I like to throw a River2Sea Whopper Plopper, a Zoom Horny Toad and a buzzbait a lot. The best rule of thumb I can give you is to stick with the Horny Toad when the water is slick. If there’s a little chop on the water you go with a buzzbait. If there’s a good chop on the water the Whopper Plopper really shines. It’s a loud, big-profile bait, and they can find it. If you’ve been on a good toad bite and the wind blows like a banshee, don’t give up on them. They’ll bite the “Willy P.”

I like to just throw it down windblown banks, and anytime you get around a stick-up or a log don’t hesitate to throw at it. But, it’s not like a spinnerbait where I’ll search out that cover. I’m usually just going down the bank getting after it. For the retrieve, I don’t do anything fancy. I just crank it along at a medium speed so it works nicely.

The big key to the Whopper Plopper is braided line, a big stick and a fast reel. Coming in with anything less than that is asking for trouble. They will whoop you. I use 50- to 65-pound-test braid, a 7-6, heavy-action Waft Iron Feather Bass flipping stick, and a 7:1 gear ratio Bass Pro Shops CarbonLite or Pro Qualifier reel. I tie directly to the split ring, and I use a big No. 1 Owner Stinger on the front and leave the stock hook on the back.

When you’ve got big line and a big hook you just reel them right in. Some guys like to use a mono leader, but I’m not a big fan of that. On a Devil’s Horse you need one or it will get wrapped up. You can tie a Plopper direct and not impact the action of the bait.