Some things in the world of sportfishing are sacred. Walleye fishing with live bait is one of those unwritten, but sacred rules handed down from father to son. For generations the use of live bait has proven itself both effective and consistent.
No self respecting walleye guy would argue against the effectiveness of live bait. The question is, can soft plastic lures perform as well or even approach the effectiveness of the real McCoy?
At the risk of being stoned by a mob of unshaven men in flannel shirts, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. A new trend in the world of walleye fishing is emerging. Soft plastic lures are not only a suitable substitute for live bait, in many fishing situations they actually perform better.
Those might be fighting' words to the walleye traditionalist, but the fact is soft plastics can be powerful fishing tools when used in the right situations. A convincing argument can be waged for using soft plastic lures in many of the most popular and common walleye fishing presentations.
REALISM MATTERS
The latest generation of soft plastics look, wiggle, smell and even taste lifelike. Softness in the plastic formula is the key. Modern plastic lures have a lot on the ball, but the extra soft feel of these lures is the critical improvement over traditional plastic lures. A super soft texture improves lure action and also provides the lifelike feel that encourages fish that bite to hang on.
Natural shapes, smells and tastes are other key elements that combine to make these lures highly effective. Simply stated, the modern plastic lure is a far cry from the stiff, lifeless and action challenged plastics of yesterday.
Plastic baits are not exactly a new phenomenon to walleye fishing, but the advancements made to plastic lures is newsworthy. No disrespect intended, but the chartreuse curl tail grub was ready for a complete overhaul.
PUTTING PLASTICS TO WORK
Catching more walleye with plastic lures is in part a mind set. Getting the most from these lures requires anglers to think less like a walleye angler and more like a bass fisherman. The typical walleye angler fishes familiar spots, works slowly and depends on live bait to trigger fish into striking. For a moment, forget about pounding pet spots and trying to tease fish into biting. Armed with plastics, walleye anglers are better off if they concentrate on covering more water and target active fish.
Case study No. one. The near shore waters of Saginaw Bay are dotted with countless small weed beds growing in water from four to 10 feet deep. Completely overlooked by the masses who troll open water, these weed pockets are dense enough that keeping live bait on the hook is a challenge. Also, hordes of yellow perch, white perch and other bait robbers hang out in these weed patches.
A PLASTIC DIRTY DOZEN
A lot of soft plastic lures have walleye fishing application and a few are even designed for walleyes. The following list are just a few of the soft plastics that are powerful walleye tools.
1) Yum Dinger, a small do nothing style worm that is ideal for threading onto a jig or fishing Texas rigged in heavy weed cover.
2) Yum Ribbontail, a six inch ribbontail worm that can be pinched down to about three inches and used on a jig like a grub or Texas rigged.
3) Berkley Jig Worm, a three inch worm with a flat tail that was designed especially for casting to weed edges and other obvious targets with 1/16 and 1/8 ounce jigs.
4) Gulp Turtle Back Worm, a four inch worm that can be fished on a jig or Texas rigged.
5) Gulp Minnow Grub, a three inch grub with an action tail for fishing on jigs. Works well for both vertical jigging and casting jigs.
6) Gulp Nightcrawler, a six inch crawler that can be used in place of live crawlers for drifting or trolling harnesses. Pinch off a couple inches of this lure and thread it onto a jig for jig casting.
7) Berkley Powerbait Dropshot Worm, a four inch finesse worm that is ideal for fishing with jigs both in casting and vertical jigging situations.
8) Gary Yamamoto Kahuna Cut Tail, a small finesse style worm that's excellent on a jig or Texas rigged.
9) Cabela's Recoil Grubs, a three inch single or double tail grub designed for fishing on jigs. These baits are very soft and extremely durable. They work especially well when fishing in heavy cover and also when combining a grub with a live minnow or piece of nightcrawler.
10) Mister Twister Exude Sassy Shad, a three inch grub that is ideal for vertical jigging in rivers or casting to rocks, sloping breaks and shorelines.
11) Storm WildEye Swim Shad, these soft plastics come with the hook and weight molded right in. The shad profile makes them especially productive for casting and using a rapid retrieve.
12) Berkley Powerbait Minnow, a three inch minnow that's good for both casting and vertical jigging. This bait can also be Texas rigged for fishing in heavy cover.
A weedless style jig tipped with a Berkley Gulp Minnow is an excellent way to attack this cover. Work the edges of the weed cover first to pick off aggressive fish, then start targeting little pockets of open water inside the main tangle of weed growth.
