Introduction
Walleye jigging is one of the most popular and best ways to catch walleyes. And because you get to feel the fish strike, whether vertically jigging, snap jigging, dragging, or pitching jigs, it’s arguably the most amazing ways to catch walleyes. Time on the water is the best way to become a master at walleye jigging.
There are so many variables when selecting the right jig for the job. When selecting the right jig, you’ll have to learn precisely what size is appropriate depending on depth, current speed, and even wind factors.
Specific jigs work better when using live bait, while other designs work best when using soft plastics. However, becoming a master jig angler will enable you to catch more and bigger walleyes, and the skill set will allow you to catch more bass, panfish, pike, and muskies — every fish swimming. Mastering the art of walleye jigging will make you a better overall angler no matter what type of fish you are trying to catch.
What Is A Jig
In its simplest form, a jig includes a weighted hook with a line tie. The design of a jig can vary significantly for a variety of reasons. They make jigs for specific species of fish.
Jigs designs have also been created for particular tactics. There are jigs made specifically for live bait fishing, soft plastics, and hair jigs. The best jigs for walleyes often depends on fish location and the tactics you plan to implement in effort to catch them.
Key features include:
Head: The jig head is usually weighted to provide casting distance and to help the jig sink. Different design jighead have different fall rates, which can play a big role in the presentation of the bait.
Hook: Jigs often only have one hook, which varies in size, thickness, length and bend design, depending on the presentation you are using and the fish you are trying to catch.
Color: Jigs come in a range of colors. Does color make a difference? Every expert walleye angler will tell you that color is a confidence variable, but when color makes a difference, it can make all the difference. If you’re fishing with a partner, we always recommend using different colored jigs to determine if one color works better.
Versatility: Jigs are one of the simplest and most versatile lures in all of fishing. Again, mastering the art of walleye fishing will provide you with the skills to catch fish in both freshwater and salt.
Understanding Walleye Behavior
One of the best walleye fishing tips I can give you to understanding walleye behavior, which is crucial for successful jig fishing. Walleye live in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Throughout the season, they can be found shallow or deep and roam suspended in the basin of any lake. In general, however, expect to find them utilizing shallow cover in the spring and fall but favoring deeper water during the heat of summer.
Walleye have excellent night vision, so lowlight hours in the morning and evening and fishing at night can be excellent times for walleye fish. However, unless the lake is extremely clear, walleyes are great predators that can bite all day. Their diet consists mainly of fish like perch, minnows, and other small baitfish. Understanding their prey preferences can help in selecting the right bait.
Walleye prefer cooler water temperatures, typically between 55°F to 68°F (13°C to 20°C). Again, as the water warms during the summer heat, they tend to move deeper as long as a food source is nearby.
Structure and Cover: Walleye are ambush predators and are often found near structures such as underwater rock formations, weeds, reefs, points, and drop-offs. These are all classic spots to find active fish on the hunt for food. Neutral to negative walleyes can be suspended near these same structures.
Seasonal Movements: Walleyes exhibit seasonal movements. In spring, they often move to shallow areas for one reason: to spawn. Postspawn, the fish often remain shallow, feeding on baitfish that have also moved shallow to spawn.
During summer, they may move to deeper waters or seek out cooler areas, ideally finding an overlap between predator and prey. Forage remains a critical factor, but the comfortable water temps overlap easy to access food is where they want to be. In fall, walleyes are eating a lot of food as the water temperatures cool, often preferring to eat bigger baitfish.
Essential Gear for Walleye Jigging
One great series of rods designed specifically for walleyes is the St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye Series. These rods are a combination of quality materies and detailed construction. We prefer fast-action medium power rod the is between 6.5 to 7.5 feet in length. This combination provides a good balance between casting distance, control, and the ability to handle light to moderate line and lure weights.
