Lobina Rico

[coreynov902]

I just bought one of these and had a couple questions. First, do I need to change out the stock hooks on these? You would think for a $20+ bait they would have good hooks on them already, but I know that's not always the case. Second, for those who use these and have good success with them, how do you work them? Do you do little rod twitches to walk the dog with the bait? Do you have a certain cadence that works well with them? I don't use poppers a lot, but I have heard people say that you don't use a Rico the same as you do a regular popper. Just don't want to use it like a normal popper if that's not the best way to utilize it. Thanks

[bassfanpa]

I actually think the stock hooks are good. They are versatile baits you can walk or pop, just depends what the fish want that day. One of my favorite poppers for sure.

[DaveBrabec]

Only time i change the hooks is when the feathered treble gets all tore up from fish!!

[white gambler]

the stock hooks on the ones I have are the tackiest trebles that I've ever felt on anything out of the box.

[wvbass87]

stock hooks are good. I like to walk the dog with it and kind of make it spit as well instead of just your standard pop, pause, pop, pop, pause. Maybe its just me but I tend to get bigger bites when im working those things pretty fast.

[Rick McFaul]

The hooks are Gamakatsu hooks.....super sticky. I walk the bait. Sometimes with pauses. For the best action and instant hook ups try throwing it on 20 lb braid

[jiggerjake]

the stock hooks on the ones I have are the tackiest trebles that I've ever felt on anything out of the box.

+1 ^^^^^

[coreynov902]

I thought the hooks felt very sharp as well, but I'm just used to seeing higher-end hooks in black nickel, not the standard nickel that the stock hooks on the Rico are. I do plan on fishing it on braid, 20 or 30 lb. Thanks for the feedback!

[86 inches]

Spring through late fall I always have one on my deck. 54 degrees and above is where they work for me. Probably different conditions than you have there in Iowa but I fish mine Rick Clunn style - 17-20 pound mono and a heavy 7 foot rod. Fish will hit them just about anyway you work em but most of the time I literally slash them hard and fast. Bam Bam Bam. I think on our clear water reservoirs moving them fast keeps the fish from getting a close eye on them. It brings a fast reaction bite and I can cover a lot of water quickly. Big fish getters for sure. Stock hooks are great. They cast remarkably well for a 1/4 oz lure. If the wind is up, I'll switch over to the larger Rio Rico. The extra splash they make helps when the surface is already choppy.

https://advancedangler.com/features/...topwater-rico/

[coreynov902]

[QUOTE=86 inches;10060076]Spring through late fall I always have one on my deck. 54 degrees and above is where they work for me. Probably different conditions than you have there in Iowa but I fish mine Rick Clunn style - 17-20 pound mono and a heavy 7 foot rod. Fish will hit them just about anyway you work em but most of the time I literally slash them hard and fast. Bam Bam Bam. I think on our clear water reservoirs moving them fast keeps the fish from getting a close eye on them. It brings a fast reaction bite and I can cover a lot of water quickly. Big fish getters for sure. Stock hooks are great. They cast remarkably well for a 1/4 oz lure. If the wind is up, I'll switch over to the larger Rio Rico. The extra splash they make helps when the surface is already choppy.

https://advancedangler.com/features/...topwater-rico/[/QUOTE

Cool article! I honestly didn't even know that the Rico was designed by Rick Clunn until I got it the other day and the box it comes in had Rick Clunn's name on it. I'm kind of surprised you can get a topwater bite in 54 degree water...usually I don't fish topwaters at all until the water temp hits 60. Thanks for the information.

[DrewFlu33]

Getting off topic now a little, but seems like you've gotten some good answers to the main question.

I remember hearing on a TV show a long time ago, I think it was Hank Parker, that 55 degrees was the "magic" temperature for throwing topwaters. I think he was specifically talking about a buzzbait. That seems to fit with my experience in the spring when the water is warming.

That said, I've caught them down to 50 degrees here in MN throwing a buzzbait and covering water in the fall. That's a pretty common occurrence on some bodies of water where the fish get shallow and spread out at that time of year. You've got to cover water to find them, and the buzzbait does as well as any technique out there at covering water. Maybe more interesting is that I actually caught 2 smallmouth on the Mississippi Pool 4 on a Spook in 47-48 degree water two or three falls ago. To be fair, they were busting shad and I threw at them when I saw them come up so I suppose that may have been sort of a special scenario, but it was high 40s nevertheless. Maybe the more interesting thing is that I had a Spook tied on when fishing water that cold. Not sure what I was thinking beforehand, but it worked out!

