new topwater bait pays off BIG! 10-15!!!

[paul.]

well, my new 9-5 topwater pb a few days ago sure didn't last long. ;D  i busted that mark wide open tonight with a huge 10-15 caught on a big rapala x-walk.  man i am tickled to death!

this story actually starts back when it was cold outside.  i was bait shopping at our gander mtn. in jackson and this bait really caught my eye.  i love big topwater baits and it was love at first sight.  this bait wasn't "cali big" but it was definitely "tennessee big" looking more like a striper bait.  it's actually even categorized as a saltwater bait.  it had good quality hooks, and i liked that big "sure set" in the back.  it also had a lot of flash and some of the most realistic lookin' eyes i've ever seen on a bait.  despite the $10+ price tag, i had to have it.  honestly, i "just had a feeling" about this bait.  i knew if it performed half as good as it looked, i'd be happy with it.  it just had "lunker" written all over it.  and i'll go ahead and admit it, walking baits are my topwater faves.  i've been hooked since my first zara spook many years ago.  

fast forward a few months to tonight.  the x-walk had been waiting patiently for its number to be called.  i figured this evening it was gonna be money.  after trying a few other things earlier with only small fish, i busted out the x-walk.  first thing i noticed was how far this bait casts.  i honestly coulda nearly spooled my cardiff on a cast if i'd wanted to i think).  there is just something mesmerizing about that walking action, and trust me, this one walks like a champ. (although it takes some getting used to due to the large size and heavy weight of the bait.)  

well, after about an hour, i was starting to get a little disappointed.  had i been wrong about this fine looking bait?  then i finally got a hit.  2 pounder.  well, at least i caught one one it.  i decided to go back to an area i'd fished earlier with no success, a shallow grass flat, as darkness closed in.  i've been fortunate enough to catch some fine bass there, and i was hoping for another.  worked the area pretty thoroughly and then i made a cast to the edge where it starts to drop off into deep water.  started that slow, deadly cadence that just drives the bigguns crazy.  walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, KA-BOOOSH!!!!!  the water just seemed to turn inside out with a monstrous strike.  steel meets flesh.  steel grips and holds.  i knew it was a good 'un, but i wasn't sure how good until she came up for a jump.  oh yeah, this one was a contender!  well, played her real carefully even though i had 50 lb. powerpro on cause it was hard to see how i had this fish hooked in the fading light and i sure wasn't gonna let her jump again if i coud help it.  during the battle, it was kinda hard to keep my composure.  all that kept running through my mind was how thick and fat she looked when she jumped.  but a cooler head prevailed and i was soon lipping  this brute of a bass.  after a quick ride on the digital scale and some pix, she was carefully released and i have been stoked ever since.  

so many of my hunches about lures have been off the mark, but man i am glad i got this one right.  i definitely see more of these big x-walks in my future!  all you other lunker junkies should definitely check 'em out!  

http://www.rapala.com/products/luresdetail.cfm?modelName=x-rap_walk_13&freshorsalt=Salt

well, enough talk.  here's the pic.  i was happy to get this one and post her, cause my fishin'  and my time on the br board is gonna be cut back some this summer due to my girls being outta school.  but i'll try to make sure i still get on here every week to see y'all's awesome catches and say congrats.  best wishes to all y'all for a lunker-filled summer.  hope ya enjoy the pic.          

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

A 10 on top,.........you're my frigign HERO!!!

And what a pretty girl too,....awesome Hawg Caller, just awesome

[Grey Wolf]

SUPER BASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[btcprince]

very nice. any bass is great on topwater, but a monster is awesome

[Daniel My Brother]

WOW! Another great fish and story!

You need to write for a magazine.

[bighed]

Time to buy some lotto tickets, your on a roll!

[mattm]

I was already suspecting it, but know i'm convinced you have a huge aquarium in your home that you grow trophy largemouths in, and then show them off on here.

Seriously, awesome fish and great story.  You need to move to Cali.

[Still a Bigbuckifan]

Wow! Your on a roll Great story and another PB wow

[Paul Roberts]

Wow!

Congratulations again, Paul.

I too jumped on the X-Walk when I saw it. Topwater jumpbaits are my favorite as well.

There are times when I just can't get the bass to break top, so the subsurface option holds a ton of promise. In the past I've made some subsurface jumpbaits by weighting -even tried carving one. Only one panned out really well -a very cheap knock-off plug that is simply too small for quality fish. But it really catches smaller fish.

So far I've only tried my X-Walk just to see how it runs and found it's not as easy to get really good glides, as with the topwater types. But, with some more playing around I'm excited at what it might do.

Thanks for the motivation!

[KB Nation]

WOW! Great looking bass! Man, you NEVER catch any small ones do you???  ;D

[Muad Dib]

WOW what an awesome story. im going out right now to "walk the dog" cause of that story and fish!!!! you cant catch big ones from ur bed! Awesome story congrats brother

travis.

[HOIST-N-HAWGS]

Congrats on the PB that's one heck of a fish!

[aggiebassin]

wow!! your on a roll man....congrats

[peidy_p]

awesome fish wish i could use baits like that on my home waters. theres just to much coontail.

[Sam]

Super story.

Thanks for sharing.

[Bassn Blvd]

Paul, you're simply amazing.  And to think you make it sound like it was lure that did all the work.  Come on bro, I think it was 90% fisherman and 10% lure.  You're kicking the crap out of the "big bass" states.  

[skillet]

Another GREAT fish, my friend!!! Topwater RULES!!! Have a great summer with your girls...

                                  As Ever,

                                   skillet

[CJ]

Man you're killin' me! Nice fish! You're on a roll.

CJ

[paul.]

as usual, y'all are too kind.  thanks so much for all the nice words.  honestly though, i just consider myself an average fisherman who's blessed with above-average fishin' holes.  i think any of y'all could do the same in the right water given equal amounts of patience and persistance.  guys like catt, randall, chris, supermat, bizz, mattlures, wrb, and several others on here are the true lunker catchers.  my hat's off to them.  i learned a long time ago that catchin' bigguns under any circumstances is never a walk in the park.  and those guys do it under more difficult circumstances than me.  i am still trying to learn this trophy fishin' game and can only hope to be close to the level  those guys are at one day.  but that's the great thing about trophy fishin'.  fortunately, i don't have to compete against anyone except the lunker bass.  and trust me, i lose that one the vast majority of the time. ;D  thanks again y'all.    

[bmadd]

Man you are unbelievable. If you didn't have pictures I would not believe you could catch fish like that consistently let alone that many in the same year in our area. As always my hat is off to you.

[T-rig]

Awesome fish! 8-) What color x-walk were you using?

[roadwarrior]

WOW!

And the hits keep comin'...Great pic, too!

8-)

[fishinfiend]

All you do is catch monsters.... great job!!

[senile1]

Congrats, hawg caller!  I'm at a loss for words.

[BassinBoy]

Mr. Hawg Caller I swear you keep catching the same fish  ;D nice fish bro