I will keep your father in my prayers for his healing and Recovery.

When I’m stressed out. I go to a local pike lake that’s about 2 foot deep on average and I throw a spook. It’s so full of small pike that it’s almost a bite on every cast. It feels good to catch some fish on a spook when I’ve been struggling with bass. Hope your family is doing well! Thank you for the content, I look forward to it every day.

Randy’s a legend

Fun history, Dowagiac, where I was born and raised in Michigan, the Mill Pond there (where I've caught plenty of big bass growing up) is where James Heddon first ever threw a piece of wood on top of the water and saw a bass strike it. The original Heddon Spooks were all made there in town. Lots of older folks in the local facebook group talk about working there and painting the lures, etc. It was cool to see Lee Livesay smash em on Fork using an actual Heddon. I've wondered if it was one actually from the Dowagiac era, probably unlikely

Nice! My favorite fishing is topwater. Some of my best fish have been on sunny blue bird days at noon.

As always, well done! Thank you.

Prayers sent for your dad. Love the Zara Spook!

Absolutely love the content you put out! 👍

Thanks again Randy for the great advice on walking baits you are a true legend of the sport as well as a great person

thanks randy for all your content!!!!

Great info Randy and dead on when it comes to smallies .Haven’t tried the Megabass but will give it a try .

Thanks for the video Randy!

Thanks Randy......been fishin spooks last 30 min of daylight here in GA past 2 weeks enjoying those blow ups!

Thanks for the tips! My 1st topwaters was a jitterbug, then I discovered a zara spook back in the mid-late 90's after reading about it in a bassmaster magazine...I remember catching dozens of bass that summer on a strip pit when the bass was schooling...still got half a dozen old lures in my tackle box..I've almost overlooked them anymore.

Great tips. Thanks for sharing.

Great content, I will definitely try this now that it's hot in Florida. ty for the video.

Great video, thanks!!

Thanks Randy excellent topwater video I hope your dad is feeling better today. God bless you and your family your pal fisherman Mike.

Thanks Randy I'm heading to Lake St. Clair on Thursday....Your tips will help me stick with the Spook....those hits are typically undiscribably unique!

Another great video, Randy. Especially like the comment about directionally manipulating the bait. I try to do that a lot.

Love that bait! Thanks for the tips, man.

another great video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just in time for Spook Fishing on Hartwell!

Another good video. Prayers for your dad.

No better time for this video. Bought my first spook yesterday and caught a 3lb on it on my second cast. Excited for the vid

Have a 6'-10" Medium action rod that has been waiting for a technique specific spot on the deck. Thanks Randy. Never really had a Dad growing up, but was really close to an Uncle. I'll be praying for his recovery.

Thanks Randy for sharing your Experience with Charlie. He was also Great fishing the Pop-R lure. I'm surprised that you Didn't mentioned the Split Ring Size on a Zara Spook. For More or Less lure Action. I Love the Channel & keep Learning from you. Take Care. 👍👍

Randy great vid, Favorite bait of all time is the spook.....I bet I have caught more bass on spooks than any other bait...before I started watching your channel I would through it 70% of the time. No matter what the condition you can catch them on a spook....you can actually walk the bait in place and entice the strikes....love to through it in the stumps and above the grass. Great tips.

you are the man !!! thank you

Wow Randy, that’s an info packed video! Thanks man. Walking it around a stump?!! Dang, I definitely need to practice. 😃👍🏼

@dblades1129

3 жыл бұрын

Part of doing it is boat positioning.

Love the content !! Thanx bro!!

Obviously, a fishing legend. He has another talent as well. When he talks I feel like I’m sitting there with him.

Thanks for another informative video, Randy! You mentioned you will (sometimes) have several different colors tied on on-deck.. would you discuss rods on deck at some point? I've seen some MLF guys with 2 rods out and other guys with 10... I have a bad habit of keeping too many rods out when I'm trying to figure out the bite - but I never really know what the right balance between enough options and too many options is. Best of luck to your dad!

Good video Randy. I love “Walking the Dog”! Like you, I love topwater strikes on walking baits. I prefer mono for all topwater fishing. There’s something about that action that triggers predators. Thanks 🎣

Awesome! love what you are doing and hope you continue to be able to do it. I have ripped a surface bait 15 to 20 feet and let it sit and sit and sit. Then barely bump it and it works. I have caught largemouth over 5lbs doing that. Not sure why it works as it is counterintuitive to me. However, we fish stick baits in a similar fashion. Sort of.

I agree on the colors...me and my buddy are fishing the exact frogs except his belly had a bright orange under the jaw area he kicked my butt all day with it...just that one color difference made the difference...good video keep them coming .

Praying for your father! Thanks for sharing

I love mono for my top water it walks it great for me. I use a 6”6 medium heavy. On 15 lb test on my Diawa tatula

Great tips! Wish I would've watched this video sooner & thrown the right bait today!

