The “Pop pop walk” technique
Sea bass! Probably one of the most desirable targets (if not number 1) of shore anglers. The sharp brain this fish has, along with a wide variety of habitats we can find it, makes it ideal for sport fishing! Furthermore, sea bass is considered a delicacy among other shore species and it is well known in Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine.
But as I said, this fish has a natural strong perception, knowing exactly what is going on around it. Sea bass is commonly called “the wolf” in Mediterranean, due to its habit to hunt alone once it is grown, and loves to ambush its preys with very smart techniques, exactly like a wolf does. And if wolfs are smart enough to avoid the traps of the hunters, refusing even when hungry to eat the fresh meat on the trap, Sea bass do exactly the same, even with the most realistic lures. You need always something “more” to get into them… Something smarter, more unique, more… savage!
One of my favorite ways for fishing them is the top water fishing, mainly with “walkers”. Sea bass sometimes can be very aggressive, attacking even on poppers and even skipping lures, but as a rule, they prefer much more to ambush a fish that is “walking” on the surface! This opportunity of attacking a small fish from bellow, the splashing of the lure with the bubbles covering the shape of the treble hooks, really push away the sea bass suspensions and motivate it to strike with fierce. And when you combine the “walk the dog” action with a “touch” of popping, there you have it! The perfect top water sea bass action.
The pop walker!
It is not a popper, it is not a walker, it is both. When I got this amazing lure on my hands, I knew exactly where to use it. What I didn’t know, was the variety of ways to use. Pop Walker with a first look, has the classic “fat banana” shape of walking lures, but instead of the classic round face, it has a small popping surface, exactly like a popper. Now, the magic is in the balance of this lure. Once you let it wait, it stays like a “pen” with the popping surface ready to pop. This makes it completely a popper and the angler can use it as a normal popper with gentle popping. Once you start walking, the lure emerge, put the popping face down and walks perfectly. Now depending the angler’s “hand”, pop walker can adjust a popping effect to each zig zag maneuver. That means that it can be a completely silent walker with very gentle commands, or a very loud walker with sharper commands, making a pop every time it turns its head. So an angler can use it as a popper, as a silent walker or as a “splasher”. Cool ha?
The “Pop Pop Walk” technique!
During a sea bass fishing trip, I noticed that sea bass where getting crazy with this lure, when I used it with the following way. After cast I was doing two or three pops, just like a popper in order to get the attention, and then start to “walk” it gently. Boom! That was it! I got lots of strikes easily, and all occurred exactly when changed from popping to walking action, or seconds after. I experimented a lot, trying only with walking for many casts, or only with popping, just to verify that the combination of both is effective and not a placebo effect. And experimentation proved me right. So the “birth” of “Pop pop walk” technique, became reality!
Sea Bass and pop walker.
As said before, sea bass is a very smart fish, with high perception and very strong mood changing. If you really focus on this fish for many years, you will be able to realize that it can completely change behavior even as fast as in half an hour. For example you can start and getting strikes on big loud top water lures very far from the shore, (at the limit of your cast) and in between one hour, everything changes, and fish show interest only on small silent top water lures in the last meters in front of you. Changing completely preferences of the lure, they tend to love for a short period of time, strong splashing, then a pause of strikes and right after the prefer silent walking. Yes, if you don’t have strong nerves, this fish can lead you to the psychiatrist and that is no lie. Having a top water lure like Pop walker, allowing you to perform more than three actions even on the same cast, is a priceless advantage!
Pop Walker and exercise!
Thought it is a very user friendly lure and you can go fishing directly with it still in its box, I strongly suggest you to spend some “quality” time with it first, exactly like you do with a new girlfriend. You don’t have to buy flowers, just take it for a romantic walk down the port or the beach and treat it like a gentleman. Without the “flame” of fishing burning, spend a couple of hours in calm waters, exercising and experimenting with, combinations of actions and observe how the lure reacts to every command. Then light that flame and go fishing! You will know then…
