i am able to walk the dog pretty well , but could probably use some more practice. the thing thats bugging me though is as it gets pretty close i start losing that nice action. Is there no way around this or to be expected? maybe im worry too much much.

Slow it down when it gets out of time or gets closer to you. Also I run braid line with a MH rod with a fairly fast tip. A stiff rod will wear you out by the endof the day of walking the dawgy.

Make sure you keep a little bit of slack in the line to keep it walking. As it's getting closer it's easier for you to maintain a tight line to the bait and that's probably what you're doing without realizing it. If the bait doesn't have any slack it can't do the side to side glide that calls fish in so well. 

You could try fishing the bait with the reel; works pretty well for me (I use braid though).

You could try fishing the bait with the reel; works pretty well for me (I use braid though).

i do this even on a long cast if the fish decided they dont want the long side to side. When i crank the reel it just moves the front of the bait side to side a little bit. Caught quite a few fish doing it

use a spinning rod

Make sure you keep a little bit of slack in the line to keep it walking. As it's getting closer it's easier for you to maintain a tight line to the bait and that's probably what you're doing without realizing it. If the bait doesn't have any slack it can't do the side to side glide that calls fish in so well. 

X2 I do a quarter turn type thing while banging my rod tip down. Make sure when youre in between handle turns and rod drops that theres slack in the line. 

When the bait gets closer to me, I start walking sidearm. Seems to keep the pattern I want with greater ease.

Spooks with rigid hook hangers don't walk as well as free hanging hook models.

Sammy's sit lower in the water, the tail sits deeper and can be walked faster and still not move forward as fast as a spook. The Zip N Ziggy is a smaller dog walker that works very well throughout the retrieve.

The question is; are you missing fish? Do you see followers turning back? Most of the time when fishing from a boat, you have covered the close water already with previous cast, so don't waste your time fishing it all the way back to the boat, unless it's the first cast.

Tom

 

Make sure you keep a little bit of slack in the line to keep it walking. As it's getting closer it's easier for you to maintain a tight line to the bait and that's probably what you're doing without realizing it. If the bait doesn't have any slack it can't do the side to side glide that calls fish in so well. 

 

 

x3

 

You have to make an adjustment.  Also, try not twitching it as hard when it gets close.