One of the Deadliest Bass Baits - Heddon Zara Spook

I am very cautious of saying that I have a favorite anything, as it is pretty difficult from me to pinpoint something and say that it is my absolute favorite over everything else in the same category. However, the Heddon Zara Spook and Super Spook Jr. are awfully close to being my favorite lure of all time.

With a distinctive zig-zag walk-the-dog like action comes one large eruption from a largemouth bass attacking what it thinks to be an item of prey. The Zara Spook has a very neat action, as it literally goes side to side and creates quite a realistic looking action. As to what the Zara Spook and Super Spook Jr. are actually portraying, I am not sure, but it looks very much like a snake slithering across the water. Fishing this amazing lure is not the easiest thing, but with a little practice, you can be sure to catch some great bass action on the water.

As you can see from the picture above, I beat my Heddon Lures pretty hard, and for two main reasons: they are incredibly durable, and they work like no other lure. I have probably caught more bass on the Heddon Zara Spook and Super Spook Jr. than any other lure. The reason for this isn't completely clear or reasonable, but the fact of the matter is that this lure has an incredible success rate.

The Heddon Zara Spook and Super Spook Jr. are 4.5" and 3.5" respectively. There is even a Zara Spook Jr., which is 3" long but I have yet to use it. Whichever lure size you might choose, you will end up with two durable treble hooks that will see plenty of use in their lifetime. Although highly durable, you will quickly find the hooks bent up after a few bites just because of the amount and type of action these lures receive. As far as colors go, I like to try and pick a translucent color for clear water, and a darker color for murkier water, but I have found that for top water lures, color is a little overrated. At around $5-7, the Heddon Top water lures aren't necessarily cheap, but they aren't too expensive for the amount of action they will produce.

The key to fishing this lure is patience. If you have never used a top water lure before, or caught a fish on a top water lure, you are missing out on some incredible heart-pounding action. Many anglers, both experienced and beginners, will tend to try and set the hook right when they see a splash from a fish attacking the lure, but you have to wait just a split second to get a hook up. Before you can set the hook, you need to know how to fish this lure.

A medium action to medium-heavy action baitcasting rod and reel work best with this style lure, but I have use spinning reels before. A stiff rod is best to help you get a good "pop" in the line, so I would definitely stay at or above a medium action rod. As for line, I like to use 30-50 lb. braid on a baitcasting, and 10 lb. braid on a spinning combo. Of course, with top water lures you want to try and use monofilament line instead of braid, as mono actually floats. However, I have used braided line with quite a bit of success...more like a lot of success. The reason I use braid is because I tend to fish more applications that require braid than mono, and I usually only take two or three rods out with me, but if I had more rods or wasn't fishing from a kayak, I would most likely use mono.