Walking the dog

[Dixon]

Help?  I have thrown sammys but doesnt seem to be doing it right. Whats your technique?

[Chris at Tech]

Use a shorter rod to learn, I'd recommend a 6-footer.

The trick is to make sure you have some slack in your line.  If you have no slack between you and the lure, it'll just move forward when you twitch.

Once you see how much slack you need in the line to get the bait to walk, the next step is learning the cadence of twitching the rod and picking up line with the reel.  I wish I could give you some clear instructions on how to do it, but the only thing I can tell you is to practice.  It'll come

[J-B]

I use a monofilament line (floating line) and I learned to leave a loose loop on the bait when I tie the knot.  It allows the bait to move more freely.  Also try to use your wrist when jerking the rod and less arm.  The advice above about using a shorter rod and leaving slack in the line is great advice.  Get good with it and then upgrade to a longer rod.  A stiffer rod (MH) helps also (at least for me) it gives you a little more control over the bait.  I use a 6'6" MH rod and it works fine.  It takes lots of practice to get it right.  I am still working on perfecting it myself.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

One other exception not mentioned yet. It is critical to use your wrist to pop or snap the rod tip with a crisp motion,not sweeping or pulling with your elbow. Use a downward or down diagonal twitch and 1/2 turn or so of the crank, depending on your reel,to maintain the proper amount of slack.I use a spinning rod and all I am basically doing is relaxing my fingers and the squeezing back together. If you use the proper mechanics it doesn't take much practice.What does take practice is getting the fish to bite it. The retrieve can be varied between how much slack is in the line and how hard you pop it and the overall speed. Using this same type of motion can be deadly with poppers as well.

This is by far my favorite of all fishing techniques. I find it very relaxing and I love making my lure do lots of different tricks. Keep at it.It can be very rewarding. Check youtube,there are couple videos on there although I haven't found any real good ones yet.

[Matt Fly]

Very important to learn to use the Flemish knot or loop knot.    

Tieing directly to the bait with hard knot kills the actions.

[BIG M]

I find it easier to walk a bait with the rod tip up in the 10:00 position, and I twitch the rod from 10:00 to 11:00.   Maybe not the correct way but it does work for me as I fish from the bank most of the time.

[EastMarkME]

Rod tip down/wrist action not arm.  Try to get your line down quickly and straight if its windy. Too much slack hurts the presentation alot.

Mark

[EdKras]

Use a snap(not a snap swivel) and it walks much easier.  

[Wayne P.]

Braid is the way to go with walking baits.

Another trick is to file a shallow smooth groove in the lure eye on the bottom of the eye so it will keep the knot low and lessen the amount that the nose gets pulled down no matter what line type is used.

A loop knot kills the walk more than a tight knot and so does a snap. A slack line immediately after the pull is the key to the walk.

[Stagerlee]

Like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XULwIPF43mY

Great Video.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

A loop knot kills the walk more than a tight knot and so does a snap. A slack line immediately after the pull is the key to the walk.

x2 I am not big on split rings either

[vanquish]

Thanks for all the info guys. I just received a Sammy from a member here and took it out last night for the first time. I was fishing it all wrong. I tried the technique described here and in the video and I got it. I still need to practice but I have the basic principles down. Thanks guys...

[Incheon Basser]

Braid is the way to go with walking baits.

Another trick is to file a shallow smooth groove in the lure eye on the bottom of the eye so it will keep the knot low and lessen the amount that the nose gets pulled down no matter what line type is used.

A loop knot kills the walk more than a tight knot and so does a snap. A slack line immediately after the pull is the key to the walk.

your giving contradictory advise of the likes of Woo Davis and KVD, and many other pros but i guess you know best

[Wayne P.]

Incheon Basser, I have been fishing many years with many different anglers and those tips were explained and demonstrated to me by a few. I'm just passing on the knowledge given to me that has proven to be productive.

[Blue Streak]

You have to snap your rod tip back  at the lure to give that little bit of slack, without slack the lure cannot move to the side.

[tnbassfisher]

Like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XULwIPF43mY

I learned more in that short video than I have in a year of someone trying to explain it to me in words.