The other thing is that I think the further north you get, the more "tough" the fish are when it comes to cold weather. Fish here in MN seem to be bothered by the cold a lot less than fish where I grew up in WV, and I'm sure that holds true comparing it to places further south. It holds across species, too - bass, trout, crappies, sunfish, etc. It's not really surprising when you think about it. After all, humans in MN are a lot less bothered by the cold than humans further south, and we get the luxury of living in climate controlled environments for the most part!

[BassVoodoo]

Do you see a difference in the larger size to the regular size in action?

[coreynov902]

Getting off topic now a little, but seems like you've gotten some good answers to the main question.

I remember hearing on a TV show a long time ago, I think it was Hank Parker, that 55 degrees was the "magic" temperature for throwing topwaters. I think he was specifically talking about a buzzbait. That seems to fit with my experience in the spring when the water is warming.

That said, I've caught them down to 50 degrees here in MN throwing a buzzbait and covering water in the fall. That's a pretty common occurrence on some bodies of water where the fish get shallow and spread out at that time of year. You've got to cover water to find them, and the buzzbait does as well as any technique out there at covering water. Maybe more interesting is that I actually caught 2 smallmouth on the Mississippi Pool 4 on a Spook in 47-48 degree water two or three falls ago. To be fair, they were busting shad and I threw at them when I saw them come up so I suppose that may have been sort of a special scenario, but it was high 40s nevertheless. Maybe the more interesting thing is that I had a Spook tied on when fishing water that cold. Not sure what I was thinking beforehand, but it worked out!

The other thing is that I think the further north you get, the more "tough" the fish are when it comes to cold weather. Fish here in MN seem to be bothered by the cold a lot less than fish where I grew up in WV, and I'm sure that holds true comparing it to places further south. It holds across species, too - bass, trout, crappies, sunfish, etc. It's not really surprising when you think about it. After all, humans in MN are a lot less bothered by the cold than humans further south, and we get the luxury of living in climate controlled environments for the most part!

Drew, from what you said it sounds like a lot of your cold water topwater action comes in the fall. Do you have the same success with those temps in the spring too? I can honestly say I have never thrown a topwater when the water temp is below 60, but maybe I should be. In the past I have started throwing buzzbaits and ploppers when the water temp hits 60 in the spring, but don't use poppers or walking style baits until it gets even warmer. When and what do you start throwing in the spring?

[dabassking]

Drew, from what you said it sounds like a lot of your cold water topwater action comes in the fall. Do you have the same success with those temps in the spring too? I can honestly say I have never thrown a topwater when the water temp is below 60, but maybe I should be. In the past I have started throwing buzzbaits and ploppers when the water temp hits 60 in the spring, but don't use poppers or walking style baits until it gets even warmer. When and what do you start throwing in the spring?

I know I’m not who you directed the question to, but it seems to me that fish need a warmer temp to start hitting topwaters in the spring than they need in the fall to stop hitting topwaters. What I’m saying is, they’ll start hitting topwaters around 60 in the spring, but won’t stop hitting topwaters until around 50 in the fall. Also, those numbers are just estimates. Everyone’s experiences are different and I’m sure a lot of us have seen the video of the bass coming through the ice to hit a lure, so that shows that none of us really know what we’re talking about.

[bbbill]

Daichi Death Grip hook. light wire and deadly sharp. I use a couple hundred a year on top water and jerk baits.

[DrewFlu33]

I know I’m not who you directed the question to, but it seems to me that fish need a warmer temp to start hitting topwaters in the spring than they need in the fall to stop hitting topwaters. What I’m saying is, they’ll start hitting topwaters around 60 in the spring, but won’t stop hitting topwaters until around 50 in the fall. Also, those numbers are just estimates. Everyone’s experiences are different and I’m sure a lot of us have seen the video of the bass coming through the ice to hit a lure, so that shows that none of us really know what we’re talking about.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, except I'm trying topwaters in the spring at 55. They definitely seem to require a higher temp to start hitting them in the spring. Buzzbaits are almost always the first and last topwater I'm throwing. The absolute best day I've ever had throwing a buzz bait was in 57 degree water. Put together an 15 lb bag in WV with it including a 6. A 15 lb bag in WV is not easy to do, and there was more than 5 bites to get there. That Spook on the river with the schooling smallmouth was a very odd situation for me.

[coreynov902]

Thanks for the feedback Drew and dabassking. I figured it probably worked like that with regards to spring vs fall topwater, but I don't get out as much in the fall as I do in the spring, so my experience with topwaters in cooling fall waters is much less than in warming spring waters. Maybe I'll have to try in the high 50's this spring and see how it works.