Prayers for your Dad. My Mom's been in the hospital for a week. She just got home today, thank God

Braid to mono leader is the best set up I've found. Braid allows me to cast further, get better hook sets on long casts and the mono allows for some stretch, as well as some invisibility of the line. JMO

Do one on waking a redfin

Thats kinda funny that I literally do the same thing with all my walking baits I walk them for like 4 or 5 jerks then pause for 1 to 3 seconds. Then change it up again maybe do 3 or 4 jerks an etc an almost every time if there is bass there they will hit right as it pauses or right when it does so I def agree with u on that.

RANDY... FAMILY... Always comes first..in my book..

Once again, love your tips. In Florida our water is mainly stained with a visibility of one to two feet. What would be your colors of choice, whether a clear or cloudy day.

I find myself going braid to mono( Suffix elite with G2 winding) on more and more. IMO it's hard to beat. But thanks for this subject i have been working on my top water walking baits.

Sending prayers for your Dad!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Down here in Florida we fish topwater over submerged hydrilla or near it so braid is a must. I think it’s mostly a reaction strike so line visibility doesn’t seem to matter. I use a small hollow spring used to rig lg saltwater tandem hook trolling lures with cable. This keeps the first 1.5” of line away from the front of the bait - no tangles ever

Never tride the reeling and stopping with a spook will try it good tip

the only spook i have is the j walker 105 I believe? it came with my abu garcia baitcaster. only tried it a couple times. might try it again after this 👍

Rod length, and no braid!!! I have found that braid is very aggravating. LOL. Seems like every other cast your unhooking your line. So definitely a great tip there. From my own personal experience. And you’re right, the bite is always incredible.

Great tips but more importantly I hope you dad gets better quickly. We’ll keep him in our prayers

Prayers for your dad Randy

Wishing your Dad a speedy recovery.

We'll be fine Dude. You take care of your Dad. Can't speak for everyone but we'll be here when he gets better and gets home.

Sending prayers for Mr. Blaukat!!

Like summer smallmouth on top again in fall ,most of our good smallmouth lakes have Kokanee,or smallmouth candy ,bassmaster years ago printed top water bait mods for top water ,pop r ,s an spooks , by shaving the bait ,results are well worth the effort,kinda tough on a 30$ bait not so much on a 5$ bait Storm chug bug, yea 👍😎

I agree with a short medium rod, with mono. You will miss far less fish using a whippy set up like that. I use the same as I do for most my jerk bait techniques. Side note for co-anglers... buy a long rod(s) 7' to 7'5" depending on your height/preference - a lot of the time being able to cover a lot of water is going to work to your advantage. Longer rod gives you a better cast, but more importantly gives you more control from a distance. ( I still use a short rod as a co angler if i'm popping, but a walking bait I go longer.)

One of the best parts of fishing is what a snook will do to a Zara spook (especially at night).

What are your thoughts on Copolymer line Randy? I am not a fan of braid at all 😀 Thank you….

That camo megabass hat is FIIRREEEE

SUGGESTION/IDEA - tell us about some of your worse lodging experiences. I really enjoy your stories. Thanks!

PERPLEXING: Line-shy bass eating 3 exposed treble hooks 🤪

For 25 years I used that exact setup you described for spooks and it works! But for the last 2 years I swapped over to an 8 foot flipping stick with 65 braid with a 40lb moss green mono leader with a size 300 reel and have never looked back at 12 mono on a 6 10 rod. The 40lb mono leader never gets tangled in the front hooks because it's so stiff. The rods are heavy though, it will kill your arms after 20 fish and 200 cast. But the benefits outway the sore arm. The casting distance is insane, the hookup ratio and landing ratio has went up greatly for me. I can reach more fish busting, hook more fish busting at a long distance, and land more fish than I ever did with mono. Ill deal with the sore arm for allot more fish. I have 3 heavy setups rigged with a bone, black, and a chrome super spook. They will be on one of those more than the other, everyday is different even if the conditions are the same. Thanks for the video and if I was doing this for a living and was going to throw one all day I would probably go back. But the busting fish I go for here, with my setups only last for 2 hours usually and it's later in the summer. Great tips though.

@WILDBILLSOUTDOORS

3 жыл бұрын

You're the man if you can walk the son of a gun with an 8 foot flipping stick! My old elbows will stay with a shorter rod lol!

@chasensmallmouth

3 жыл бұрын

Well don't know about that... haha lol... I have lighter rigs ready as well with poprs, flukes, and jumping minnows. But, those long rods come in handy when you need to bomb one out there. Last year I topwater fished 27 days straight and by two weeks in I couldnt hardly hold the big rods anymore but just pushed through it and wore them out. Both my arms and fish! 😄

Hey Randy what type of mono are you using? I’ve been using braid but willing to give mono a try. Thanks!

Do you change out the back treble hook to one with some feathers tied onto it?

I have no idea how people use braid. I've seen, but the line sinks. I've never been able to walk anything with braid. A storm chug bug is great to!

good video: tip try to avoid unshaded lights into the camera lens , will be easier to watch and the exposure of your face will be even better.

What knot do you use for your loop knot on your walking topwaters?

When u say u burn 🔥 it fast then kill it do u mean u walk it real fast or just reel it then kill it ??

