Swimbait Review: Throwback Wake Walker
The WakeWalker by Throwback Baits is a 3 piece resin Wake n Crank gill profile, with speed and rod control determining the action and diving depth of the bait. The Wake Walker comes in at 2.75 ounces, and is 7", including a soft rubber tail and swiveling hook hangers.
The straight retrieve at a moderate slow speed will produce a stable and fluid waking action, with back and forth head knock, as the other segments slither behind. The soft tail adds additional back and forth motion, and the bait rocks back and forth only slightly. I found the bait to be stable, with a fast startup of action. The Wake itself is subtle but noticeable, and becomes more aggressive and noisy with additional speed. There is a slight bulge ahead of the bait, and a V wake created behind.
With additional speed, rod tip position will determine depth. At a moderate retrieve with rod tip down, the bait will crank down 2-3 feet, with a similar but slightly wider head knock as the bait assumes a nose-down orientation. The bait also displays a controlled rock back and forth along its horizontal axis. Again, the soft tail adds additional swimming motion. With the same speed and the rod tip up, the bait becomes a more aggressive Wake as described above.
Faster still, the bait will both fast Wake and burn at the surface with the rod tip up. I found that once the line was completely out of the water, I could then lower the rod top to be pointed directly at the bait, and it would maintain its topwater action. These faster speeds produce a chop on the water, with significant noise and commotion, along with a wake, bulge, and bubble trail.
Dropping the rod tip down again, you can crank the bait down and then input subtle twitches to get the bait to turn or walk under water. Make sure to slow some slack so the bait has the ability to turn. I found the bait would maintain depth while employing this technique, and maintained its depth as long as the pauses weren't long.
Last, I was able to walk the bait by using a non traditional retrieve. Instead of having the rod tip down, I utilized twitches to the side or even in an upwards manner to get the bait walking back and forth. The key is to get the line completely out of the water for this retrieve. The walk can be either subtle or aggressive, and the plastic tail throws a bit of splash as it sharply turns I either direction.
I threw the Wake Walker on a Levaithan custom 7 ft 9 Heavy, paired with a Curado 300 and 20 lb copoly. Any MH-H rod in that 7 ft 9- 8 ft range would suffice as the bait is fairly lightweight. Line wise, mono or braid would be just fine, or fluro can be utilized if you are more focused on the crank down.
Thanks for watching/reading, hope you enjoyed. See ya next Sunday.
