what me is that i cant twitch it downward. i fish from a v-hull jonboat so the hull that i stand on is below water level a little and the high walls prevent me from jerking down. or i will fish from the shore and that can be hard to twitch downward too. how can i walk without twitching downward?

I've recently gotten much better in walking the dog while holding the rod upright.  It's just easier to learn when you can point the rod down.  Any docks around that you can fish from?  Take a few casts from there and try to get the cadence down while twitching downward.  Once you know what to do, you can easily adapt to fishing the spook with the rod upright.

Great now I have to try this out after work tonight...   give me a reason to leave early

The best bait color for these type baits is clear.....trust me!  If you add a feather trailer style trebble hook, that's even better.

I love the Zara Puppy but the hooks are too small and you have to reel as fast as you can and don't let one ounce of slack in your line becuase the barbs won't hold a decent bass.