Drift Walker Specs
At 4-1/2 inches in length ad weighing a 1/2 ounce, this finesse topwater has proven to be a productive tool for us. It comes stock with three Fusion 19 treble hooks that, given you’ve never tried them, are sticky sharp out of the package. The profile is slim with a U shaped bottom and fairly flat top. This allows the Drift Walker to use a wide glide without moving forward a great deal as you’re working it. At rest it remains almost perfectly horizontal with only about 3/4 of an inch of the tail sitting below the surface of the water. Starting the bait walking side to side doesn’t require much effort and can easily be mastered by anyone.
How To Fish The Drift Walker
We like to throw this with no heavier than medium power casting equipment using no more than #12 line. This seems to be the sweet spot for this lure to achieve its maximum action. The Drift Walker casts well due to the way its weighted which is toward the rear. The same internal components that allow for good casting also double as the sound generator. This plug has a rattle that is more subtle than most which sounds like a one knocker when shaken. You won’t hear this coming from half way across the lake like some walk the dog style baits. In our opinion and experience, this is part of what makes this bait appeal to otherwise shy fish. We’ve caught fish working behind other anglers whose baits we can hear in the distance who weren’t getting bites. The other thing we’ve noticed about the Drift Walker is that it’s at its best using a start and stop retrieve or fairly slow constant retrieve. Cast it out, give it a few lazy pops so that it glides to the side, pause and repeat. Most of our strikes occur after having paused the bait for a couple of seconds then that lazy, sweeping sideways motion on the next pop seems to cement the deal. The strikes have ranged from blowing it out of the water to just gingerly sucking it down. The result is almost always a hooked fish. Those three Fusion 19 hooks absolutely do their job even when a fish just barely swipes at it. The hook up ratio has been excellent in our experience. The hook placement on the underside of the bait is excellent. We have never had them get tangled with each other. The two rear hooks can touch each other but don’t have enough play to actually get intertwined. This is something that may not seem to be of much importance but if you’ve every thrown a bait that the hooks can foul with each other, you know how irritating that can be. Having to take the time to untangle them, not to mention missing fish when they strike, is maddening to even the most chill angler.A Few Last Thoughts
You do have to remember that the Drift Walker is made and billed as a finesse topwater bait. In the description from Berkley, they are forthright in saying that this plug is for slick, calm days. They make no bones about the fact that it is not a bait that you’re going to have success with when there is a chop on the water. That turbulence will absolutely blow this bait out. You can use it in other than dead slick, glass calm but it certainly has its limits. We have caught a great deal of fish on this bait and while it has its share of battle scars, it hasn’t failed in any significant way. The paint is scratched with teeth marks but not peeling. The hooks have not been changed out because they are still more than sharp enough to do the job. For that matter, we have been more than surprised how well the entire package has held up considering the sheer number of fish who have done their utmost to completely abuse or destroy this thing. At about $8 retail we didn’t expect this kind of durability. When used for its intended purpose, which is the finesse side of things, the Drift walker is more than competent and does precisely what its billed to do. While this may seem like a bait that is produced to fill a fairly narrow set of circumstances, it does an excellent job in its intended range of uses. On the MVF rating scale, the Berkley Drift Walker earns 4 stars. See ya’ on the water …Â