The day was all fall — cool, breezy, and spitting stinging rain. That wasn’t making time on the lake enjoyable. But a pack of big smallmouth was about to change that.
We pulled up to a shallow flat that ran along one side of a point. The bottom was covered with sand and baseball-sized rocks; scattered patches of pencil grass pushed through the surface. The water was no more than a couple of feet deep. And smallmouth were loving all of it, especially the side-to-side action of our walking topwater lures. Again and again, we’d cast across the flat only to have our baits disappear mid-retrieve. A large boil on the surface marked where they were last seen, and a hard-pulling smallmouth revealed where they went.
Topwater fishing is fun anytime. The anticipation of a visual strike keeps you casting. But October brings one more important reason to throw them — the chance at a big bass. While topwaters in general, along with some other lures, such as jigs and crankbaits, get plenty of bites this month, a walking topwater, such as Heddon’s Zara Spook, also gives you a clear shot at your season’s best bass.
Drawing strikes with a walking topwater requires a few environmental parameters. Water temperature, for example, needs to be at least near 50 degrees or warmer. Bass must be feeding on some type of baitfish. And the water needs enough clarity for them to find your offering. The rest, including choosing a lure, rigging up, and finding perfect spots, is up to you. But if you take these five steps, you'll run for the net more often.
Understand Its Power
It doesn't take much to convince bass anglers that any topwater is a great bait. Usually, that label is applied after just one explosive strike. But if you want to tip the odds further in your favor, you need the best topwater for when, where, and what bass species you're fishing. And more times than not, when the calendar reads October, that's a walking topwater.
Walking topwaters pack a lot in a simple design. Here are three reasons bass like them:
- The size: Conventional wisdom states big bass like big baits. That's especially true in fall when an impending winter encourages bass to eat now. Most walking topwaters measure 4 to 5 inches long.
- The profile: Long and lean baits create a natural profile, imitating baitfish. Some walking topwaters have realistic details, from worried eyes to scaled sides, that can make a difference in clear water.
- The action: A walking topwater’s trademark side-to-side movement is a powerful attractor. It calls bass from a distance, whether they’re swimming far below or way out to the side.
Choose Your Lure
While Heddon's Zara Spook is the poster child for this type of topwater, several manufacturers make them. Each fills the same role in a slightly different way. Some have a profile that’s closer to a baitfish than the traditional cigar shape, for example, and others are weighted to extend casting distance and increase action. Consider these four in addition to a Zara Spook:
- Megabass Giant Dog X: Natural colors and a realistic shape are just the start for this walking topwater. It has an internal weight that moves side to side, improving its walking action.
- Lucky Craft Sammy: Originally offered as the next generation of walking topwaters, this one is easy to work. Stick to the larger 115 size. Its angled face pushes water, adding attraction.
- Evergreen SB Topwater: These lures take the flat face a step further with a scoop mouth. That exaggerated spitting action with side-to-side movements offers pressured bass something different.
- Reaction Innovations Vixen: A longtime favorite of tournament anglers, especially in the Southeast, these are easy to use. But they're best known for their loud sound, which is good when water is stained.
Size is a straightforward choice when it comes to walking topwaters. The best ones, including those above, measure at least 4 inches long and weigh ½ ounce or more. But you have some options when it comes to color. Dark patterns are best under overcast skies when bass are looking up and have an easy time seeing its silhouette. Natural, especially translucent, patterns are better when the sky and water are clear. Don't discount clear versions, such as Lucky Craft's Lake Murray Clear, on these days. They create all the action but keep their profile mysterious, forcing bass to bite to find out what it is.
Smallmouths are a wildcard when it comes to lure color. While most won’t pass up a walking topwater that sports a natural pattern, they often go berserk for something gaudier. Fire tiger, for example, will quickly trip their trigger, regardless of conditions.
Assemble Your Outfit
Getting the most action from your chosen walking topwater starts with a proper outfit. Pretty much any rod, reel, and line will handle a walking topwater if it's rated for the lure's weight. But it becomes easier when they work together.
- Rod: It should have, at minimum, a medium-heavy power to cast heavy lures and turn big bass. Its moderate-fast action needs to land somewhere between a flipping stick and a cranking rod. That bit of flex at the end of its 7 feet will soften your twitches, giving your bait more side-to-side movement.
- Reel: While spinning reels work, you’ll be better served by a casting reel. Choose one with a fast gear ratio, about 7:1. That will pick up plenty of line with each handle turn, allowing you to create and maintain the proper tempo. Most times, a slight quarter turn is more than enough between twitches.
