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Topwater Techniques, Gear and Tactics
By Don Iovino

July/August 1998

Hi folks, this is Don Iovino. It's time to get those topwater baits out. July, August, September and October are really hot months for topwater baits. I'm the kind of guy who loves to fish topwaters. A lot of people think all I do is drop my line straight down and shake it, but I try to do a little bit of everything. As a result of the seminars I do for BASSMASTER, I've learned a lot from many of the bass fishermen all over the country. I sit in on their seminars and pick up little tid-bits of information. What I want to do now is pass along some of the information that I've picked up over the years from sitting in on their seminars. I do seminars with some of the best anglers in the world; Zel Rollin, Kevin VanDam, Larry Nixon, you name it! I've had great opportunities to learn a lot of different fishing techniques. I've always tried to put the new techniques into my arsenal and that's what you should do. It builds your confidence level and makes you a better bass fisherman. That's what you need to do if you want to be a professional.

In topwater fishing, there are a lot of different methods, rods, reels and lines and ways to fish the various baits. I'm just going to tell you about how I like to do it and especially with the use of lighter equipment. First of all, I prefer 6-ft. rods with a fast tip. Berkley makes a Splash It rod which I designed for use with a Pop-R. The Pop-R is very similar to the Sugoi Splash that Gary makes. The rod also works real well on the chug bugs and small crank plugs. It's made out of IM 7 graphite, it's real light and it's a bait-casting model. You can also get the same rod in a spinning model, but I prefer bait casting tackle when I fish topwater baits.

A lot of the Pro's that I listen to on the circuit like to use glass rods. They use 6 1/2 to 7 ft. glass rods and they're pretty heavy. I've tried fishing them and I just don't like fishing with what feels like a telephone pole. When you're back in the South and Midwest those guys are big boys and they feel comfortable fishing with the big rods. I can't throw a 7-foot glass rod. It's just too heavy; but that's a matter of preference. Use the rod that you feel comfortable with and what you feel you'll be most successful with. The thing is you need a rod that's limber. Whether it be an IM 7 like mine that gives all the way down to the butt or a glass rod that's real spongy, it's the parabolic action you're looking for.

Let's put the rod away for now and let's talk about the reel. I use the new Ambassador 3600 Morrum. I really like it. I've built custom reels all over the world and this is one of the first times I've taken one apart. There's nothing wrong with it! It is probably the Cadillac of small fishing reels. I use 12-pound test when I'm throwing Splash Its, chugbugs or other poppers. I use the Trilene Pro-Select 12 lb. green. I learned a little trick from Jim Morton, the head of the Pro Staff Storm Lures; when you've got a ripple on the water, tie directly to the eye of Splash it or other topwater poppers. The bait will come straight at you. If you want to walk a dog put a split-ring on the eye. When the water's really calm, I like to walk the dog, like you would walk a Zara-Spook. Real slow, back and forth motions. Short strokes then spit, short strokes then spit, over and over. I've found that my Splash It and some of the other poppers out there as well as the Chug Bug work much better when you have a chop on the water.

When I work them, I work them in fast jerks. I like it to splash, not slurp. I want that "tsht, tsht, tsht, tsht" sound so it's splashing in the water over the top of the ripples. I watched how Ricky Clunn worked it years ago when he was using a 5036 glass 5' 6" rod that Fenwick used to make. He worked that bait really fast. I took some of that motion that he used with his Pop-R and put it into my Splash It popper.

You just can't fish it too fast. You can just about see what the fish want and that's the speed you give it. If you're fishing on Lake Mead or Lake Powell during the mid-day, don't be afraid to throw topwater. I've caught more big fish at Mead and Powell in the middle of the day than I have in the morning. When they're on the bite, throw it and keep throwing it. You'll be surprised at how many fish you can catch. Now you're not going to catch a fish every cast, you may catch one every 50 casts. But it will likely be a good one.

The color clear is one of my favorite colors. I make the Splash It in the clear color now and I really like it. It's going to be a hot clear-water topwater bait for Lake Powell, Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. Any of the clear-water lakes. Chug Bug from Storm also comes in a clear that's very effective. I like to fish clear colors under a high-sky, sunny day, clear water. In these conditions you can't beat a clear bait. I also like a tinted see through red-head with red eyes. The only ones I know that make something like that are Storm, Chug Bug and my Splash It.

When I'm fishing shad colors I like to use the Tennessee Shad color or the white ghost which is all white with gray sides. In springtime the baby bass color pattern is hard to beat. One of the most popular colors that I have sold all over the country, and it seems to be the most popular of all of them is the chartreuse back with pearl belly.

Try to use some color variations in those plug models. You don't need to get too crazy with colors, it's no different than choosing worms. You can go nuts trying to buy every color known to man, just stay with what works. I've noticed that red works really well on dark days along with crawdad colors. Anything with red or black and gold seems to work well.

When you're fishing topwater baits you have to have confidence and you've got to know the correct techniques. If you don't have confidence fishing it during the course of the day and you put it down, a lot of times you'll give up on it. There's nothing more exciting than to watch a fish blow-up on your topwater bait.

That's my story for this month. Once again, August is right around the corner and we've got our five western guys fishing the Classic. I'll be there with my wife with the Top Brass Sinker Company and I'm looking forward to rooting the guys on. Let's hope they show the nation what the west has to offer in the quality of fishing. Tight line and we'll talk to you next month.

Don Iovino

Editor's Note: If you have any questions for Don or would like to contact him, you can send a letter to: 

     Don Iovino
     3220 West Wyoming Avenue
     Burbank, CA 91505
     Fax: 818-563-2290
     Internet Site: http://www.Iovino.com

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