top waters-how fast

[fatfinger]

so i been learning how to walk the dog with some top waters.i got 'er down pretty well, i think, except im wondering how fast to bring em back.some times they look so good i wanna jump in & take a bite myself .does any old variation of retrieve speed work?slower better?faster?im content figurin it out on my own but id hate to find out some day months or years later that id been doin it wrong.

also, should i figure 8 the lure even if its meant to zig-zag?thanks, FF.

[delmuts]

I can only comment from watching Esox work a walk the dog bait for two days.Depending on the lure, some are meant to be worked aggressicely, but i think size will dictate how hard. Also the mood of the fish for that moment.

Although these baits don't seem to do well on a figure eight. I watched a 41" come completely out of the water chasing a lure after the figure eight!( scared the snot out both of us!)

[TrophyEyes]

Sometimes it is the pause that triggers them and sometimes it is the speeding up for the figure 8. It completely depends on the fish's mood. If you are getting lazy follows I would go with a pause, but if they are coming in like a freight train, speed it up to trigger the bite. Again, this is one of those things you just have to adapt to the fish's reaction.

[setterguy]

Yes.

A little sarcastic but it all depends on what the fish want on that day. I've been out where it you aren't retrieving as quick as possible nothing will even look at it, and also been out when painfully slow was the ticket. I think the heavier WTD baits are easier to bring in fast, not as much slack building up in the line, on a calm morning there is nothing better.

[bronzeback]

I'd say it is almost completely dependent on the fish's attitude at the time. Sometimes a quick, erratic, jumpy, splashing retrieve will get them to go, and sometimes that slow methodical wobble is what they want.

I'd say the slow back and forth is your better opportunity for actually hooking up with a fish just because they probably wouldn't miss as easy. Where I fish it's usually the quick and splashy retrieve that gets fish going, and sadly I've yet to actually ever hook up on my WTD baits, haha.

[jkahler]

Slow to moderate retrieve works best for me. When I go fast they usually miss it. They will miss them going slow too, but not as much. The Weagle is my favorite wtd bait.

[fatfinger]

thanks for the replies- now if i can get one to hit ill let you know.

[delmuts]

I'm kind of stealing the thread, BUT!

I keep wondering what the difference is between a top water bait( such as a weagle) and a glider such as a hell hound? They seem about the same in profile, and the weights are similar. Aren't they worked about the same too?

[kingfish689]

I have fished walleye all my life and just started fishing skis. this year and when I would miss a walleye It would make me mad. But when I miss a fish while walking the dog I always say Wow did you see that It was awsome.IMO even the misses are fun.

[Musky Buck]

My cousin is the master, 100+ boated but he has the confidence and the rhythm down pat, me running the motor(s) graph etc. difficult for me to get a full retrieve in but 22 yearsof doing it helps, he goes slowly, never speeds it up and that's his theory, we also know which color on which lakes and that has made a huge difference.

[RK]

Hiya -

Really depends on the bait type. Every bait has a speed range that it can handle. You can zing in a buzzbait, prop bait, etc., but you can only go so fast with a creeper or wobbler. Walk the dog baits are somewhere in the middle.

So the first thing is to figure out what the speed range of a bait is. At what point does it stop working, blow out, roll over or just not behave? When I fish topwaters I always try to leave a little room at the top end of the speed range so I can speed up on a following fish. A lot of times that'll trigger a fish.

You can also zig-zag a bait by moving your rodtip side to side. As you get closer to the boat the zig zags get wider. This works especially well with buzzbaits, prop baits and creepers, but not so well with walk the dog baits.

With walk the dog baits you can speed up, stop/start, try to get the bait to swing wider on each twitch by throwing some slack at the bait at the end of each rod twitch. Just change the cadence and speed however you can. I'll sometimes stop the bait dead and just let it sit there. It's kind of an all or nothing deal - they either hit it or just swim off, but it's usually the last thing I try when the fish is getting close to the boat. One morning about 4 years ago I had 49 and 51 inchers both hit WTD baits that had sat perfectly still for at least 20 seconds. Both of them sucked it down like a trout eating a mayfly - hardly made a ripple. My percentages with WTG baits at boatside in a figure-8 isn't great so I try every trick in the book before they get to the boat. I've actually had better luck walking around the boat than figure-8-ing. One thing I miss about an open tiller boat actually. Tough to do laps with a walk-thru windshield.

In both cases, it seems like if you can get a fish moving laterally rather than just straight ahead, your odds of getting it to hit go way up. Add speed and they go up further yet. I have no patience at all for baits that only work at one speed...

HTH.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Deet]

I've never had even a strike while pulling topwater lures in fast. Prop-topwater baits pulled slowly - just fast enough to keep the props chopping - is the only retrieve that catches fish for me. Sometimes i might speed it up slightly or let it stop for a second.

Always do a figure 8 or one big loop at the boat to show off your juicy bait to any straggling musky, even if the lure doesn't have good action for a figure 8. I've caught fish on a figure 8 under water with a topwater.

[kyleharty]

I have fished walleye all my life and just started fishing skis. this year and when I would miss a walleye It would make me mad. But when I miss a fish while walking the dog I always say Wow did you see that It was awsome.IMO even the misses are fun.

Gotta agree on the misses. I haven't used WTD's much but the big pike were all over a Doc last time I was out. Had 8 blowups in 2 hours with 4 of them coming completely out of the water, only 2 of them put teeth on it and only landed one but still a good time. Good practice keeping my composure and not pulling it away from them too.

[MikeEiden]

I'm with Deet on this one. Bucher says in articles to run his TR fast and I've seen others run them prop baits fast but I've only had action on going slower. Medium to Med-slow retrieve for me. I will run lures like Cisco Toppers a little faster.

[JRedig]

Painfully slow for me.

[FutbolGuru]

Slow and steady wins the race in my experience. Also, try talking more with the people whom you're fishing with and pay less attention to your retreives - Muskies love to bite when you're not paying attention!

[Zelmsdawg]

I'm in the group that goes as slow as you can with the prop turning also but have fairly good success speeding the retrieve up significantly once you see that wake rise behind your lure...God I love that feeling...

Zelmsdawg