Old school with a spook and/or any to water bait was to keep a systematic cadence for the fish key in on the rhythm. I have never been able to see any real dif for I have and continue to use both non systematic cadence as you do and more systematic, this all falls on how they are responding.

Can you do a video on you performing on how you do it please?

Question: How many times will you throw the spook before you decide to change colors? If the Bass don't react within 10- 20- 30 casts..... time to swap colors?

Feathers or no feathers on the rear treble for walking baits? Oh,and feathers on rear treble for traps . When and why

How can you set the hook on 12 lb mono on a long cast?

When do use a spook versus a frog???

Randy....I see you prefer nose split ring. What happened to the loop knot?

Walking bait i never had much luck with the smaller spook or which ever one their is that is small !!!!!

Split ring on the front, yes or no? Some walking baits come with them, some don't. Does the ring help or hinder the action?

@normanham8566

3 жыл бұрын

Good question.

@skipdockside

3 жыл бұрын

Most pro's will tie a loop knot to give it the same general action as a split ring would without adding weight/effecting the action.

@rodneygreen9968

3 жыл бұрын

YES the Split Rings help. Small for Short movements Larger for Wider movements. The same thing for a Rattle Trap lure. Have a Great Year. 👍

@davide.8176

3 жыл бұрын

@@skipdockside Not a fan of the loop knot, I believe it creates a weak connection. My question is more about the lure designer or manufacturer's intent. Sammy's have them, Teckel kicknockers don't. I typically add one one. Same goes for the Megabass pop-x.

@delmisbrown9675

3 жыл бұрын

Charlie Campbell told me to always tie on a clip to fasten to the spooks eye. He said the spook was much easier to walk correctly when the line wasn’t tied straight to the eye.

Praying for your dad

Fished with Charlie Campbell as a co-angler on Table Rock years ago in the old Central Pro Am. What a nice guy. His wife made me a sandwich and Charlie was great to fish with. Early spring derby so we mainly fished jerkbaits. Would have loved to see him work a Spook.

@dblades1129

3 жыл бұрын

Charlie liked Dr Pepper and dark chocolate if I remember right., from the old CPAA days.

Ol Zell Rowland can fish a spook too

How about 17lb. Monofilament leader, 10ft. long to 50lb. Moss braid for top-water?

@iraregister7589

3 жыл бұрын

30 lb casts better

I think fish can see mono as well.

hope your dad's doing ok, bud ... what are your thoughts on the whopper plopper?

RANDY I need some up close pictures oh Heddon diamanté. Can you help ?

Randy , zoro spook first made in yrs 1939 .

So fish can see braid but not 20# mono 🤔

Love the videos. But your dad is priority. Hope he’s better soon.

i use mono for top water, call me what you will haha.

Thanks Randy. I would just add. NEVER!!! use stock hooks on a spook. Good chance you'll loose your PB

@LurchLures

3 жыл бұрын

Never use stock hooks on any heddon / pradco lure. Can't complain though as they are priced reasonably.

Randy If i send my email address could i get some pictures of the Heddon Super Spook bone with yellow belly ? thanks

Randy, this is not an attack on you in any way, I am just going to offer you a different point of view. I notice you are hung up on fish seeing the fishing line. I think this is a lot like the banana in the boat theory. As long as you believe it then it will come true. First, for the last 15 years or more I have fished braided line exclusively because I like the sensitivity and have caught tons of fish on it. Top water, cranck baits, soft plastics, you name it I fished it and with great success. People get caught up on line visibilty and forget there are 3 giant teble hooks dangling from the bait that are flopping around while you are popping it across the water and they dont look natural. I agree that braid will get caught up on that front treble hook on occasion but you can tie a knot called the Bimini knot that Roland Martin uses and it helps stop the line from getting tangled in the front treble. I love a 6'6" rod or a 7' rod. 6'6" is great for accuracy and I can get pretty good distance and a 7'rod gets great distance and more leverage. I believe you get tired out using a 7' rod because you use mono line and with every jerk of that bait the line stretches a little every time and you have to work it harder to get the same action as the braid which would tire you out after a whole day of fishing. Are you wrong for using your setup? NO. But there are people that will run out and spend a ton of money on a whole new set up that is just not necessary based on your setup. I value and repect your opinion brother and I understand it as well but there are many different ways to catch fish using many different components and all of them are tools that will produce great results for a persons style of fishing that are not near as "criticle" as they are made out to be. And lets face it, fish are not as smart as we like to think they are either. They will strike a tin can if its presented at the right time and the fish are in the mood. Yes there are lures that work far better than others and yes certain lines work better for certain applications but I just would hate to see someone waste money that they may not need or have to waste because "criticle" really isnt that "criticle." All around great information though Randy. This is great content! Keep up the great work!

I'm sorry, my attention span is too short. I wanted to see some topwater Bass fishing. I can watch a 16 minute fishing program on regular TV. A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work...

Fish aren't that smart , hooks on any bait such as top water or crank baits is like bottom fins on real fish, now since they have come out with life like swim baits have fins and yet they have hooks still haven't stop fish from bitting any bait.. let's ponder that for a sec. Again thanks for the video..