Zell Rowland on topwater
Surface
Lures
words by // Mike Pehanich / www.smallwatersfishing.com
T
hey say that nothing in fishing
takes the place of on-the-water
experience… unless, of course, you
can be on the water with an acknowledged
angling expert and fishing legend!
And so it was when I met with Zell Rowland on
Sugarloaf Lake near Fort Smith, Arkansas.
modifications of the landmark lure, the Rebel
Pop R!
In one iteration, Zell modified the face of the
bait to deliver a different sound and action –
a kind of sputtering, spitting action that often
delivered fast and exciting topwater results –
and won him a ton of money in the process.
To many followers of the pro game, Zell
Rowland is to topwater fishing what Babe
Ruth is to home runs – pioneer, legend, and
almost patron saint! Put him on the dais – in
this case, the front deck of his bass boat – and
you want to soak up every syllable his Texas
drawl delivers.
Zell yielded to the inevitable pressure to
reveal his secret. Today, his spitter is manifest
in the popular XCalibur Zell Pop lure.
Zell’s lessons ranged from lure selection to
distinguishing “spitting” baits from chuggers,
with stops along the way to discuss the various
topwater lures and topwater categories.
“There’s not a fisherman in the world who can
tell you they bite a Pop-R on Monday and a
Heddon Chugger on Tuesday,” he said. “That’s
why I’ve got’em all.”
And we took time to discuss a very fundamental question at the heart of topwater
angling decisions: “When’s the best time to
fish topwater lures?”
And he uses them, too!
“The best time to use a topwater lure is when
you’re not!” he says with that familiar sparkle
in his eye.
Spittin’ vs. Chuggin’
For years, Zell dazzled the pro ranks with his
modified chugging baits – many of which were
But if you’re expecting Zell to tell you that
his namesake lure is the last word in chuggin’
baits, think again.
Poll the ranks of bass anglers or anglers
anywhere and you will likely find a huge
majority proclaiming topwater fishing as their
favorite.
Then why don’t they fish topwater lures more?
Certainly topwater fishing can be a boom or
bust proposition. But habit and convention may
factor into the limited use of topwater lures
more than anything else. Most anglers simply
Fishhound Mag | Page 10