BY MARK MARTIN
A lot’s changed since my early days of walleye fishing. Baitwells and coolers full of live bait have been replaced, for the most part, with re-closable bags of polymers—soft plastics, if you will. Now don’t
get me wrong, there are times and places for live bait, but I find those places shrinking ever smaller with every fishing trip I make.
Some of today’s plastics, well, aren’t really all that plastic. They’ve been infused with biodegradable compounds that stink, literally, not only grabbing a walleye’s attention visually, but by smell and taste as well. Soft plastics work well, too, because they can be used nearly anywhere, anytime, and by nearly any means.
Although we call most plastics shaped like fish “minnows,” the fact of the matter is plastics can be shaped and colored to match any fish species a walleye will eat—the list includes any species with fins and
tails. (That would be all fish, folks.)
How do I know what shape and color works best? This is accomplished by finding out, first, what minnow and fish species swim within the body of water I am fishing. Stopping into local bait shops; checking out the detailed information about a waterway from a Fishing Hot Spots map; asking fellow anglers at the launch; with any and all of these I’ll have an educated guess of the species before I make my first cast.
Another firsthand means of knowing what to throw once on the water is to watch the screen of my Lowrance sonar and search for baitfish and/or structure, then drop down the camera of my Aqua-Vu underwater viewing system. Right before my eye, scattered amongst the structure are usually baitfish and young-of-the-year fish. I know exactly what fish and minnow species are there.
If the baitfish present have a long and slender-body shape, I’ll match them up with Berkley Gulp! Minnows and PowerBait Minnows. Early in the season I use smaller-size plastics—two- and three-inch minnows—and hook them up to the lightest leadhead jigs the wind will allow. Northland’s Gum-Ball Jigs in 1/16 ounce up to 1/8 ounce are my most common choice in water two to eight feet deep, and then up to 1/4 ounce in water eight to 14 feet deep. As summer wears on and baitfish and young-of-the-year fish grow, I’ll beef up the minnow bodies to four-inchers. The same kind and size jigheads will work with these larger minnows, too.
The technique I use to fish these minnow baits is simple—I cast, let the lure fall until it is just about to hit bottom or the weed tops, and then hop it back with quick one-foot lifts of the rod tip, with short pauses to let the lure fall. This type of minnow-and-jig rig can be vertically jigged in deep water as well. I just drop the combo
to bottom then lift the rod tip (again about a foot or so) and drop it back down. Whether I am casting or vertical jigging, I always keep my line taut so as to feel a hit. And in both instances, most hits will occur as the lure falls.
Swimbaits, too, take their fair share of walleye, and are even easier to fish than jigs (and it doesn’t get much simpler than jigs, mind you).
As with jigs and plastic minnow combos, I use the lightest weight swimbait the wind will allow. My favorites are Northland Mimic Minnow Shads and Mimic Minnow Spins, and the array of Berkley PowerBait and Gulp! swimbaits. Weights of 1/16 to 3/8 ounce are what I use most, with 1/16- and 1/8-ounce baits best for water to seven feet, and 1/4- to 3/8- ouncers good from seven to 14 feet.
To fish a swimbait, simply cast out, and then reel in with a slow, steady retrieve. You’ll know when a fish hits with this bait as the lure will stop abruptly. Set the hook as soon as it does.
CREEPY CRITTERS
Grubs and nymph-imitating plastics are great ’eye catchers, too. Both three- and four-inch Northland Slurpies Swim’n Grubs and Berkley Gulp! Minnow Grubs imitate small fish and crustaceans with a steady or the aforementioned hopped retrieve.
But if bugs are present, I’ll shrink my offering down to a two-inch Slurpies Swim’n Grub, one-inch Northland Single Screwtail Grub, two-inch Berkley PowerBait Ribbontail Power Grub, and PowerBait Micro Nymph, as these are some of the best insect imitations money can buy.
These tiny baits work great in shallow water of one to five feet, especially in rock piles, standing timber, and weeds. These baits should be used with jig heads no more than 1/16 ounce. Northland Neon Super-Glo Jigs give off just the right amount of attracting flash with their blood-red hooks and bright fluorescent colors, without being too gaudy.
Other favorite creature lures of mine are three and four-inch rubber worms, like Berkley Power Worms and Gulp! Fry. These slender-bodied lures can imitate any number of things swimming about that walleye eat. Perhaps that’s why they work so well in so many different situations—the fish aren’t sure exactly what it is, thus
gobble it up without hesitation. The best all-around size jighead to use with these baits is 1/8 ounce. You may have to increase to 1/4 ounce when the wind is up.
BRIGHTEN UP YOUR DAY
One of the most overlooked ways to fish plastics, no matter the style, is to add a little flash and vibration. Lately I have been adding a Northland Rainbow Jig Spinner—a safety pin-shaped metal arm with Colorado-shaped blade. When attached to one of these, a jig-and-body combo or swimbait is turned into a small spinnerbait; a lure overlooked by so many anglers yet that is so deadly on walleye.
These lures should be cast out and retrieved at a speed so that the lure just “ticks” the tops of weeds and other structure. You’ll just barely feel the blade thumping when you are reeling in at the right speed. As with swimbaits, you’ll know when a fish hits this lure. It’s not an arm-jarring strike, but the lure will abruptly stop.
CASTING, ONE, TWO, THREE
Casting plastics, whether with jigging or with a steady retrieve, calls for the right equipment—nothing fancy, but equipment of just the right action and weight. I like a 6-1/2- to seven-foot graphite rod with a medium-light action. A one-piece Berkley Series One rod in this length and action, especially when coupled with a C802 ABU Garcia spinning reel, is the perfect rig.
As for line, I almost always use eight-pound test flame-colored (bright green) Berkley FireLine when fishing plastics. The thin diameter (the same as two-pound test monofilament) allows the most natural presentation to these lightweight lures. And I always tie the FireLine directly to the head of the lure. Don’t worry about fish being
line shy due to the bright green line. Very rarely will they care, even in ultra-clear water. If you don’t have the confidence that the line won’t spook the fish, then you can switch over to Berkley Transition fluorocarbon, which is nearly invisible under water. Again, eight-pound test is perfect.
IN CONCLUSION
Do you have the confidence to forgo live bait and use nothing but plastics? I do. As I said at the beginning of this article, live bait, at times, has its place. I find that place, however, is shrinking every time I fish. Find out what the walleye are feeding on in your favorite waterway and match it with a soft plastic. Chances are there’s plastic
that’s been molded into a shape and size to match. Cast a soft plastic, jig it or reel it in with a steady retrieve, and you’ll find the outcome will be more walleye in the livewell then you ever thought possible.
Mark Martin is a walleye tournament angler and Fishing Vacation/School instructor who lives in Michigan’s northwest Lower Peninsula. Check out his website at www.markmartins.net.