Floating Rogues for spawning bass

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By JOHN NEPORADNY

Ed Franko likes to think “old school” sometimes when selecting his lures for bass fishing.

The Lake of the Ozarks guide likes to fish occasionally with retro lures, and one of his old-time favorites for catching bass in the spring is a Smithwick Rattlin’ Rogue floating stickbait. Franko started fishing floating stickbaits back in the mid-1970’s on Lake Ouachita when he discovered the Whopper Stopper Hellcat.

“I always had such a good time with that, and I have always enjoyed fishing topwater baits,” he said.

When the Hellcat was discontinued, and Franko had trouble finding any more of the baits, he switched over to the floating Rogue for his topwater tactic. He prefers using the floating model rather than the suspending Rogue because the floater works better as a surface lure.

The proprietor of Big Ed’s Guide Service – call (573) 692-6710 – relies on his floating Rogue during the spawn and post-spawn.

“As soon as I start seeing fish up on beds, then I will start throwing it,” Franko said. He usually works the lure in the backs of spawning pockets where he sees bass on nests. The floating Rogue will catch bass on nests or cruising the shallows during the spawn. It is also an effective lure for catching bass protecting fry during the postspawn, so Franko suggests the lure remains productive for a month or more during the spring.

Cloudy Days And Rain

Franko’s floating Rogue tactic produces strikes during the low-light conditions of early morning and late evening.

“It works extremely well on a cloudy day and in rain,” he said.

“If you have a little bitty misty rain, it is on fire.”

He also likes a slight chop on the water but, if the surface is too choppy, he switches to a splashier topwater such as a Zara Spook.

The floating Rogue also works well for Franko in calm weather when the water surface is slick.

“The reason you can get by with that is because the lure is quiet,” he said. “It is not a loud bait. Everything nowadays flutters, sputters or whines in some way, and the noisier it is the better. Well, this is something the fish haven’t seen, and it is quiet.” So the Rogue is an ideal finesse-style surface lure for fishing in clear water.

The Color Scheme

The only modification Franko makes on his Rogues is to change the color of the lure. He paints the lure with an air brush, coloring it with a red head, yellow back, white belly and a splash of red on the belly. The color combination helps him see the lure better on the surface and when it dives in the water.

Franko believes bass dislike the colors because the fish frequently smash his topwater offering. “I don’t know why they dislike it so much, but there are days when they will hit it as soon as it hits the water,” he said. Whenever he spots bass in the spawning pockets, Franko throws his Rogue to the shallows and waits for the rings from the lure’s splashdown to disappear.

“Then I just barely pop it or twitch it a little bit so it swims a little and then comes back to the surface,” he said. Franko repeats the sequence, working the lure out to water in the 4- to 5-foot range and then reels in the lure to cast to another spot. While fan-casting the pocket, Franko might vary his retrieve until he finds a sequence the fish prefer.

Floating Rogues

Franko frequently sets up his clients with floating Rogues because the lures are easy for them to work. “The only thing I have to worry about with them is, sometimes they throw the lures up in the trees,” he said. The floating Rogue can be thrown on either spinning or baitcasting tackle, but Franko prefers employing a baitcast reel because he can cast the Rogue more accurately. The gear for his floating Rogue includes a 6-foot, 7-inch medium-fast action Lew’s Speed Stick jerkbait rod matched with a Lew’s baitcast reel.

Franko fills his reel with 10-pound monofilament, which he prefers over fluorocarbon because the monofilament floats, whereas fluorocarbon sinks and creates too much of a bow in the line when the Rogue sits on the surface.

If a bass blows up on the floating Rogue and misses, Franko lets the lure sit for a while to see if he fish will come back and nose it. If Franko sees the bass near his lure, he will twitch the Rogue, and usually the fish will blast it. Sometimes the fish will follow the lure when he keeps twitching it and will eventually take a swipe at the Rogue, especially if he retrieves the lure faster. Whenever bass short-strike his Rogue, Franko will make another cast to the same spot to see if the fish will hit the stickbait again. When bass are on beds or protecting fry, try a lure from the good old days for some fun topwater action.