PHOTO BY JUSTIN ONSLOW
Line and rod selection, as well as a cadence, are especially crucial when trying to maximize the effectiveness
of a popper.
Change It Up
Rowland says it’s equally important
to experiment with retrieve speeds and
cadences. One day the fish might prefer
a fast plop-plop-pause retrieve.
Other times, they might want a slow
walk or fast walk with an occasional
spit-spit mixed in.
“The fish are going to tell you what
kind of sound and action they want,”
he says. “You just have to listen.”
Rowland says water clarity tells him
a lot about how fast or slow he should
work a popper, and how much action
he should give the bait.
On a gin-clear reservoir such as
Lake Mead, where bass will crush a
surface plug over 30 feet of water, he’ll
work the bait considerably faster than
on a lake like Sam Rayburn, where visibility
might be 3 feet in “clear” conditions.
In dirty water, an even slower
cadence rules.
“As a rule of thumb, the clearer the
water, the faster I’ll work it and the
more action I want the bait to have,”
Rowland says. “If I want to maximize
the action, I’ll go with 10- to 12-pound
test, and 14- to 17-pound test for less
action. I’ll always use monofilament,
because it floats. Fluorocarbon sinks
and takes away from the action.”
Custom Delivery
Rowland says the best rod for topwater
fishing is one that marries the
proper blend of parabolic action with
strength. It starts with a lightweight
blank with a forgiving tip and stouter
middle and butt sections. The light tip
helps keep bass hooked on small trebles
and helps with achieving the
proper action.
“It helps feed slack back to a topwater
while you’re working it, which
enhances the action,” Rowland explains.
Not surprisingly, he uses a Zell
Rowland Signature Series topwater rod
he helped design for Impulse Fishing
Rods in Magnolia, Texas. It’s a 6-foot,
8-inch model that features an 8 3/4-
inch handle and extra-light tip.
THE PRANK:
A POPPER-CRANKBAIT HYBRID
Rowland says his signature-series BOOYAH
Prank allows for throwing the bass an even
more radical change-up. The popper is made
from the same mold as the BOOYAH Boss
Pop, except it’s fitted with a small squarebill
lip that allows the bait to dive just beneath
the surface and swim side to side.
“There are a lot of different things you
can do with it,” Rowland adds. “It’ll spit and
chug, or you can fish it just under the surface
like a crankbait or twitch it like a jerkbait. The
bill helps it deflect off cover really well.”
The bait’s versatility can be particularly
effective after a bass short-strikes on top.
“Cast it back out and pop it a few times to
the spot where the fish missed it and make a
medium rod sweep,” Rowland says. “The
nose digs in and causes the bait to dive
about 12 to 18 inches. Twitch it like a jerkbait
and stop. Nine out of 10 times that fish will
choke on it before it floats to the surface. You
can’t do that with any other topwater.”
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | FLWFISHING.COM 53