Walk-the-dog
Also called walking bait, spook, zara spook
The side-to-side gliding action of a cigar-shaped topwater, produced by rhythmic slack-line twitches of the rod tip.
The bait has no lip and no built-in action, so the movement comes entirely from you. Point the rod tip down at the water, twitch it sharply, and let the line go momentarily slack. The slack is what lets the nose swing. Twitch again on the same rhythm and the bait glides the other way, tracing a zigzag across the surface.
The rhythm is the hard part and it clicks all at once. Most people fight it by pulling too hard and keeping the line tight, which drags the bait in a straight line. Short twitches, loose line, steady beat.
Once it works, it covers water fast and calls fish up from a long way off, which makes it a great search bait on a calm morning.
Hold the rod tip low and to the side, and let slack fall between twitches. If the bait is not swinging, you are pulling too hard.
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