Tackle shops are stocked with dozens of different topwater lures with which to entice bass, but for Lesley Childers, there’s really only one — the legendary Zara Spook.
“I guess it was the first one I ever used, and I got to where I could work it pretty well, so it became my favorite,” Childers said.
She’s not alone. The venerable Zara Spook has been a staple in bass anglers’ tackle boxes since it was introduced by the Heddon Company in 1939.
When casting for summer bass, Childers typically tosses the lure right to the bank, allows the ripples to disappear, then begins “walking the dog” — a rhythmic, slack-line retrieve that makes the Spook “walk” back and forth across the water’s surface.
If conditions are right, this imitation of a wounded baitfish attempting to flee from a predator is simply irresistible to hungry bass.
“Lots of times with a Zara Spook, you’ve got to wait on them,” Childers said. “My instant reaction used to be to set the hook, and it would always be too soon. I still sometimes have trouble trying not to jerk it away from them. I feel like I’ve gotten over it, but your instinct tells you to jerk. You’ve got to tame yourself — train yourself not to react as soon as you see them blow up on it.
“They might blow up on it two or three times, and if you jerk it away from them, it’s almost like you’ve spooked them.”
But she’s learned about patience and presentation as well.
“Sometimes they want it real fast; sometimes they want it on the pause — like a twitch, twitch, stop,” Childers said. “You’ve got to figure out what they want.”
Childers recommends using a 5½- to 6½- foot medium- to light-action rod with a stiff tip to work the Spook most effectively.
The basic Spook lure come in more varieties, sizes, weights and color configurations than ever before, and Childers prefers the 5-inch Super Spook and the Super Spook Junior, which is 3½ inches long. She has every color in her 50-Spook arsenal, but her favored hues include bone, clear, chrome, blue chrome and blue shad.
“The color I throw is based on the clarity of the water,” she said. “I’ll throw clear in clear water and chrome if the water’s not so clear.”
Editor’s Note: This story was part of the “Top Heavy” feature in South Carolina Sportsman magazine’s June issue. Subscribe now to have every information-packed issue delivered right to your doorstep.
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