Walk The Dog Lures 2025

hoosierbass07 reply :

Ok, during my first year of bass fishing from banks during 2013, all I used were plastic worms. I did catch two fish on a jig and two on a spinnerait but all my other bass were on plastic worms.

One thing I have not done yet is catch a bass using a top water lure. I almost caught a bass on the top when I was standing high on a bank and threw a rooster tail into a stream and a bass splashed out of the water and grabbed it but then let it go. It happened so fast it really shocked me.

Anyway, I did buy a few walk the dog lures over the summer but never used them much. Maybe a few times. Now that I have a kayak and plan to be out on the water more I'm thinking of ordering a few nice walk the dog lures.

My questions - when is the best time to use one of those lures? Are they mainly a morning time lure when the sun is coming up? Are they mainly a spring/spawning time lure? Will bass go after them in the summer? Morning, noon, evening time? Fall time?

Thanks!

Templeton reply :

Top water lures are at their peak during the morning as the sun is rising or just rose, or as the sun starts to set and several hours after dark, but I have found that they can get bit all day long.

SCangler91 reply :

Zara puppy is my go to and favorite bait. Walking the dog is also my favorite technique to catch bass.

kickerfish1 reply :

I agree with what has been said. Typically the key is periods of low light. Also days where it is cloudy can also produce topwater fish. Fish will move shallower in search of prey when the opportunities present themselves but during the heat of the summer they will transition deeper as the day goes on and it could be difficult to find topwater fish.

Aside from walk the dog style baits add a few poppers and a couple top water frogs for when the weed growth becomes very heavy.

BuffaloBass716 reply :

I'm hunting for my first top water fish as well.. I've had a few with a senko as soon as it hit the water but never a frog or anything made for top water.

I would get some Zoom horny toads or Stanley ribbits along with some poppers, those aren't really walk the dog lures but should create some awesome top water action!

thehooligan reply :

Like other have said, morning, night, or cloudy days.

Get yourself a few luckycraft sammy's, 85 or 100 size and have some fun

Topwaterspook reply :

Don't forget poppers. You might give the "Zellpop" in bone color a try. I've never tried but walking a bait from a kayak it may be a challenge.

Paulasaurus reply :

I'll echo the same as the posters above. Morning and evening for top water but i've had top water strikes all day long on rare occasions. I've had great luck with Heddon Zara Spooks, great walk the dog lures.

shootermcbob reply :

I am in the minority, but I throw a topwater lure at every stop. I fish from the bank, and have caught fish at all times of day with it. I usually with throw a walk the dog style along with a popper or prop bait. If I am fishing over known structure, I will also throw a wakebait. I figure I might as well try to cover the entire water column since I don't have electronics.

MarkH024 reply :

I'm a fan of Zara Spooks and R2S Rovers.

ww2farmer reply :

I find myself using frogs as "walk the dog" type baits even over open water and doing quite well..................err........I mean they suck, better stick to spook or something.

ksboy reply :

Topwater is the most exciting way to catch a fish, especially if it comes all the way out of the water to get the lure. I am particularly fond of buzzbaits and frogs but I, like most guys, also use "walk the dog" type baits. Get cheap ones or expensive ones, they all do pretty much the same thing. The key to fishing these type baits and having success with them is, in my opinion, to keep a slack line. This is something you wouldn't do with most other type presentations. The slack line aids in the bait movement from side to side.

The other thing about fishing from any kind of water vehicle is that you are now fishing from the opposite side of the bank. You are opening up new adventures and possibilities when fishing FROM the water as opposed to TO the water.

Have fun with whatever you choose to do.

papajoe222 reply :

The great things about walking baits is that they can produce almost anytime (winter being the exception) day or night and they are great fish callers. Prime times would be morning and evening during the warm water periods, but don't rule out mid-day. My previous PB was caught on a Spook at 1:30 PM on a sunny day in July.

I'm a big believer in throwing baits that others don't and for that reason I tend to use a Spook at 'odd' times with a good amount of success. Pre-spawn to late fall, I always have one tied on.

basshole8190 reply :

I to enjoy throwing a spook type bait all day the zara rattlin spook or h20 walking topwater or for bigger bites the lunker punker

Crestliner2008 reply :

Last season I had exceptional "luck" on the Bill Dance Pop n' Image Jr.. Neat bait that you can pop or walk the dog with easily. Actuallly it's the easies walking top water I've ever useds. Best part is, it catches!

indianabasshunter reply :

On 1/7/2014 at 12:55 AM, Crestliner2008 said:

Last season I had exceptional "luck" on the Bill Dance Pop n' Image Jr.. Neat bait that you can pop or walk the dog with easily. Actuallly it's the easies walking top water I've ever useds. Best part is, it catches!

