To many ice fishing lures to choose from. And with so little time to fish them, so much worry about choosing the right lure, given the situation. no magic lure will ever assure success. Walleyes can always be caught on more than one lure, and often even on widely different lure styles. Yet the intent remains to experiment to find the one lure, likely from among several choices, that works best.
There is a small contingency of options, each in several sizes and basic finishes, that traveled with me all over the state of Wisconsin. I have not found it necessary to switch to local hot lures to be successful.
Here are 3 lure categories that work for me
First category; Jigs and live bait. Hook the minnow in reverse so it struggles away from the weight of the head of a plain jig. The weight should match the size of the minnow and the depth being fished. The weight must be just light enough to encourage the minnow to swim, but not so light that the minnow can get away. For walleyes, I usually use a 1/16 or 1/8 oz jig coupled with a 3 to 5 inch shiner or fathead minnow.
Line; 6# Power pro or Berkley Fire line with a swivel and 18" 6# fluorocarbon leader. Line visibility isn't a big factor after dark, though it might be during the day and into the twilight. More important is to get lures to fall or swing seductively. Line that's too light is as detrimental to presentation as line that's too heavy.
The second category; swimming lures; is for me a small one, consisting of three baits, the classic Jigging Rapala, the Nils Master Jigger, and the new Nils Master Jigger Shad. Lifted sharply 1 1/2 feet or so, these swimming lures dart up and out before thumping down and then swinging back directly below the hole. The #7 Rapala and #2 Nils Master Jiggers are the most popular sizes for walleyes.
Swimming lures perform subtly compared to the more intense flash and vibration of a flash lure. These lures tend to work best in clearer water, particularly during the changing light periods of dawn and dusk. Most anglers tip them with a minnow head or spikes, again to tempt reluctant walleyes. Add the scent option to the treble hook hanging below the middle of the bait. In current, add scent option to the trailing body hook. Small fish often target the fish head or spikes, while larger walleyes usually eat the entire bait. I must tell you, that during most key evening feedings, I rarely find it necessary to tip swimming baits.
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Third category; Lures; The key to confidence remains, first, stocking lures from each of three categories. Flash lures, like the classic Bay de Noc Swedish Pimple and the Acme Kastmaster make up one category. These lures attract fish via flash and vibration as they're jigged up and allowed to settle back. Tip them with a minnow head to entice fish to bite when they move in close.
Most anglers understand the flash connection, but fail to see how important vibration is to attracting fish. Fish often feel baits before they see them. This category gets split again to add the bent lures, like the Bay de Noc Do Jigger and Jig A Whopper Rocker minnow. I also use a few super action flash lures like the Reef Runner Slender Spoon and the Blue Fox Tingler.
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Attracting walleyes and enticing a bite
Each jigging motion includes an attraction and a triggering phase. First, attract walleyes, then get them to bite once they've been drawn close. The lift and fall of the bait serves as the attracting maneuver, while the pause allows a walleye to bite. All the little jiggles added during or after the basic lift-fall maneuver are just small, but sometimes significant variations on a general theme, everyone has their own unique style of jigging. Jiggles can be particularly important when using a swimming jig. My basic approach would be a lift-fall-pause 5-10 seconds, followed by a jiggle, jiggle-jiggle, followed by another lift-fall. Jiggle only enough to get the bait to roll slightly left-right, left-right on its axis. creating the same sort of flash that makes minnows or crank baits attractive to walleyes in open water. a lift-fall with an anchored minnow is subtle by comparison. Gently lift the jig and minnow a foot or so, then let it flutter and flash down to the position from which it began. Then pause for at least 30 seconds to let the minnow do its thing. I usually lift-fall-pause through several sequences, then pause for several minutes, or more, with the rod sitting on a bucket or in a rod holder on a bucket. This is dead sticking the minnow will do its thing.
The best lures produce the most vibration without tangling often. As a rule, small, heavy, bent baits work best, while wide thin baits that fall horizontally tend to tangle. Baits I've used successfully include the Jig-A-Whopper Rocker Minnow, Bay de Noc Swedish Pimple and the Acme Thunderbolt. Add a swivel and a 18" leader to reduce line twist.
Adding a scent to the jig is still vital. Eyes removed from dead perch stay on best, but minnow heads work well so long as the hook's run up through the skull. On larger longer lures, pinch off the minnow head right behind the gills, I always let the entrails hang when possible, both for visual appeal and additional scent. Change the minnow head or perch eye regularly to freshen the scent around the bait.
Fish Locators
The two classic locators that work on ice remain the Vexilar FL-18 with ultra pack and the Humminbird Ice 55 flasher, but just having any locator will be of great help.
Good flashers makes our ice fishing more efficient, also more fun. Instead of just guessing, you can see fish come in and see how they react to your bait and movements. Don't know how we fished without flashers when I was a young lad. Sure missed out on a lot of fun and how many walleyes I missed.
About half the walleyes I catch each year are caught because of something I've added to my presentation after seeing how walleyes react. A walleye swims in. Lift-fall again. No hit, so I jiggle the bait and I get a reaction. Jiggle again, wham.
Another walleye comes in and I repeat the same movements I caught the last walleye and no luck. Time to change tactics. my favorite move now is to raise the bait up about 6" above the walleye, jiggle stop jiggle stop, then slowly raise it about another 6" and wham. They can't resist the bait going away.
Hurry to get this Humminbird ICE-55 for $499.99!Or when fishing the river channel in 25' to 30' feet of water. particularly flowages with suspended bait fish like shad or perch lots of walleye come in high as much as 10 feet off the bottom. I've caught loads of these walleyes over the last 15 years that I wouldn't have caught without my Vexilar.
Dueling for Walleyes
I use a duel presentation that primarily relies on jigging, but also incorporates live bait when necessary. A jigging rod is required, the objective is to keep jigging. Actively presenting a lure to trigger walleyes. Even when fishing turns ugly, the right combination of lure and jigging motion usually results in some walleyes.
The second part of this duel system is a deadstick. The deadstick is a lighter rod than the primary jigging rod, it's used to present a lively minnow tail hooked on a jig. Drop the jig and minnow to the bottom and reel up about 6" or so. Then place the rod in a rod holder on your bucket. The tip of the rod should be light enough so the minnow can work the tip as it struggles. Meanwhile, wind also works the tip, aggravating the minnow to move. At the same time you're working the jig stick nearby.
From my experiences jigging will produce most of your fish. Often the deadstick will ice the extra walleyes that are the difference between a good day and a great day. When you're having a very difficult day, deadsticking makes the difference between hot dogs and a great meal of walleyes.
If your catching most of your fish deadsticking, then you need to change how you are jigging. If your tail hooking your jig on the deadstick, then do the same on your jigging rod. This way you have the minnow only action on the deadstick, and you can be a little more aggressive with the same presentation on the jig rod. Lift and pause jiggle, jiggle bounce in the mud or sand and slowly raise the jig a foot or two. This way you will catch the non active and more aggressive walleyes at the same time.
I always try to keep it simple when ice fishing walleyes. The secret lures that we all think are out there, really aren't. First thing is to be fishing at the right time and the right area. A top notch fish locator is your best friend. The walleyes generally are the same where ever you fish , you may have to tweak little things like baits or colors, but deadsticking and jigging motions are much the same wherever you fish walleyes. The tips I've offered here will work for you just as they have for me in many of the rivers, lakes, and reservoirs everywhere I've fished.
Remember be safe and keep fishing,
Gary
***You can also find my article in the March 2010 edition at
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