George Cochran - 1987 BASS Masters Classic Champion - on topwater technique.

Rhythm

You have to make the lure do a dance that's enticing. The most popular topwater baits today are those that resemble wounded baitfish. So you need to learn how to make that bait move from side-to-side - pause - side-to-side - pause - and so forth. It's a combination of wrist movement and turning the reel handle.

Trickery

A bass is so aggessive and mean, he'll chase anything he thinks is running from him. When it stops, his his automatic reaction is to hit it. So with topwater, you're really trying to trick the bass - to trigger him to hit, even when he's not feeding.

Rod Position

One mistake I see topwater fishermen make is that they habitually hold their rod up or down - usually down. Actually, how you hold your rod depends on how the bait works and the distance of the cast. For long casts you might want to hold the tip up to get maximum performance out of the bait. For short casts, the rod is usually down.

Casting

Another thing I often see is topwater fishermen throwing right at the spot they think the fish might be. Actually, you want to throw a couple of feet beyond. Sometimes just let the bait sit there for a short time. When it's motionless, it drives the bass crazy, and he'll hit it the moment it twitches. As a rule, the bass will usually hit during the first few feet of the retrieve.

The Right Rod And Reel

The perfect topwater rod is a stiff rod with a limber tip - about 8" of tip. This enables you to work a lure with just your wrist. You can twitch that lure and make it do just what you want it to do. The tip puts the action into the lure. A short-handle pistol grip also helps in working your wrist. And it fits your hand perfectly. You keep you finger on that trigger all the time, so when you get a big fish, he won't take the rod out of your hand. The rods I designed for Daiwa are nice and light, too. They just make fishing topwater a lot easier. I use a Team Daiwa baitcasting reel.

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