Spook Pencil Lure – 12cm 22g Topwater Walker for Autumn Bass and Pike

There is just something about a spook pencil lure skating across calm water that turns sensible bass into absolute hooligans. The BassFishingTips.US Spook Pencil Lure is built squarely for that job – 12cm long, 22g in weight, armed with #4 trebles and designed as a topwater wobbler for those clear autumn days when predators are herding bait on the surface.

On the product page you have it listed simply and honestly: Spook Pencil Lure, 12cm / 4.72 inches, 22g / 0.05lb, fitted with #4 hooks and rated as a topwater wobbler that can be fished in both fresh and salt water. No gimmicks – just a beefy walking bait made to throw a mile and zig-zag its way back through mayhem.

Why This Lure Works

A good spook pencil lure hits three big notes: castability, control and commotion. At 22g, this one is heavy enough to absolutely bomb from bank or boat, which matters a lot more than people admit. Walking baits are distance tools – you want to cover long points, riprap, offshore humps and schooling fish without creeping on top of them. Field & Stream’s rundown of the best topwater bass lures leans heavily on that idea – pick baits you can throw a country mile, like classic Spook-style walkers, so you can reach schooling fish without spooking them. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Once it lands, the long, slender body of this spook pencil lure does the other half of the job. Walking baits work because they slide side-to-side in a tight, slashing “walk the dog” pattern, imitating an injured baitfish or panicked shad trying to flee across the surface. BassResource’s topwater tips describe walking pencil baits as the most common and versatile surface style for good reason – you can fish them fast, slow, tight or wide, and they still look like an easy meal. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Internally, you have a simple but effective recipe: a balanced 22g body that sits tail-down in the water, plus #4 trebles that bite hard but are not comically oversized. That tail-down posture makes it easier to get the bait walking with slack-line twitches rather than needing to rip it like a jerkbait. Wired2Fish’s walking topwater pieces are obsessed with this – the best walkers move with very little effort, so you can fish them all day without your wrist falling off. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Then there is the noise and footprint. Bassmaster’s coverage of topwaters for clear herring lakes splits walking baits into two categories: loud, spitting brutes like a Super Spook and quieter, slicing “pencil” walkers. This Spook Pencil Lure is firmly in that slimmer pencil category – still enough presence to call fish up, but with a more refined, sliding footprint that shines in clear water and around pressured fish. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

How To Fish It

The spook pencil lure is not complicated to fish, but cadence is everything. Think slack-line twitches and rhythm rather than just cranking it like a crankbait.

1. Learn the basic walk

Start on flat water where you can see the bait:

• Make a long cast and let the rings fade.
• Drop your rod tip to roughly 8–9 o’clock.
• Put a bit of slack in the line – not a tight bow, just some slack.
• Give short, sharp twitches with the rod tip while slowly taking up line.

If you do it right, the spook pencil lure will start swinging left-right-left-right in a tight zig-zag. Wired2Fish’s “5 Tips for Fishing Walking Topwater Lures in Open Water” hammers home that you never want to pull the bait with a tight line – always hit it with slack so it scoots sideways, not straight at you. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

2. Mix in pauses and speed changes

Once you have the basic walk sorted, start playing with tempo:

• Walk it quickly for a few metres, then pause and let it sit.
• Walk it slowly with a lot of pauses when fish are lazy or the water is cold.
• Burn it in short bursts when bass are actively schooling and blowing up on the surface.

Topwater guides from places like Outdoor Life point out that cadence is often more important than the exact bait – the right combination of speed and pause will out-fish random thrashing any day. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

3. Work angles, not just spots

With a walking bait you are not just “chucking at stuff”; you are drawing lines over high-percentage areas:

• Cast the spook pencil lure past points and bring it across the tip, not straight at it.
• Run it parallel to riprap, grass edges and docks so it spends more time in the sweet zone.
• On offshore schools, fan-cast around the area and vary retrieve length and speed.

Major League Fishing content and countless YouTube breakdowns on walking baits all show the same pattern – pros position the boat or themselves to work long lines along structure, not just make one cast at it. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

4. Hooksets and landing fish

Topwater hooksets are where most people mess up. When a fish explodes on the spook pencil lure, your brain screams “HIT IT!” and your hands oblige. Try to delay just half a beat – wait until you feel weight, then lean into them. Field & Stream’s topwater bass tips talk about keeping your rod lower, reel-engaging into the fish and letting those trebles dig rather than trying to rip their face off. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}

When To Use It

You even hinted at it in the product copy: “It’s any time in the Fall / Autumn. The bass are feeding to get ready for winter and the water is clear.” That is absolutely prime spook pencil lure time.

