Now A Believer In Spook...sorta

[mr.kagrise]

This is more of a two question post, but I'll start with the topic: I have heard tons of chatter about "walking the dog." I'd never owned a spook or other cigar bait, but when the local Wal-Marks had 'em for a buck fifty, I picked up a couple of Zara Puppies. I snagged one in baby bass and the other in bone. (recently fallen in love with this color) So today I headed to the lake (banks, less than three acres) and within just a few minutes, I felt like I had figured out the cadence and started catching fish. That bone puppy was the only thing I threw for three hours and it produced in the neighborhood of fifteen to twenty fish. Only thing is, only three or four of them were over 12". My question (1) is how wide should the side to side motion be? Should it be a tight walk or a lazy, side to side? Should I pause it from time to time or keep the rhythmic cadence? I've been told of six and seven pounders coming out of this water. There are no boats, and I don't believe its pressured at all. Where are the bigguns?!?! I fished the same water yesterday and threw a brown pumpkin speed craw directly off bank to about fifteen feet out and a KVD red-eye in sexy shad in open water. Didn't catch near the amount I did today, but the five or six I did were small as well. What gives?

[Oldplug]

You should try all those things until they hit. That is a very large part of establishing the pattern. If they do not hit it you have the wrong bait or wrong time for the pattern.

[Trailer]

I have Zara puppies but I always use a Spook Jr. I always keep the same fast cadence back to the boat, constantly working it.

On breaking fish just hit them in the head with it and they'll bite it before you can turn the handle. I wouldn't shy away from larger spooks and those One Knockers are good too.

Sometimes a bass will nail it but keep working it and he'll come back. Let them take it and don't rip it out of his mouth.

[mr.kagrise]

I found that to be true today. There were several instances where the bait would get slapped or short bitten; I would give it three or four seconds and go back to my retrieve. I'm just happy I picked it up so fast. I was always intimidated by them because I'd never fished them. I believe in them now, especially after learning there's no exact rhythm to be kept. I never saw them to be that versatile. Now if I just figure out where the +12" are holding I'll be in good shape!

[Trailer]

I have to say I too was intimidated but I think that comes with anything you do that is unfamiliar.

It only took one fishing trip for me and I was hooked.

The right gear helps too. Once you get that rhythm it's on.

[papajoe222]

I've been fishing Spooks of different sizes for over 30 years and one thing I can tell you for sure is you need to vary your retrieve speed, both forward and side to side, until you contact fish and then attempt to reproduce that cadence.  My top producing retrieve is moderate to slow, which is the way I'll start out especially in water over 15ft.  The second most productive in the same type of water is a quick side to side with little forward movement. In shallow water (under 10ft.+) I'll often walk it fairly quick and then stop it completely by whatever cover I'm targeting.  As you can see, experimentation will dictate how they want it.

To answer your other question, If your tackle can handle the bigger versions, by all means give them a shot for bigger fish, but the smaller ones will produce better under difficult conditions.  I like the SuperSpooks when I'm targeting big fish, but I've also caught dinks on the same bait.  My PB was caught on a Jr. in July and the water temp. was 84. My best day Spookin' was in late may on an original in bone fishing pre-spawn conditions.  If you put in time with this family of baits, you'll be surprised at just what you can do with them. I shocked a co-angler a few years back when I cast past an old post sticking out of the water and proceeded to walk a Spook around it. The second time I did it, I was rewarded with the biggest bass in my limit.

[BuckMaxx]

Papajoe is exactly right. I have been fishing a spook for nearly 30 years myself.  The spook is  probably on of the most veristile topwater baits. It takes some practice to learn it but when you do it is deadly. It is one of the few topwaters I have caught fish on at anytime thruout the day. I generally use a pretty fast tip rod and quick, steady, fluid, twitches of the rod tip. Fished fast It will make the bait almost swim like a snake. I fish mine pretty fast to cover alot of water. But when I get the bait into a spot where I know a bass should live, I stop it and give it a few flicks. THEY CAN'T STAND IT! Gain some confidence in the bait because it definitly has a spot in your aresenal all summer.

[Jigfishn10]

My question (1) is how wide should the side to side motion be? Should it be a tight walk or a lazy, side to side? Should I pause it from time to time or keep the rhythmic cadence?

 

IMHO, both and any walk in between work. Fish fast, slow or any speed in between. A steady or paused retrieve or anything retrieve technique in between.

 

I haven't been appraoched by the stickbait police yet, so whatever works that day, fish it and most of all have fun. You can't have a better time fishing than topwater fishing.

[Trailer]

IMHO, both and any walk in between work. Fish fast, slow or any speed in between. A steady or paused retrieve or anything retrieve technique in between.

 

I haven't been appraoched by the stickbait police yet, so whatever works that day, fish it and most of all have fun. You can't have a better time fishing than topwater fishing.

X2! The best part is the fish blowing that sucker up! Nice little peaceful bank then BOOOOOOM!!!! Can't beat it.