Which jig head !?!

[Kevin]

Since I'm a newbie to Walleye fishing, I've been scanning the new issue of Cabela's Tackle Shop and see that they offer about 700 different kinds/types of jig heads...what is most effective for artificial bait and live bait?

[Peanut]

Basic round ball jigs will work in any application, and are old classic. Start with those, then add other shapes as you think you need/can afford.

Get a variety of weights, colors, shank sizes. Varying these things is more important than varying jig head shape, IMHO.

derrek.

CANADIAN WALLEYE OPEN UP AND SAY "EH"!

[tj1n]

I like the Fireball Jigs - prefer the short shank but there are times that the long shank is required as well. If the bite is "short," add a stinger hook. Most importantly, where I buy tackle they are cheap and work great!

Travis J.

[BobEaton1]

I have @ 200lbs of jigs, every weight, color, and style. My best luck with Walleyes is with out a doubt the Cabela's Fathead minnow Chart/lime color. Wish I could give you a second choice but I don't have one. Just my opinion hope this helps you out.
Bob Eaton NPAA#292

[SnellTier]

I "vertical jig" for walleyes as my favorite technique. As such I use just the plain old round head jig with a wire (not "brass" colored) head. I find that jig head weight is the most important consideration for my kind of fishing ... not the jig head style nor color.

I tear a crawler in half and put the FRONT half on my jig ... threading the hook lengthwise through the crawler. I save the back half of the crawler by putting it on top of my crawler box to use when I lose the front half. Why use the FRONT half first??? ... because it will crawl away and hide in a crevice and stink up your boat when it rots if you throw THAT one on your crawler box to use the back half first.

I fish as light a jig head as I can tell (sometimes by slack line rather than by "feel") gets me to the bottom. Usually that is 1/16th ounce in 25 feet of water or less. This is using 6 pound test line. When wind or waves prevent me from telling the jig is on the bottom, I will go up to a 1/8th ounce jig. I never go heavier for vertical jigging.

I raise the jig from the bottom about 4 inches ... and then lower it. Most walleyes see it on the rise and take it on the fall so that when you go to lift the jig again, you will feel a slight increase in weight. That is the "bite". SET THE HOOK!! If you can feel that fish, that fish can feel you and will be trying to spit out that jig.

The jigging method changes to fit the mood of the fish. You have to experiment to find what they want on a given day. I have seen days where they want ZERO movement of the jig ... just suspend it 6 inches off the bottom. I have seen days where the 4 inch slow up and down presentation works right. I have seen days where they wanted it raised and lowered about 8 inches at a time as fast as I could move the rod. Finding the technique of the day is part of the fun.

ENJOY!

Tomd

[RIVERUNNER]

Hey tomd try my honney hole at 60' w/ the detroit 7-9 mph current and sunday boat traffic. I've seen guys say it's not fishable w/ a 1oz jig,probably the sand bottom that makes it pretty much untouchable. I use 3/4oz football jigs . LOVE THAT JIGGING THING

[SnellTier]

Yup, I believe it. I should have mentioned I fish only lake waters ... no rivers.
Tomd

[Walleye Crazy]

Just a small point but I use the tail first of a crawler because when you put the tail back in the pail they die but if you put the head part back they live

[SnellTier]

AND, I might also have added, if and when I DO fish rivers with a lot of traffic on them (although I prefer not to) I usually go to a bottom bouncer or a 3-way. Just my preference.
Tom

[SnellTier]

Good point!! I was assuming "volume" use of crawlers. My wife and I purchase a "flat" when we go to Canada for 2 weeks. In fact, this summer we will take a long TWO "flats" because we use so many crawlers. Typically we take 5 or 6 dozen fresh crawlers with us in the boat each day. There are times when we have run out of bait during a day when we were vertical jigging over a hot bite!!

Tomd

[SnellTier]

When I am jigging, that is.

[stewart]

Tomd gives good advice, but if you are a newbie as you say imho fish heavier jigs. When your vertical jigging they are easier to feel on the bottom, and stay straighter on windy days, or if you want to cover ground faster.

[REW]

I have to go with the advice on using a light jig if possible, but you always need to be able to feel the bottom. If you are in wind and waves on a lake, you need to go heavier. If you are fishing a river with 6-8 mph current, and not slipping a lot, you might need to go up to a 1 oz jig.

I have found that it is no problem at all to get "river fish" to take and completely inhale a 1 oz jig that has been tipped with a big minnow.

The key thing is to stay in touch with the bottom.

As one of the other posts have suggested - try variations to find what they like. I have seen where it is necessary to cast - let the jig settle to the bottom, sit there for 10 seconds, twitch it once, and hang on. The fish will often look over the bait, and when you pop it once, they think that the minnow is trying to escape, and will nail it as it falls back on the bottom.

Take care

REW

[SnellTier]

Stewert is right ... sometimes novices have to fish a little heavier jig ... it is just the price of learning. One more tip ... I have found that in addition to a half-crawler threaded lengthwise on the hook, novices get an advantage if they add the body of a plastic tube jig to that hook as well. Threaded lengthwise. The small nubbie teeth of the walley back behind their main front teeth seem to hook into that plastic and make it harder to spit out the hook.

Try it ... but keep working toward use of the lightest jigs as you learn. It was part of the challenge and fun for my wife and me.

ENJOY!!

[eek]

Where do you buy them? I just spent $160.00 on 100 each of 1/4 oz, 3/8 oz and 1/2 oz! Thanks in advance. eek