It’s topwater time across most of the country, and MLF pro Jacob Powroznik will have his favorite walking bait tied on at all times as summer transitions to fall. The Virginia pro relies heavily on a Livingston Lures Walking Boss Jr. this time of year.
Powroznik gives us five reasons why this bait is part of his arsenal in the fall:
Powroznik makes shorter casts with the Walking Boss Jr., which allows him to be more accurate casting to structure and cover. Thanks to the weight distribution in the bait, Powroznik feels like he always has control of the distance when casting.
“This bait is weighted properly for shorter casts,” Powroznik said. “It allows me to be more precise around different kinds of cover. Whether I’m using it with braid or with mono, I feel like I’m always in control thanks to that weight distribution.”
A lot of topwaters make a racket in the water, but the Walking Boss Jr. has a difference maker inside the bait that makes it louder than the others.
“The EBS (Electronic Baitfish Sound) technology is so important for this bait,” Powroznik said. “Because of that, it can be heard by the fish farther away than any other rattling bait. That’s going to bring those fish in that much better.”
The Walking Boss Jr. comes in different colors and those colors come with different sounds. That allows for a lot more opportunities to get bit according to Powroznik.
“If you get a crawfish-colored Walking Boss, Jr., it’s going to make a crawfish sound,” Powroznik explained. “Same thing if it’s shad-colored. The EBS sound is going to match whatever color you buy and that’s awesome. It makes such a big difference when you’re out there.”
As he mentioned, Powroznik likes to work the Walking Boss Jr. at a closer range.
“A lot of people want to just launch a topwater out there into open water and wind it back in,” Powroznik said. “I like to work this particular bait around boat docks and in-between the boat slips. I also like to roll-cast it underneath willow trees, branches and other stuff like that. Fish under those covered places have never seen a bait like this before so they are more inclined to bite it.”
Powroznik likes to work his Walking Boss Jr. on a Quantum 7-foot-3 medium heavy rod with 65-pound Hi-Seas braid spooled on a 7.3:1 Quantum Smoke S3 reel. That part of his setup doesn’t really change. What can sometimes differ is the size of the hook he puts on his bait.
That’s why the topwater’s size is so important, as is the space between each of the hook hangers/eyes.
“We made the hook eyes far enough apart that you can upsize the hooks if you want to,” Powroznik pointed out. “The eyes are far enough apart that you can put No. 1 sized hooks on there and be alright. I have No. 4 hooks on right now because I’m fishing this around cover.”