Walleye jigs

[Obi_Wan]

I haven't fished jigs for walleye at all.  I'd like to tie a few for my next trip.  What weight do most of you use if you are going with a bucktail jig?  Do you even use a bucktail?  Anything special I should think about?  Thanks.

[Steveo-1969]

I’m assuming you are not targeting walleyes suspended over deep water. In which case your jig should be heavy enough to quickly reach and stay near the bottom. I occasionally fish hair jigs for walleye but more often a ball head jig with some kind of plastic. Don’t be afraid to tip your jig with a leech, minnow or half a nightcrawler either. A couple summers ago I was walleye fishing in Wisconsin and decided I was going to show my uncle how to catch them on HIS lake. He said “sure, plastics will work”. After his third fish I asked him to pass the nightcrawlers…

[Ski]

!/2 Crawler on bottom bouncer. Wisc

[Dwight Hottle]

Depends on depth. Plain ball head jigs tipped with bait or plastics. Shallow water from 5-10 fow 1/8 or 1/4 oz works well. For 10-20 fow I like 3/8 to 1/2 oz. Deeper water or wavy conditions I like to use up to 3/4 to 1oz. If you want to go with hair jigs black, purple & green colors work well. Even hair jigs can be tipped with bait to add scent. 

[Obi_Wan]

Not deep water.  Fished this May in Ontario.  We usually fish jerkbaits.  This year jigs were productive.  I was thinking 1/8 to 1/4.  Water will be 8-15 feet deep.

[gim]

Pretty good advice already mentioned above.  Right now the water is pretty warm across the country so you will want to look for a reaction strike.  I would use a spinner with a gulp night crawler trolled at 1.5 mph, or a gumball jig ripped very aggressively and tipped with a plastic.  Live bait might work too but the water is so warm I wouldn't bother with it.  Don't even think about using a minnow in these temperatures.  They'll be dead before you get to the lake.  Get your presentation within 12-15 inches of the bottom, that's where they primarily feed.

 

On the jig size, generally you want to use the lightest you can get away with.  If 1/8 gets to the bottom, use that.  If its taking too long and isn't staying there because of current or wind, use a heavier one.  You will want to maintain bottom contact every little bit but don't drag it.

[Bluebasser86]

I like the lightest I can get away with, that's typically 1/8-1/4oz. 

[Further North]

Bucktail, marabou, I have some bear hair, squirrel and rabbit strips, flashabou...anything I'd use to tie flies with...

[Obi_Wan]

2 minutes ago, Further North said:

Bucktail, marabou, I have some bear hair, squirrel and rabbit strips, flashabou...anything I'd use to tie flies with...

I wondered about some rabbit strips.  I was thinking it couldn't hurt.  I've tied smaller jigs with it.  

[Further North]

26 minutes ago, Obi_Wan said:

I wondered about some rabbit strips.  I was thinking it couldn't hurt.  I've tied smaller jigs with it.  

Easiest tie in the world:

1. Tie in a 3" - 4" long strip along the hook shank.
2. Build a collar up near the hook eye (jig head in your case) with another 3 or four tight wraps.

You can make the collar of anything (bucktail, marabou, stiff hackle), and I'd add a few pieces of Flashabou as long as the strip you tied on the shank.  Red, gold, silver, orange...whatever.

[Fallser]

Most of my jig fishing for walleyes is done when I go to a lodge in NE Ontario.   Most of the walleye we catch are on jigs, either with live bait, night crawlers or leeches, or soft plastics, like twister tails.

We either drift or back troll for them.  Most times a 1/4 oz jig is more than enough to keep the bait/soft plastic on or near the bottom.  I do have 1/2 oz and even 1 oz jigs in my box but the only thing I've really caught with them is the bottom.

 We also, particularly in the evening, is to find a spot where we know there are or will be walleyes and anchor.  Usually in 15 to 25 feet of water.  Drop the jig over the side, let it hit bottom, then a couple turns of the reel, so the jig is sitting 6 to 12 inches off the bottom.  Kick back and relax and watch the rod tip.  It's even better if there's a slight chop and the boat's rocking a bit saves the trouble of jigging.

As far as color goes.  Back in 1986 when we first started going there, I asked what color jigs should we bring.  He told us, "You can bring any color you want as long as it's chartreuse"  I think he's running an ice cream shop in Colorado these days.  His advice was on the spot.  Jigs work as long as they some chartreuse in them.  It works on this lake.  I don't know about others.

  This year I'm going to change it up a bit.  I've tied two dozen buck tails on 1/4 oz jigs, not all of them on chartreuse ones, plus my favorite crayfish fly pattern on a dozen and a half jigs.  I also plan on using Ned rigs and do some drop shotting for them.

[Obi_Wan]

[Further North]

I'd fish 'em!