Rapala Subwalk Works...GREAT!!!

[ghost]

Finally a day that was cold but the channel didn't have ice on the surface.

Used a few different lures & caught some small bass & quite a few shad. I caught a couple bass on the Strike King Red Eye Shad & Wild Shiner in Sexy Shad color

Switched out to a pearl white colored Rapala Subwalk. I checked out how the lure worked under the surface & every so often it would break the surface. When it did this I paused & saw a swirl right behind the Subwalk. I gave it a slight twitch & the lure was gone & the slack in my line tightened up...I then set the hook...FISH ON!!! I was fishing in less than 5' of water. I caught a 17", 3.4 lb LM bass! I used my digital scale & I velcroed on a tape measure. I hope this means it's a good sign for this coming fishing season!

After releasing the 3.4 lb bass, I threw the Subwalk again & landed this 1.5 lb bass w/ prety much the same technique.

The Subwalk do does do the "walk the dog" nicely...but I was using 40 lb braided line & a 7' baitcast rod from the dock. I think if I used mono instead & a 6'6" rod I would gotten more action out of the lure. I did get good action but the braid just didn't give it that "snap" that mono would have given a "walk the dog" lure. It is slow sinking also the white color I was able to see the lure quite a ways off.

However, I am impressed w/ this lure. This lure works so much beter than the Twitchin' Rap, the Subwalk has more action when jerking it forward.

I only bought 2 colors, the pearl white & the silver/black top. I didn't want to get all or most of the colors, just a couple for clear & stained waters.

Also used my new Shimano Curado DHSV 201 b/c reel & that is a very nice reel. I will admit it's a great upgrade from the previous Curado. Next few times I go fishing I gotta use my Daiwa 7.1 Zillion & Advantage HSTA. I have the Shimano Curado 301 & 101 waiting in the wings for Spring fishing.

I ended up catching 7 bass & snagged "umteenth" number of shad today. These were some pretty big shad & felt like really big fish, till I saw they were foul hooked on the dorsal fin. FINALLY, a good day of fishing in horrible weather!

[-ebby-]

i was wondering how well these worked thanks!

[CJ]

Nice reveiw and nice fish, ghost. I guess I need to try the subwalk. I don't think I have a lure of that class or atleast one that runs that depth.

[mattm]

Thanks for the post I was wondering about those.  Nice fish, BTW.

[ghost]

Yup, the Subwalks are pretty expensive, that's the reason I only bought 2.  I was hemmin' & hawin' on what colors to get & the 2 I mentioned seems to be best for most water conditions.

[djmax22]

Thanks for the report! Do you have any idea of the water temperature? It looks like I will be picking up a few of those this weekend as well. Nice.

[LCpointerKILLA]

Thats awesome. I recently bought one with saltwater hooks and plan to fish it inshore as soon as I can.

[ghost]

Water temp....????  Air temp was 30 deg & the ice was finally off the water.

If it works this good in cold water, can't wait to check it out when things warm up!

[Ballpark Frank]

I have 2 Subwalk in the same colors. They are great, even if I'm not catching fish, I still enjoy making them do their WALK.Here lately, between the Subwalks and Skitter Walks, my other plugs are getting jealous. I was using my 7' M Quantum but I didn't get the most action out of them. Now I am using my 6' MH GL2, I walk them allday.

[.ghoti.]

Thanks for the report Ghost. I have a few of those that haven't seen the water yet. They don't work at all bounced off the ice.

[Infidel.]

Glad to hear it.  Thanks for sharing!

[BassFishingMachine]

Man if only they made a bigger version, 3 1/2 inches is just too small for striper  >.

[.dsaavedra.]

i think this is th first field tested review of this lure i've seen.

thanks for the good review man!

i think i'll be pickin one up now.

on rapalas website, they say it runs 0-6". does it sink down deeper than that? and can it still walk several feet down?

[ghost]

You could let the Subwalk sink, count it down to the desired depth. But for it to "walk" in deeper water, I don't know. I reckon it would if you're twitching it.  It would start to rise up due to the wings on the back end.

I would think that Rapala rates the lure at 0-6", subsurface for most optimal performance of this lure. Also it's quite easy to see what the lure is doing, even when it's casted far off. I guess that's why I like the pearl white, I can see what it's doing & see it disappear if a bass grabs it.

The Twitchin' Rap the lure looked like it just pulled forward, it would sometimes "walk the dog", but it took some effort. The Subwalk does what it's suppose to do, a subsurface spook type lure.  

The Sure Set rear hook made a believer in me w/ that style of hook.  BUT I don't think that hook is perfect for most lures.  It does work perfectly for the Subwalk, once the bass gets its mouth around that lure, the Sure Set is going to keep it on.  Now the thing I think may be a problem, if the bass does swallow the lure, the Sure Set hook could get imbedded deeper inside the fishes mouth than a traditional treble hook.  So there are pluses & minuses about the Sure Set.  I just hope I don't kill any bass w/ the Sure Set hook.

Now this is not something new, musky fishermen have been using subsurface walkers for years, just that the lures are so much bigger than the Rapala Subwalk.

For those who want to use a lure like the Subwalk for stripers, look at some musky subsurface lures.

[slomoe]

thanks for the review ghost.

[Paul Roberts]

Nice review, thanks ghost.

I bought a couple too. If the lure has good action then there will be times when we can make it work.

In ghost's particular case my guess is the shad in the area, many likely winter weakened, had a lot to do with the fast action. Nice to know the Subwalk shined there.

Like your color choices too -a natural for clear water and the pearl for murkier water. I'm also assuming this early spring water had suspended material in it and that pearl Subwalk did a good job of looking and acting like a loopy shad!

Again, very nice review.

[Perfect Hook Set]

I actually thought about this bait 4 years ago when using a spit n image.

My line got caught in the front hook and the spit n image was walking under water and occasionally came to the surface...

I casted it out for a second time without fixing my line and caught a decent 3lb large mouth...

$10 price sucks but, pretty much all fishing lures baits rods reel prices are going up well besides the waveworm tiki stick 10 for $3

Keep your drag correct

Stay out of the trees

and

The $10 price mark wont be an issue

[Paul Roberts]

I have such a bait too. It was a cheap knock-off topwater that never worked right. It was a slim shape that came with fore and aft propellers. I took them off and it's slim nose would allow it to dive like a torpedo and then bob back up nose first, appearing to nearly leap out of the water. Man bass would crush it at times. I still use it. The Subwalk is essentially the same thing, but not so buoyant.

[ghost]

Thanks guys, appreciate the the kudos!

Paul Roberts, what you said about the shad just hanging out, I think you are right.  I mean I ran lures & bumped into the big ones qutie often that I foul hooked them.  From what a friend told me that they are hanging out in this channel to spawn...I don't know, seems too cold for that.  Probablly more to bundle up in a group.

The bass I guess home in on this & lurk in the channel.  I know a buddy of mine caught a couple pikes in this channel last year round March when the shad were in there too.

I just hope the weather gets better tomorrow, I have the morning to fish!