Spend a day in the boat with an Elite Series pro, and you'll quickly realize that many of the top anglers in the world believe that success is found in the small details.
Nowhere is this truer than when fishing topwater baits in the fall.
While most topwater baits may look the same floating on the surface of the water, Oklahoma's Edwin Evers believes that differences in color, size and sound can make the difference between catching a few bass and loading the boat.
When he's throwing a topwater offering during the fall, Evers typically uses either a walking-style bait, like a Heddon Super Spook, or a popping bait, like an XCalibur Zell-Pop. For starters, the Oklahoma pro reaches for a Super Spook. "If I'm throwing a topwater, the Spook is probably going to be the first bait that I'm going to tie on," he says.
"It has one big rattle and floats high in the water, which is critical for windy days." Evers' affinity toward the Super Spook is based primarily around prime topwater conditions — overcast with a slight breeze. "I love a rattling bait on a cloudy, windy day because I want to create noise on the surface of the water," says Evers.
"Under these conditions, I pretty much stick with dark colors like black." If he has discovered a topwater bite in calm water with bright skies, Evers does a 180-degree turn in his approach. Rather than throw a Super Spook, he opts for an XCalibur Jimmy — a walking bait with a much more subtle action. "The Jimmy doesn't move as much water, it doesn't splash as much and it's not as loud," Evers explains.
"It's just a lot more subtle and can generate more strikes in calm conditions." Under bright skies and in clear water, he avoids bold, solid colors, relying instead on translucent and natural colors. "The clearer the water, the subtler the bait needs to be.
I like a transparent color, because when a bass is looking up it can't get a good look at the bait and realize that it's not real."
Another one of Evers' favorite topwater offerings is a Zell Pop, XCalibur's updated rendition of the time-tested Pop-R. In calmer conditions, or if the bass are not in the mood to chase a walking bait, he says that the Zell Pop will trigger reaction strikes. "The bait comes in really good paint schemes and it's equipped with a really good feather," he says. "When it gets wet, that feather flairs out when you pause the bait. There's something about that feather that triggers a reaction strike."
(Provided by Z3 Media)
