It's 5:30am and you're already on the water. The water is like glass and all is quiet around you. Next to you in the boat is a cooler filled with your favorite beverage (whether it's beer or Pepsi is up to you!). As you approach your favorite hole, you pick up your rod and tie on a surface lure. You cast your line toward the shore and present your topwater offering.

All of a sudden, the water explodes and you are in the battle of your life with a lunker largemouth! He feels like he goes maybe 3 or 4 pounds. As you get him boat side, you reach down and lift him out of the water. Larger than you expected, around 5 pounds! You turn and drop your prize into the live well and prepare for the next cast...

The thrill of topwater bass fishing is addictive. There is a BIG difference between catching that elusive largemouth off the bottom, from the middle or from the surface. Topwater bass fishing is a more visual experience than other types of fishing. There are specific types of rods and lures for topwater bass fishing.

Rods

Most anglers will tell you that a 6 to 6 ½ foot rod with a medium action will suffice. If the action of the rod is too stiff, you will yank your bait right out of the fish's mouth when you set the hook. A medium action rod is the best fit for topwater bass fishing.

These rods are available in a price range of about $20 to over $200. Do you need to spend a bunch of money on a rod? Regardless of the price tag, medium action is medium action. On the other hand, if you go with a $20 rod, you can expect $20 worth of performance. Chose a rod somewhere in the middle price range and you won't go wrong.

Lures

When it comes to lures, there are a great many to choose from. Here is a list of the top ten I have read about recently:

1. Heddon's Zara Spook.

2. Custom Bait's Senko.

3. Yum's Floating Worm (with a Texas style rig).

4. Zoom's Superfluke.

5. Heddon's Torpedo.

6. Lazer Eye's Buzzbait

7. Smithwick's Stick Bait aka Hard Jerk Bait.

8. Rebel's Pop-R bait.

9. Snag Proof's Tournament Frog.

10. Any spinner bait. These are manufactured by numerous companies.

All these lures have their own unique presentations. When presented properly, these baits are historically known to produce quality bass. This is true across regional boundaries, weather conditions and water tempuratures.

A big tip

Now you have the rod and the lures you need for topwater bass fishing, there is one more thing you should know. Here it is: Since topwater fishing is a visual type of fishing, most anglers will set the hook too soon and yank the bait out of the fish's mouth. To prevent this, do NOT set the hook immediately when you see the strike! Wait a second, reel in some slack and when you feel the pressure of the bass on the line, THEN set the hook. You will land more lunkers that way and be a much happier angler to boot.