 Through top water Absolutely slobber-knocked one of my best top water bites of the year. I've said you guys missed it four-pounder Look at that. That's good times Good All right y'all for today's technical Tuesday We're gonna look at Walking the dog Top water walking baits. How do you do it efficiently? Now this was something that Bugged me when I first started bass fishing This technique is money in the summer when it's hot You're trying to drive fish up from deeper water and into the fall when fish start to school They're out on points But it's also great in small waters ponds for example Caught a lot of fishing ponds in the summertime Just throwing out in the middle over things that you don't even know over there Maybe a little hump maybe a long point something like that or if you see a Bass that's just chasing a bait fish. This is what you want to throw for a top water bait But getting it to walk aggressively it can be tricky So the whole key with getting these baits to walk side to side is you have to put Slack in your line. So with my rod tip I'm working the bait and then I'm making sure that I let the bait come back Basically go backwards before I move the rod tip again. I'm moving the reel In between those strokes. So it's a cadence that you just have to get down Twitch reel twitch reel twitch reel you work it with the rod tip down. It helps if you have a Rod, it's not very long. So I'm about 5 11 And I'm using a 7 2 right now. It's about as long as I can get away with This is our gold series reaction rod I'd like it for throwing this because it's the it's the perfect action and a little extra link helps me get those longer cast But instead of working it straight down, which I would with a seven foot Seven foot is great. I'm just holding it a little more to the side So I'm not hitting the water with my rod tip When you're on land if you're fishing on a dock You're gonna notice that even more and so it it helps being on a bass boat having a platform But if you get out on the edge of a dock, you can do it that way But if you're on land, you just want to hold it to the side And the whole key is getting that bait to rebound back You can use two different types of line for this you can use braid or you can use monofilament both of those float But I'm gonna tell you why I like using braid. It's because it's Low stretch very very low stretch. So you're getting more reaction more direct Tenacity if you will I like that word to your bait whereas monofilament. It's got more stretch It's a little tougher to get that rebound effect. You can definitely still do it I would go with at least 15 though The higher pound line you just had one the higher pound line that you have the more it's going to float So I'm using 30 pound braid, which I love for casting. It still floats But this clear water right here. I would go with 15 pound mono If you get below that Your bait it'll still float, but you don't get that that nose up that real nose up effect A lot of times what will happen when you're working this bait is you'll get a fish that gets on it sees it You might see a swirl behind it, or maybe they just miss it because of the erratic action Don't stop the bait. Just keep working it oftentimes. It's even better if you speed it up And they will come down and chase it. You don't want to let them look at it for too long You want them just to think it's a bait fish? Don't let them stare at it for too long And I would consider this just a medium retrieve One two one two one two one two that's the cadence that I'm using I'm using a medium power rod. So medium power fast action If you use a real heavy rod, it's going to be tougher to get that bounce back A medium power has that give and it just acts as like a spring And I especially love the medium power with braids It's basically perfect for this Now on your reel You can basically use whatever gear ratio that that you want I would stay away from the fives I would say seven is is good higher Possibly even better just because if you see a fish that is busting you could reel it in real quick and cast over to that fish You usually have just a few seconds like two or three seconds If you see a fish swirling to get over there Throw it just past that area and twitch it over the top of them to get that fish to come up Five six seconds is usually they're already down and they're looking for another bait fish. So it helps to have this thing ready to go and A lot of times what I'll do is I'll just keep about a foot of line out on my top water bait and I'll lay it Lay it on the deck Over to the side if you're fishing on the bank or on a dock you can leave it just like that I could throw something out like a swim bait Maybe get those fish that aren't quite coming up to the top yet Then have that ready not on not hooked onto the reel Not hooked on to the rod definitely not at the rod tip Just with like a foot of line out. That's the perfect perfect way to just grab Oh, I see him busted pick it up and fire Now what's great about the walking baits is Like this lake, you know, I'm sitting in 50 feet of water right now But it's clear enough. It's got clear enough visibility where these fish will come up You know 10 15 feet And come charge this bait It doesn't have to be up in the shallows For any all that like to lake fish if you've got a lake that has bluffs like the one I'm fishing This is a really good place to fish But also those long points Anywhere that bass or pinning fish up against something or running them up on a ridge Shelf anything like that. Sometimes it's in the middle of the lake In the fall you'll see them out in the middle of the lake Chasing shad they'll get away from all sorts of cover and structure to chase around shad And this is one of those baits. I just keep tight on from hot summer all the way into the fall Another tip for fishing these is to have a backup bait if you just keep getting misses You can follow that up with some sort of weightless bait and I showed you guys last time My setup for throwing weightless rigs So if I'm getting misses I blows up This is it fish Just leave the top water out there and I'll pick up the weightless bait and throw it The exact spot where that bass just missed it and just let it sink whether it's you know Fluke sal bait or it's a wacky rig or whatever Throw that out there let that sink down And then wait for that thump That's another bait to keep about a foot or two line Keep it over the edge These conditions are just perfect for this right now and just a little bit of chop This is where a pop install bait usually gets bogged down in the choppy And a walking style bait will Go through a little bit of chop pretty easily One more tip I'll give you guys for this Is if you do have a bluff wall like I have right here Or maybe it's a marina dock And you see bass that are using that edge to push fish To drive them up that wall or the dock or whatever it is and eat them real close Is it it really helps to get your bait All the way up to that wall or that structure whatever it is And then start working it if they're used to seeing those fish Right up against the bank And then you want to kind of change your boat position Change your angle to where you're fishing that Straight next to that wall Cast it all the way up there work it out or Get up close where you can make a longer cast and keep it real close to that edge But lastly if you're fishing a a bait that It just isn't Walking the best You can tie a loop knot in the front. This is kind of an old school thing But you can use this on jerk baits and you're walking top water baits But a loop knot Is just uh, it allows you to have that That swing that extra swing side to side And it's not adding any weight to the front of the bait. So like a split ring It'll allow you that side to side, but it's Um, it's adding that extra weight up front And those are all my tips and the technicals We're throwing walking style baits guys If you want to see more Subscribe to the channel We're doing these every Tuesday And then don't miss my other videos during the week where i'm doing other outdoor activities Smash that like button if you learned something God's beating the grad outdoors. We'll see you on the next one