[fish4funinfl]

I will admit that I realy dont have a clue HOW to ' walk the dog ' . I mainly use a Devil's Horse , BabyTorpedo or a Spitter.

I hope the old saying ' you cant teach an old dog new tricks ' isnt true as this old dog needs to be educated on ' walking the dog ' . ;D

Ok, so heres what I think I know about it. ( mind you , I said THINK )
Hold your rod tip down and give it twitches on a slack line, then reel in some and twitch again on slack line..... NOW if this is true, do I twitch the rod tip in the same place ? Meaning, if I twitch it towards my right foot, do I continue twitching it towards my right foot ? Or would I alternate between my right foot and left foot ?

Also, when I do achieve a ' walk the dog ' I believe it darts from side to side, correct ? If this is so, does the tail end come around to almost a 90* or does it dart in an angle ? ( I want to know when I have it correct )

I will be practicing with a Zara Spook jr. ( If it wasnt raining here now, i'd be practicing in my pool to see if I couldnt answer my own questions lol )

Besides yalls expertise advice, i'd love to see a video of it being done ( if anyone can find one to link me to )

 

[fish4funinfl]

The rain stopped for a bit so I went to the pool and started playing with the spook jr.

Just when I think I got it figured out, it throws me for a loop. I cant get it to zig & zag constantly.( providing thats what I need it to do ) I get alot of zig but no zag ( meaning it wants to keep going in one direction on the twitches ) Then I get it to zig & zag. then next try, im back to all zig and no zag.

I have tried a faster retreave, a 2 second pause between twitches. So far I just cannot get it consistant.

Is a Sammy easier then a Spook jr to walk the dog ?

 

[Jared]

Yes a zig zag is what you want.

The best way to get it to be consistent is to twitch reel twitch reel twitch reel etc... Then you should be able to walk it all the way back to the boat. Also, snap the rod tip down works better than snapping it to the left or right I have found. It imparts no direction to the bait this way.
I think I have a video and I will dig it up and post it for you soon as I find it

 

[Jared]

Is a Sammy easier then a Spook jr to walk the dog ?

people say the sammie is easier but I have found em both just as easy as each other.

 

[fish4funinfl]

Thanks Jared.

I think my problem is 2 fold.. Not the right amount of slack in the line. And my ' twitches ' arent consistant.

Would something like a ' loop knot ' work best for beginners ? ( I was useing a palomar )

 

[fish4funinfl]

Ok, I got it figured out. There wasnt enough slack in the line . If it doesnt zag for me after a zig, I know I got to give it a touch more slack , then it works pretty good in a zig zag motion.
Now, this is all being done in a 34' pool ( so you figure actualy 30' im useing of the pool ) . Not sure how its gonna work for me on longer casts, but I feel after a time or two of casting I will get the hang of it.

I had looked on other forums for ' tips ' and I ran across this one and after reading it, it clicked for me. This is from BDO and the angler is ' islandbass ' so the credit is all his. ( here are parts of it that clicked it on for me.

So remember, bottom line there must be the right amount of slack.
If your spook is trudging forward as a popper would, there is not
enough slack.

Another thing to note is you're only responsible for moving the
spook to one side. Its movement to the other side is a direct
result of the line pulling it back the other way without any angler
influence from the rod.

So you twitch and it goes to one side (let's call this "your" side).
The spook will automatically go to the other side as you slowly
reel up enough line to remove EXCESS slack
(remember, you still need some degree of slack).

When it has finished going to the other side, it needs your next
twitch to get it to go back to "your" side. Then slowly reel
up some line and repeat the whole process again.

 

[Big Bass Rich]

This is semi-unrelated but most people I see using spooks don't catch fish because they use them way too fast. Try to pretend it's a popper. Give it a couple twitches, back and forth... then let it sit for a long time. Sure sometimes the steady retreive works, but you may find it's better with the slow, intermittent approach.

Just a tip!

 

[Ouachita]

Back to the original question, the rod tip is held in one place, not switched left & right, or you lose the cadence. You'll figure out the short & fast zig-zag, up to a long sweeping zig-zag. Imitate wht you happen to see baitfish doing. I use Spooks mostly for WTDing. If letting it sit still in clear water use a clear bait. I don't like bass getting too good a look at it.

Work on walking it under the side of a dock next. Bass don't see it presented that way much. You do that by bending the line eye to one side, forcing longer zigs than zags, making the bait veer to the side. You can do that with crankbaits too.