Cast study No. two. A few summers ago I found myself on a fly-in fishing vacation in Ontario. The outfitter sold bags of minnows complete with a shot of pure oxygen to keep them lively during the long flight.
One of these minnows pinned to a small jig was death to walleyes we found cruising along a well defined weed edge in eight feet of water. Unfortunately the minnow supply lasted only two days.
On the third morning I hit the water armed with jigs dressed in Berkley Powerbait Grubs and Gulp Minnow Grubs. I was hopeful that the fishing success would continue, but skeptical that plastic could match the success we had enjoyed prior with live minnows.
My skepticism was sort lived. Cast after cast, walleyes smacked our plastic dressed jigs. After fishing for a couple hours my fishing partners and I came to the conclusion that we were actually catching more fish on plastic baits than we had on live bait.
The difference wasn't so much that the plastic grubs were more attractive to walleye, but rather that they simply stayed put on the jig better than live bait. When using live bait the hook must be rebaited after every fish and too many times to count the bait flies off on the cast.
When fishing in close proximity to dense weed cover it makes sense to select plastic baits that stay on the hook better than live bait. Casting to weeds, timber and other cover isn't the only place where plastic baits shine in walleye fishing.
Case study No. three. Each spring I make a trip to the Detroit River to enjoy one of the finest spring river runs of walleye in North America. Countless walleyes that spend most of the year in Lake Erie converge in April along the 30 miles of river that connect Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. Rocky spawning substrate is what attracts the fish, but the river is also full of shiner minnows and smelt.
Traditionally this fishery has been dominated by vertical jigging. The hot local bait is a 1/2 ounce ball shaped jig tipped through the lips with a lively emerald shiner minnow. To use anything else is enough to get yourself labeled an extremist.
Bumping the jig and minnow combination along the bottom produces plenty of fish, but it's also a constant struggle to keep bait on the hook. Shiners have a soft mouth. When the jig hook tears the mouth, the bait simply slips right off the hook.
It has been my observation that on the Detroit River plastic lures work just as well as minnows and are a lot less hassle to use. The trick is knowing when to use live bait and when to switch to plastics.
In March and early April when the water is very cold, minnows clearly work better than plastic. The subtle lift and drop jigging technique that produces the best in cold water is ideally suited to using live minnow. Essentially the minnow provides the action and the angler simply lifts and drops the jig slowly on a tight line.
A little later in April when the water climbs into the high 40's or low 50's the need for live bait all but disappears. Warmer water translates into more active fish and faster presentations that allow plastic lures to come alive.
A wealth of plastics can be used to catch walleye at this time of year and most will out produce live bait.wister tail and shad bodies are great baits for vertical jigging in rivers. These plastic lure shapes are a good starting point, but don't overlook the many other shapes of plastic baits available.
On the Detroit River I've had amazing success using a 4-inch finesse worm threaded onto a jighead. Walleyes slam this combination like it's going to be their last meal.
Small plastic jerkbaits, tubes, stinger grubs, leeches, centipedes and a wealth of other plastics also work well when threaded onto a jighead. Natural colors seem to produce best in clear water. Try bright fluorescent shades or two/tone baits with contrasting colors when working in murky conditions.
Case study No. four. Soft plastics also excel when used on spinner rigs (crawler harnesses) fished either on the bottom or for suspended fish. Anyone who has used live crawlers on spinner rigs knows that for every walleye that bites, a half dozen less desirable species show up. White perch, sheepshead, white bass and channel cats are just some of the non-target species that frequently become a nuisance to the live bait fisherman. These aggressive species nibble and peck away at the crawler, making it almost impossible catch walleyes.
Soft plastic crawlers are idea for use on walleye spinner rigs when non-target species become a problem. The best choices are plastics that look and feel exactly like live nightcrawlers. The big difference is these plastics are tough enough to withstand the nibbling of non-target fish, insuring that your spinner rigs will have bait on them when a walleye shows up on the scene.
When talk turns to soft plastics, many walleye angler roll their eyes. To the die hard traditionalist, soft plastics may seem like a weak substitute for live bait. To more open minded anglers, soft plastics are a handy tool that makes walleye fishing more productive and also less work.
No self respecting walleye guy would argue against the effectiveness of live bait. The question is, can soft plastic lures perform as well or even approach the effectiveness of the real McCoy?
Small plastic jerkbaits, tubes, stinger grubs, leeches, centipedes and a wealth of other plastics also work well when threaded onto a jighead. Natural colors seem to produce best in clear water. Try bright fluorescent shades or two/tone baits with contrasting colors when working in murky conditions.
