds, "because every time you go up in line size, you will change the action of the bait."

- End of part 2 (of 2) -