Jim

 

[Jared]

Heya Jim! Good to see you!

I agree... clear spooks are a great choice. I've done very well with the clear ones on Lake Murray here in SC.

 

[fish4funinfl]

Thanks everyone for yalls imput.

And Rich, my wife was watching the action in the pool and she said she thought when I was going fast with it ,it looked more like a real fish.

I think today I will work on ' WTD ' with a Bobby's perfect frog

 

[Guest]

Most of the time, I will fish it fast, and then I will pause it. Especially when I get right next to cover. Then, I will pick the cadence up again, and will stop it again. Etc., etc., etc.

Rodney, I switch between two different knots. The Palomar and the "loop" knot. If I am working around heavy cover, it will be the Palomar, if I am working in open water, or around light cover, I will go with the loop knot.

I honestly believe that the loop knot will allow you a better action, an action that is created easier, which will, in turn, cause the bass to believe that it's a real, injured baitfish working on the surface of the water.

Another thing that I have done with some of the spooks I have had in the past is to take a Sharpie, and make 3 small red lines on the underside of the head. It mimics blood, and I have seen a higher percentage of hits and hookups in clearer water using it.

 

[fish4funinfl]

Ive been experimenting with what I would call a ' quad ' loop knot. ( seen Woo Daves do it on a video of his) Reason I  call it a ' quad ' is the pieces of line I have in my hand.

You start out like a palomar ( double line through the eye ) then as it is swinging ( dont make the overhand knot ), double the line once more. Now you have 4 pieces of string in one hand. Then make 2 passes through the loop with your lure. Adjust the size of the loop, wet it, cinch it down. Then clip your tag and extra lines.
Now instead of 1 piece of line  you have 2 holding the ' eye ' of the lure.

I had looked at the ' surgens ' loop knot, and that just didnt seem like it would be strong enough

 

[Guest]

The one I use goes as follows:

1. Tie an overhand knot in your line, then insert the tag end through the eye of the lure.

2. Run the tag end through the still open overhand knot.

3. Twist the line 3-4 times, around the main line.

4. Take the tag end, and run it through the overhand knot once more.

5. Cinch and clip.


You will have to figure out how much of a tag end to leave, so that your knot isn't too big and so that it's not too small. I prefer a knot that has about 3/4" length in it. And it's plenty tough. 8)

 

[fish4funinfl]

John, I think the one you are describing is a ' rapala ' knot
http://www.animatedknots.com/rapala/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Who can walk the dog with a frog ? ( example .. Bobby's Perfect Frog )

I just cannot get it to walk the dog ! I finaly got the spook jr to walk dern good, but for the life of me I cannot get the frog to walk . I have tried that ' quad ' loop knot ,and a palomar knot.

Is there a different technique used for frogs ? I just cannot get it to walk doing it the same way as a ' spook jr '

 

[Ouachita]

I use a Palomar know on WTD baits because I've noticed the inside of a loop knot wears prematurely from the side to side scraping. I'd guess the inside of a typical line eye is pretty rough, not polished. Some WTD baits do work a little better using loop knots, but I've finally decided that little improvement isn't worth a break off on a fine bass. I believe a Spook actually wroks best direct tied. With a loop knot is doesn't seem to dart hard enough to right or left. I want as much side dart as possible. When using braid I use a braid knot, never anything else. When fishing over heavy wood cover I use 65# braid which floats enough to keep the nose of the lure from going under like when using fluorocarbon or really thin mono.

Jim

 

[fish4funinfl]

I can see where a ' loop knot ' may wear out prematurely from the lure ' swinging on it ' . Thanks for bringing that to my attention

Any ideas on getting the frog to ' WTD ' ?

 

[Ouachita]

The only WTDing with frogs has been with models like Horny Toads skimmed over weeds, and those do require a loop knot. All the others just track along a straight line no matter unless switching rod from your right to left and back on each retrieve. They don't veer much no matter how long the rod.

Jim

 

[hellabass]

its not the easiest thing to walk a hollow body frog, and when you do, its not as pronounced as spook or other hard bait. One thing that helps a bit, trim the skirts and trim one side about 1/4-3/8" shorter than the other

www.RichLindgren.com

 

[fish4funinfl]

Ok, thanks for yall imput

 

[Guest]

I have used the loop knot for several hours using a Spook, and I have never once noticed the line wearing. And that's the one thing that I constantly check when fishing anything.

I use 12# Big Game, and it works like a charm.