Critical Things To Know About How To Jig For Walleye
Do you have a plan to jig for walleyes in your next fishing trip?
Well, you could fish for walleyes from shore as well as from an anchored boat.
There is no doubt that a simple jig could be the perfect lure in one's walleye tackle box. Jigs would work excellent in spring and unbeatable during summer.
It would allure and provoke walleyes more in the early light of dawn, the high moon as well as at the last gleaming of twilight. Catching walleyes with jigs would even require a perfect presentation and to help you in it, we have come up with a list of how to jig for walleye.
Continue to read to know many interesting facts.
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Catching Plenty of Walleye
- You would find walleyes either near to the shores to about 3 to 10 feet or in river current in spring.
- Walleyes will find sandy places beside the shore for spawning if they avoid spawning in the river.
- They would be much aggressive particularly during this time, so you could use a lighter jig to cast through the shore retrieving it a little bit aggressively.
If you use bright colors jigs such as white, yellow, red or chartreuse, then walleyes would hit the jig. However, out of these color, white would always be the best option.
Walleyes would move in deeper water during the summer and hang out in the river mouths or rocky points. The fish would probably get attracted to natural colors such as white, black, brown and silver.
If you fish with jigs, a heavy jig of about 3/8 oz or ¼ oz could be good options.
Things That Affect Jig Head Functionality
Maximum people usually only think about the color and weight of jig heads. But there are probably several other things that could influence the working of jig heads.
- The first thing to consider is the shape of the jig head. It not only just contributes to the entire profile of an offering but could even affect the movement of a jig in water.
- Next, the forward eye could function better for presenting horizontally. The 90-degree eyes would let to present the bait more naturally in the vertical presentation.
- Thirdly, your employed hook size would have to be matched with the bait's size as well as the catch's size.
- The next thing you would have to consider is the diameter of the hook. A small sized wire hook could be critical for lighter line fishing, but a stout hook would work ideal for larger gear with a little requirement of finesse.
- Last but not the least, bright paint, clattering eyes, weed guards and many others would be even necessary to consider as they could create a bigger difference.
What You Will Need
Fishing Rod and Reel
A spinning reel and a 6 to 6 ½ foot rod could be good options to jig for walleyes successfully.
You could consider one of these products to jig for walleyes:
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Shimano Convergence CVSW66M2B Walleye Spinning Rod | 1 Reviews | Buy on Amazon | |
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Daiwa DXW Walleye Spinning Rod | No ratings yet | $99.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Penn 1338220 Battle II 5000 Spinning Fishing Reel | 629 Reviews | $119.95 $84.90 | Buy on Amazon |
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Pflueger 6940 President Spinning Fishing Reel | 472 Reviews | $59.95 $49.95 | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2018-02-27 PST - Details
Fishing Line
You could use six to eight-pound monofilament test line for jigging. These are two products that could be worthy for walleyes:
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Stren MagnaThin | 60 Reviews | $9.49 | Buy on Amazon |
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Monofilament Fishing Line Winter Ice Nylon Fishing Line High Abrasion Resistant... | 58 Reviews | $14.99 from $4.98 | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2018-02-27 PST - Details
Jigs
A jig of about 1/16 to 1/8 ounce added to the end of your line would work great for the purpose. However, a ball styled jig is very common that would work great in casting as well as vertical jigging.
On the other hand, swimming jigs would be better options to cast in weeds.
Fishing Baits
Live baits like minnows would work great for walleyes in cold water, leech in lukewarm water of 11 to 20 degree Celsius, and half crawler in the warmer water of more than 20 degree Celsius.
However, it would be better to employ all these three baits half broken and allow your target to determine what it would like to feed.
Step-by-Step Instructions: How to Jig for Walleyes (Pitch Jigging)
Step 1: Pitching The Jig
For pitching the jig, you would have to pinch it first with your index finger and thumb.
After this, you would be pulling it back gently while pointing the tip of the rod towards the target like weed clumps, fallen limbs of trees or shoreline rocks.
Step 2: Releasing The Jig
Now, you would have to set the jig free thereby pitching it underhand. If you find the jig sailing just above the water surface and quietly landing, then you would consider it is perfectly pitched.
This would be a vital aspect while the walleyes are uncanny and the water is clean.
Step 3: Feeling The Resistance
You will not be rushing for closing the bail on your reel now. The jig would vertically fall beside your target and won't be swimming back at the side of your boat.
After the jig reaches the bottom, tightening up on your line would indicate that the walleye has engulfed it. You would have to feel the weight, and when you sense any kind of sensation, you would have to set the fish hook immediately.
If you get a fish, then it would be okay. Otherwise, you would have to continue to lift the tip of the rod till the jig floats up from the bottom and glide back to your boat.
Conclusion
Well, this was all that our list of how to jig for walleye contained for you. Jigging for walleyes successfully would require a proper presentation after you select a perfect place to carry on the process efficiently.
The process and the necessary materials, especially dressing a jig would depend upon the water conditions like cold or warm and the sustaining mood of the fish.
Hence, you would have to focus intensely to understand in what way walleyes are reacting to your bait and one correctly jig fished would be better than two incorrectly jig fished.
We hope that our above-mentioned list would provide you the information that you might be looking for. Well, if you have any suggestion, please let us know in the comments below.