You cannot go wrong with a Daiwa Spinning reel for jig-fishing walleyes. Whether you want to purchase a high-end ultra-smooth Ballistic MQ or a Daiwa Revros LT, a 2000 to 3000 size is preferred by 90 most walleye anglers around the country. Every Daiwa reel features decades of engineering features that make these reels the most reliable, smoothest fishing reels on the market today. Most of the advanced design elements in their high-end reels have trickled down into the lower-priced reels.
Whether you use monofilament, braid, or fluorocarbon, Sufix line is our preferred brand. Constant material advancement and manufacturing have made Sufix one of the best line companies and choices on the planet. For walleye jigging, we almost always use an 8—to 15-pound braided line, like Sufix 832 or ProMix braid, as our main line. We then attach an 18—to 24-inch Sufix Fluorocarbon Invisiline leader in the 8—to 10-pound strength.
Mastering Walleye Jigging Techniques
Pitching Jigs
Pitching jigs for walleyes is a popular and effective technique, especially in situations where walleyes are 15 feet or less. Select jigs that match the size and weight appropriate for your fishing depth, current, and wind conditions. Jig heads typically range from 1/16 to 3/8 ounces, but this can vary based on the depth, current and wind. Based on all these variables, boat control is a key variable, as is the jigs fall rate. Ultimately, you want to maintain constant control and contact with the jig to present the bait at the preferred depth and speed.
• Look for areas where walleyes are likely to hold, such as weed edges, points, wind-swept shorelines, large flats with lots of forage, drop-offs, submerged rocks, or other structures. Walleyes related to cover primarily to find and ambush prey.
• With a short cast or underhand pitching motion, cast the jig and trailer combination towards the target area. Let the jig sink to the bottom, and slowly hop back to the boat.
• Cast and slowly retrieve the jig, letting it lift and fall. Walleyes react to different jigging motions on any given day, so experiment and let the fish determine what works best. An aggressive hop and retrieve sometimes triggers more strikes, while dragging the jig slowly on the bottom other days produces more fish.Vertical Jigging
Vertical jigging for walleye is a highly effective technique, especially when targeting fish holding near the bottom or suspended in deeper water or current areas. Choose a jig weight that matches the water depth or current conditions. The deeper the water, the heavier the jig, but you won’t want it too heavy either. Generally, his weighing between 1/8 and 3/4 ounce will get the job done for most walleye fishing conditions.
• Soft plastic, live bait, and hair jigs are popular for vertical jigging.
• Paddle-tail trailers can add extra action to the jig, but other times, a Big Bite Bait Slim minnow with a simple fork tail out produces everything.
• Position your boat directly over the fish or slightly upwind or up-current, enabling you to drop your jig right in the strike zone. Once the jig reaches the bottom or the fish's location, use a swimming motion to trigger strikes.
• Lift the rod tip a short distance (1-2 feet) and let the jig drop back down.
• Overworking the jig or moving too fast often results in a few strikes.
• Experiment with the cadence of your jigging action: Sometimes, a slow, subtle jigging motion works best, while other times, a more aggressive jigging action may trigger strikes.Snap Jigging
Snap jigging for walleye is a dynamic and effective technique that involves quickly snapping or jerking the jig off the bottom and letting it fall back, mimicking the behavior of injured prey fish.
Here’s a detailed guide to snap jigging for walleye.
• Jig sizes typically range from 1/4 to 1 ounce, depending on the depth and current conditions.
• Soft plastic trailers or hair jigs are the most popular baits for snap jigging.
• Paddletails also work, adding a little extra action and a slower fall rate on the pause.
• Use your fish finder or sonar to locate walleye schools or individual fish.
• Look for them holding near structure such as rock piles, drop-offs, points, or submerged weed beds.
• Cast your jig beyond the targeted area and allow it to sink to the bottom. It's important to maintain tension on the line so you can feel the jig as it settles on the bottom.
