Walking baits are either plastic or balsa wood floating baits. They are designed to slide or "walk" side to side when the rod is twitched in cadence. 

They are great at "calling" bass up from depths, especially in clear water. They tend to work best with calm or relatively calm water although at times they will work with a chop on the surface.

It will take some practice to be able to make the lure walk side to side which is necessary to get the bass to bite.

Walking baits tend to be heavy and in most cases the best equipment for this type of fishing is with baitcasting equipment.