• Autumn / Fall: When baitfish are balled up on points, pockets and creek mouths, a walking bait over the top is textbook. Watch for surface flickers, nervous bait or the odd blow-up and get this thing over their heads.
• Late spring to early summer: Postspawn bass guarding fry or cruising shallow flats will murder a spook pencil lure dragged past them, especially in low light or on overcast days.
• Early mornings and evenings: Classic walking-bait slots – glassy water, long shadows, fish pushing up shallow.
• Clear water and feeding activity: Bassmaster’s noisy vs quiet topwater article makes the point that long, slender walking baits really shine in clear water with visible baitfish – exactly where this lure belongs. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

It is not just for lakes either. With “Ocean Rock Fishing” listed as the position, this spook pencil lure has enough weight and hardware to pull double duty on saltwater predators – think seatrout, bluefish, small GTs and assorted hooligans that smash topwater walkers in the surf and around rocks.

Does It Actually Catch Fish?

Walking baits would not keep turning up in “best topwater lures of all time” lists if they were just nostalgic toys. The Heddon Zara Spook that inspired this whole category still appears in modern best-of features from Field & Stream and other big outlets because it just keeps putting decent fish in the net. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

This particular Spook Pencil Lure slots neatly into that same family:

• Length: 12cm – long enough to look like a proper meal.
• Weight: 22g – easy casting on normal medium-heavy gear.
• Hooks: #4 trebles – plenty of bite without wrecking the action.
• Buoyancy: topwater – sits ready to walk from the first twitch.

Is it going to out-fish a finesse Ned rig on a frosty bluebird day? Probably not. Is it going to give you some of the most memorable bites of your year when conditions line up? Almost certainly. If you lurk around r/bassfishing, you will see the same story over and over – anglers who were nervous about topwater walkers finally commit to throwing one, and immediately start posting pictures of chunkier-than-usual fish with pencil baits hanging out their mouths.

Gear Pairing

You do not need crazy specialist kit for a spook pencil lure, but the right combo makes it much nicer.

• Rod: 6’6″–7′ medium or medium-heavy casting rod with a fast tip. You want enough backbone to drive trebles, but a soft enough tip to work the bait and not rip hooks out.
• Reel: Baitcaster in the 6.3:1 to 7.3:1 range – fast enough to pick up slack but not so silly you overwork the lure.
• Line: 30–40lb braid to a short mono or fluoro leader works well for easy walking and solid hooksets. Straight mono in the 12–17lb range is a classic choice if you like a bit more stretch.

If you are building a little topwater and shallow-power corner in your BassFishingTips.US line-up, this spook pencil lure pairs nicely with a diving option like the Lingyue Deep Diving Jerkbait for when fish slide deeper, and a more finesse hardbait like the Wdairen Jerkbait when they want a subsurface slash instead of a full-on surface riot. For days when you need to slow right down or show them something bigger, a jointed option like the 13.4cm Multi Jointed Swimbait gives you a follow-up play once they stop coming up.

Specs

• Product name: Spook Pencil Lure
• Brand: JOF (as listed in item specifics)
• Category: LURE / Hardbait
• Type: Artificial Bait – topwater wobbler / walking pencil bait
• Length: 12cm / 4.72 inches
• Weight: 22g / 0.05lb
• Hooks: #4 treble hooks
• Diving depth: Topwater (surface walker)
• Water type: Freshwater and saltwater
• Position: Ocean rock fishing and general topwater use
• Colours: Multiple colour options (1–10) as shown on product page
• Package: 1 × fishing lure
• Features: Lifelike shape and colour, durable build, flexible hinge, high-quality finish

FAQ

Final Verdict

If you like your fishing loud, visual and slightly ridiculous, the Spook Pencil Lure deserves a permanent spot in the box. It is the right size, the right weight and the right style of walker for those autumn feeding frenzies and summer low-light runs when fish are absolutely hammering bait on top.

Tie it on when you see bait dimpling, when you hear the odd splash on a point, or when you just fancy forcing the issue with a proper confidence bait. Work that walk-the-dog, play with pauses, and be ready for those savage, heart-stopping surface eats that make you forget every blank you have ever had.

Clip this spook pencil lure on, point it at the nastiest-looking water you can see and wait for something angry to try and tear the rod out of your hands.