Now it's time to snap-jig. For finesse anglers, snap jigging is a much more crude way of working a jig, but you have to go for it and trust that it's a viable method to trigger aggressive walleye strikes. Once the jig reaches the bottom, quickly snap or jerk the rod tip upward with a sharp, short motion (about 1-2 feet). This action lifts the jig off the bottom and causes it to dart upwards.Immediately lower the rod tip and allow the jig to fall back to the bottom on a slack line. Watch for your line to jump, indicating that a walleye hit your bait as it was falling to the bottom.
Also, when you snap the jig, be prepared that a fish may have already eaten your lure, so be prepared to set the hook. Sometimes, a rapid series of snaps followed by a longer pause can be effective, while other times, a slower, more deliberate approach may work better.
Locating Walleye Hotspots: Using Electronics To Find Fish
Having a basic understanding of today’s electronics will allow you to find and catch fish faster on almost any given day.
Traditional 2D sonar measures the time it takes for the sound wave to bounce back, creating a visual of what’s below—whether it’s rocks, weeds, depth, hard or soft bottom, baitfish, or fish. When anglers become proficient at using 2D and learn what the sonar is revealing, they can quickly eliminate unproductive areas to find fish.
Side Imaging creates detailed images on both sides of the boat. Again, once you understand what side image is revealing, you can drive your boat around and quickly find pods of fish, mark their location on your GPS, and then return to the waypoints and start jig fishing the different schools of walleye.
A forward-facing sonar system creates a live view of what is below. You can spot a fish, cast to it, and catch it, basically. Anglers who have become proficient at using forward-facing sonar often use jigs to catch the fish on the spot on the screen in real-time.
Today’s mapping is nothing short of incredible. Now, you can plug in an SD card, and any lake’s entire underwater world is revealed.
The maps offer comprehensive, high-definition cartography of specific lakes, providing anglers with information about underwater terrain, structures, and potential fish-holding areas. LakeMaster maps are extremely detailed because they were created using advanced sonar technology, which gathers detailed depth and contour data of the lake bottom.
Conservation and Responsible Angling
Catching and releasing walleyes, notably bigger fish that can spawn or be caught again and enjoyed by other anglers, helps ensure sustained quality fishing for generations of anglers.
Today, local regulations and limits are in place all across the walleye belt, often varying from lake to lake and from state to state. That said, walleyes are nutritious and delicious, so selectively harvesting walleyes is all part of a quality fishery and enjoying the bounty of a good resource.
Again, most states regulate how many fish you can keep and what size qualifies as a keeper.
Conclusion
Time on the water is the best way to master being an excellent jig angler. One of the best walleye anglers I ever met suggested he is so good at catching them because he envisions a walleye behind his jig on every cast.
Whether you are vertically jigging, snap jigging, dragging, or pitching jigs, history has proven that a simple jig is, without question, one of the most effective ways to catch walleyes. Once you master the art of jig-fishing walleyes, it’ll likely become your favorite way to fish.
FAQ Section
- Q: What is the best jig size for walleye?
A: The best jig size for walleye typically ranges from 1/8 oz to 3/4 oz, depending on water depth and current. Generally, lighter jigs are used in shallow water, and heavier jigs are used in deeper water or strong currents. - Q: How do I know when a walleye has hit my jig?
A: Walleye bites can be subtle. Watch for slight line movements, feeling for a “tick” or added weight on your line. Sometimes, the bite feels like the jig has become snagged on the bottom. - Q: What are the most effective jig colors for walleye?
A: Popular jig colors for walleye include chartreuse, white, yellow, and orange. More natural colors like brown or green pumpkins can be effective in clear water. Always match the hatch and adjust based on water clarity and light conditions. - Q: When is the best time to jig for walleye?
A: Walleye can be caught jigging year-round, but prime times are often during spring and fall when fish are more active. Dawn and dusk are typically the most productive times of day. - Q: How deep should I jig for walleye?
A: Walleye Jigging depth for walleye varies depending on the season and water body. In general, target depths between 15-30 feet. Fish can be deeper. However, barotrauma dramatically increases the deeper the walleyes are located.
