Lester will be looking for a topwater bite

When I think of postspawn fish and clear water, there is one technique that comes to mind for me -- topwater fishing.

The second leg of our Western swing kicks off this week at Lake Havasu in Arizona.

It has been a while since B.A.S.S. has had an event on Lake Havasu, so most of us really have no prior knowledge of what to really expect.

From what I know about the lake from researching it online, it is a very deep, clear lake with all three species of bass in it. When I think of postspawn fish and clear water, there is one technique that comes to mind for me — topwater fishing.

When fish get done with the spawn, they are hungry and ready to feed up after guarding the beds for a few days. They will feed on shad, bluegill and whatever else is available around the bank before returning to their deep water haunts to spend the summer.

I look for fish during this time around some type of cover. Depending on the lake, that cover may be docks, laydowns, stumps, bushes or really anything they can hide in and ambush baitfish.

Here on Lake Havasu this week, from what I can tell the cover we will be seeing will be mostly boat docks, as well as some man-made habitat that the state has added to the lake. We will be looking really for anything that offers enough shade to hold a bass.

My favorite bait this time of year is definitely a Heddon Super Spook Jr. There are times I will throw the big saltwater size Spook if I see some bigger bait in an area, but I’ve found the Spook Jr. size to work best most of the time.

I carry really only two colors in my boat. My favorite is just the old standby bone color, and I also throw another color that has a little bit of chartreuse in it if I’m fishing around smallmouth. Chartreuse and smallmouth go hand in hand.

I replace the hooks with Mustad No. 4 trebles and put a feathered treble on the back hook.

The rod I use is a Mudhole MHX-HM-MB862. This rod is the deal for topwater fishing in my opinion. I like a longer rod for working the Spook on long distance casts, so this rod at 7-2 fits the bill perfectly. It has a medium power that is forgiving enough that it won’t rip the hooks out of fish as well.

I spool up with 30-pound Vicious braid with a 6-foot leader of 15-pound Vicious mono for the line. If you would like to see the setup, watch the video below.