I have a few of these and it never crossed my mind to walk the dog with one. Thanks for the tip.

Christian M reply :

I'll toss a walk the dog bait anytime of day/year, but I have the most success in the summer months when the sun is coming up (Sammy 100s being my personal favorite). You need to have the right equipment if you plan on making this technique a part of your arsenal. First of all you're going to want the right rod, personally I like to use a 7' fast action, M/MH power pole. Your rod needs to have a fast tip with good backbone for a few reasons. You want to be able to load up and cast a long way to cover a lot of water. The fast tip also helps get the right action out of your lure, then when you get a strike it keeps you from ripping the lure out of the fishes mouth before setting the hook. When it comes to reel I prefer a baitcaster with a faster gear ratio (6.3:1 or faster). As far as line goes I always use mono. It floats, the stretch helps the action of the lure and rod, and the line gets caught in the hooks less often than braid. This is just MHO...good luck!

dreamertino reply :

when would you guys use a pop-r over a walking style bait and vice versa

cdaggett reply :

Man are you missing out! This method can catch big fish, and large numbers. I love fishing from the bank on my favorite river for smallmouth. Best bait ever for my river hands down is a zara puppy. ANY color you throw will get smashed; sometimes as soon as it hits the water. I caught my personal best on the largest size of the Strike King Sexy Dawg. The fish had to be pushing 8-9 pounds! Best time to fish is pretty much any time of day. Best luck being in morning and afternoon. Any time you see bait fish being attacked is another time when a topwater plug shines. As far as the seasons to fish them? That would have to be summer and fall.

Jolly Green reply :

I don't use any strictly walk-the-dog lures but I do OK on a Storm Chug Bug. It has a cupped mouth so it creates a little more ruckus than a Spook, but it walks easily and you can learn to vary the spitting/chugging/walking action to a surprising degree. I should branch out more, but I prefer buzzbaits for topwater because I fish a lot of areas with moderate lily pad cover and I can pull a small buzzbait right through the pads with no problems, something I can't do with a treble hook bait, and I LOVE watching the pads explode on the strike.

Crestliner2008 reply :

On 1/7/2014 at 4:47 AM, dreamertino said:
when would you guys use a pop-r over a walking style bait and vice versa

I never approach the water with a preconceived notion of what I "want" to use. Try one, then if that doesn't work, switch to the other one. That goes for poppers vs. walkers and even top water vs. a bottom presentation. You've got to be flexible to be successful. "One method Petes" don't catch many fish consistently.

Jigfishn10 reply :

On 1/7/2014 at 4:47 AM, dreamertino said:
when would you guys use a pop-r over a walking style bait and vice versa

I pretty much use them in the same conditions but if I'm looking for a little more distrurbance, then i go to a pop-r style bait.

I'm like shootermcbob, I throw them anywhere anytime of day as long as the water temps are above 60*.

Christian M reply :

On 1/7/2014 at 8:44 AM, Crestliner2008 said:
I never approach the water with a preconceived notion of what I "want" to use. Try one, then if that doesn't work, switch to the other one. That goes for poppers vs. walkers and even top water vs. a bottom presentation. You've got to be flexible to be successful. "One method Petes" don't catch many fish consistently.

X2- I ABSOLUTELY agree, the only time I would recommend going out with one type of lure is when you're trying to learn a new technique. If you go out with your "go to" on the boat then without fail you'll put down the lure you're trying to learn and start tossing your favorite bait.

Ratherbfishing reply :

I don't believe they're made anymore (what a shame!) but if you can get a hold of some Manns "Ghosts", they are excellent for dog walking in open areas between slop/matted weeds AND for fishing the slop itself.

tomustang reply :

I use them everywhere I can, long as the retrieval path wont get hung up on anything. Those baits are useful for a lot of sscenarios

roadwarrior reply :

On 1/6/2014 at 1:21 PM, SCangler91 said:
Zara puppy is my go to and favorite bait. Walking the dog is also my favorite technique to catch bass.

Well, honestly I have not fished the Puppy in several years, but if you are just interested

in numbers I consider this THE BEST lure of its kind out there.

SCangler91 reply :

On 1/10/2014 at 11:11 PM, roadwarrior said:

Well, honestly I have not fished the Puppy in several years, but if you are just interested

in numbers I consider this THE BEST lure of its kind out there.

While it does catch a lot of numbers, I also missed what would have been my PB last October. Likely 8-9 pounds and she flattened out the one treble hook that was holding her.

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