- Line: This is one of the original bass lures, so tie it to the original modern fishing line — monofilament. You’ll be well served with 12- to 15-pound test most days, though it's wise to use 17- or 20-pound test when the cover is thick, and the bass are big. And unlike fluorocarbon line, it floats.
Using the best outfit is more than wringing everything from your lure. It makes you more efficient and more comfortable. Heavy lures combined with retrieves of constant twitches are taxing, even for the fittest angler. The right gear will keep you going longer.
Learn To Walk
With two treble hooks, rounded sides and ends, and nothing resembling a rudder, walking topwaters don’t have much that generates action. But they’re ready to do whatever you want. And no angler could get more from one than the late Charlie Campbell, whose name is synonymous with Zara Spook. A Missourian, he was the 1974 B.A.S.S. Federation national champion, a five-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, and long affiliated with Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Marine, and their founder, his good friend Johnny Morris.
Campbell made his walking topwater do things that seemed impossible at first mention. He could, for example, sidestep it around a piece of standing timber or dock post. While the rest of us may never achieve that level of competence with one, we can become better at fishing them.
Creating the proper cadence of rod tip twitches to move your lure and reel handle turns to collect slack is a big part of working a walking topwater. When you find that perfect combination, your lure will effortlessly turn side to side as it slowly makes its way back to you. The bass will tell you how quickly to go. Some days, they'll want a pause after every twitch. And you won’t be able to work it fast enough on other days.
Palm your reel, and make the twitches with your wrist. Those are best done with your rod’s tip pointed down. Hold the rod so its handle breaks away from your forearm. If you’re pulling down directly in front of you, it should break on the inside. And if you’re pulling to the side, break it to the outside.
Once you've mastered the straightforward retrieve, try making your walking topwater do more. Shortening every other twitch, for example, will work it to one side, perfect for getting under overhanging cover or around an obstacle. It will take some practice, but the reward will be more bass.
While you're responsible for most of your walking topwater's action, some minor adjustments will help you. They won't make you the next Charlie Campbell on your first cast, but they’ll help flatten the learning curve.
- Throw it some slack: After each twitch, move your rod’s tip toward your lure. That’ll push some slack its way, letting its nose slide further to the side.
- Rig it with a loop: Use a snap, split ring, or loop knot to attach your walking topwater to your line. It provides more freedom of movement than a traditional knot that cinches down.
- Move the line tie: If you're feeling handy, remove the line tie on a Zara Spook and re-insert it slightly toward the tail, epoxying over the original hole. That effectively shortens the lure, making it easier to walk.
- Change the rear hook: A walking topwater’s rear hook catches most of the bass, so you’ll want a slightly bigger one. And that additional weight on its stern increases side-to-side action.
Select A Spot
You understand your walking topwater, have chosen the best one for where you're fishing, and know how to bring it to life. So, you're ready to hit the water. You just need to know where to make that first cast.
All productive spots, at least for walking topwaters, share a common trait — the presence of baitfish. They can be threadfin, gizzard shad on a Southern reservoir, yellow perch, or shiners on a Northern natural lake. But that doesn’t mean every spot is the same. Here are a couple of places to fish a walking topwater for each species of bass in October:
Smallmouth
- Shallow flats: These skinny water stretches are home to packs of hungry bronzebacks. The best ones have a rocky or sandy bottom and small clumps of submergent or emergent aquatic vegetation.
- Points and shoals: Whether on the main lake or river, these pieces of structure attract schools of baitfish as the water cools. Focus on ones with sharp drop-offs. Cover is a bonus.
Spotted bass
- Open water: Spots, especially on the Savannah River, herd baitfish to the surface, where they feast. Quick casts that land on actively schooling bass is key. Diving birds often give away their location.
- Shoals and islands: These produce in reservoirs and rivers, where spots seek refuge in upstream and downstream eddies. Like the surface, they herd baitfish against cover and associated ledges.
Largemouth
- Creeks and coves: Bass follow shad into the back of both in fall. But start casting short of the shallow backends. Docks and laydowns on a channel swing bank about halfway back are prime for a big bass.
- Submerged vegetation: Casts to the inside edge, outside edge, or straight across the middle of beds will produce. Try slowing your retrieve as the water gets deeper and vegetation thicker.
Wherever you fish, a walking topwater, and whichever type of bass you're chasing in October, embrace the wind. Great Lakes smallmouth will come out of the sides of waves to eat them. And a good chop doesn’t deter spots or largemouth, either. It adds to the mystery, disguising more of the lure and playing on a bass's natural curiosity.