Advanced Guide to Walking the Dog for Fall Topwater Bass

Walking lures excel anytime bass are relating to shad and orienting to big areas where shad congregate during fall. A rhythmic walk-the-dog topwater lure presentation calls fish from holding areas and allows them opportunity to home in on the target.

Walking a topwater lure like a Heddon Spook is a highly productive technique this time of year, and when the bite is right, you almost cannot go wrong. However, by picking the best spots and refining topwater lure selections, you can turn good topwater fishing days into great days!

With that in mind, we spoke with Jimmy Mason, a long-time bass guide and top tournament angler. Mason spends his fall days guiding on Alabama’s Tennessee River impoundments, including the legendary waters of Guntersville and Pickwick lakes, and autumn delivers some of his best topwater fishing days.

Mason focuses heavily on points and bars for fall topwater fishing because they provide the bass shallow feeding areas with quick deep-water access. Specifically, he favors long, flat points that reach close to the main creek or river channel and that have sharp breaks on the sides.

Those breaks on the sides are important because the bass work in wolfpacks and push the shad against the structure to feed. Mason noted that if you pay attention to schooling fish, you’ll see that the places where they come up the most frequently aren’t random. They are zones where the bass force the shad schools against edges and atop shallow structure to attack more easily.

Mason finds the fish prefer hard-bottom structures, which, on the Tennessee River, often means gravel points or bars. Many key points also have vegetation on them, so Mason will be walking his bait over submerged hydrilla, coontail or other vegetation that tops out beneath the surface.

Mason’s favorite fall topwater spots are split between main river and creek arm locations. However, main river points tend to be in the lower halves of lakes, where deeper water is nearby. Creek points, likewise, tend to be in the lower ends of creeks and are often in large, major feeder arms that are broad and deep in their lower ends.

Spooks and other walking topwater lures are best known for their action. They glide side to side, switching directions each time they move, and pushing out a wake. The gliding action and corresponding surface disturbance draws fish near and prompts attacks.

The lure’s movement and the way it moves the water are only part of the story, though, and different walking lures that look and act the same can vary notably in character, based on sound. Some have rattles that engage every time the lure moves. Others have just a single shifting ball that creates a dull but loud thud. Others have no rattles of any kind and glide silently across the surface.

Some days, the sound doesn’t matter. Other days it has a significant impact. No single sound profile is always best. Mason commonly begins a morning with one client throwing a One Knocker Spook and one throwing Super Spook Jr. or another rattling model, and he’ll pay careful attention to how the fish respond to each.

The fish’s tendencies regarding sound preferences influence his initial choices.

• When the water is a bit off-color or has extra chop or if Mason believes there is need to call fish from farther away, he favors the resonating sound of a One Knocker Spook.
• Any time bass are schooling or otherwise relating to shad, he likes rattling models because he believes the rattling sound best mimics sounds associated with shad activity.
• For heavily pressured fish, cold front conditions, extra clear water or slick-calm water, a silent walking bait, like the new Super Zara Spook, can provide a distinct advantage.

The newest member of the iconic Heddon Spook family, the Super Zara Spook, is silent, like the original Zara Spook. It is an upgrade from the original, though, with a split ring on the nose for easy walking, modern hook hangers, premium sticky-sharp black nickel hooks and a feather tail on the rear treble.

The Super Zara Spook has a fixed weight in its tail end. The weighting allows for long, accurate casts but because of the fixed position, the weight does not make a sound.

Like the One Knocker Spook and Rattlin’ Spook, the Super Zara Spook is 4 1/2 inches long and weighs 3/4 ounce. It comes in 13 colors, including some of the most popular colors in other Spook models and some colors that are extra good for clear water.

Mason noted that some of the translucent colors create an extra measure of stealth. Lures in these colors look smaller to the fish but provide the casting weight and larger hooks of a bigger Spook model. The color that he is most excited about is Translucent Bone.

• Make Long Casts – Longer casts get the lure away from the boat, increase the percentage of time the bait stays in the zone, and maximize the opportunity for the steady walk to draw fish near. Mason consistently see that anglers who achieve more casting distance catch more fish walking the dog.
• Create Slight Slack – Slightly slack line that snaps tight with every rod snap is the key to a good side-to-side walk. If the line starts out tight, the bait just gets dragged forward.
• Consider Your Gear – The right gear makes a massive difference for achieving long casts and walking the bait effectively. Mason uses a Lew’s Signature Series Topwater Rod, which is a 7-foot medium action rod with a fast tip. His line of choice is 15-pound Vicious copolymer.
• Switch it Up – When the topwater bite in an area slows, Mason often will try a subtle change before moving to another spot. The fish get temporarily educated about a certain lure, and often a simple switch from the One Knocker Spook that had been working to a rattling or silent version will extend the bite in that area.