Best Lures for Walleye: Jigs, Crankbaits and Blade Baits

Walleye get their name from large eyes built for low light, and Missouri says they often move shallower to feed in the late evening, at night, in the early morning and on cloudy days. Virginia adds a rule that applies to every lure below: keep it at or slightly above the fish.

Walleye lures, in order

1. Jigs, tipped with live bait. Iowa DNR’s top lure is a minnow-tipped lead-head jig of 1/16 to 1/4 oz, with a soft swimbait body in white or shad, for spring and fall; Iowa says a 1/8 oz jig is typical and 1/4 oz or more suits current, depth or wind. Virginia uses a 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig tipped with a minnow or nightcrawler and reels it slowly and steadily. New York says jigs work under a wide range of conditions, with 3 to 4 in twister or shad plastics, and adds darker jigs in black, brown and purple.

2. Crankbaits. Iowa casts or trolls a minnow-shaped crankbait and finds it better in warmer water. New York uses deep-diving crankbaits (10 ft or more) in black and silver, blue and silver, shad and yellow perch patterns. Virginia fishes a 4 to 6 in thin-minnow plug and then a shallow-diving crankbait in the shallows on warm nights. Oklahoma names long, slender lipped crankbaits, and New York’s Lake Erie advice adds lipless crankbaits.

3. Blade baits. New York lists blade baits in gold, silver and fire tiger, and its Lake Erie advice pairs blade baits with jigging minnows.

4. Stickbaits and jerkbaits. New York says 4 to 6 in stickbaits and jerkbaits work well with a steady retrieve.

5. Bottom bouncer with a spinner rig. Iowa rigs a bottom bouncer with a chartreuse or red spinner rig in front of live bait, especially in spring and summer, finishing the rig with nightcrawlers, leeches or minnows. Missouri also names bottom-bouncers, along with crankbaits, jigs and spoons.

6. Worms on spinners or jigs. New York fishes worms on spinners or jigs in May on the St. Lawrence River.

For live bait on these rigs, Iowa uses minnows from late fall through early spring and nightcrawlers or leeches from late spring through early fall. New York names night crawlers, minnows and leeches, and Wisconsin adds small bullheads and small plugs.

Pick a lure by situation

Season and temperature

Iowa says late fall until ice-up is among the best times to fish for walleye. Walleye spawn at 42 to 50°F in late February and early March in Oklahoma, and from early March in the south to mid-April in the north in Missouri, where males start to spawn as water approaches 50°F. New York’s Lake Erie advice puts shore and pier walleye after dark in spring and autumn, when water is in the 50s.

Rod and line

New York pairs crankbaits with a 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 ft medium or medium-heavy baitcasting rod and 10 to 12 lb monofilament or fluorocarbon, and jigging with a 6 to 7 1/2 ft medium spinning rod and 6 to 10 lb line. Iowa uses a 6 to 6 1/2 ft medium or medium-light spinning rod with 6 to 8 lb line.