The Plastification of Walleyes

Beyond the 4-inch mental barrier lie a further array of plastic attractors, such as lizards and craws. Craws do not have a following among walleye anglers, although lizards have a mini cult status among those seeking to catch larger walleyes. This dates back to the productivity of live waterdogs—a truly outstanding bait—for big walleyes. The theory is that walleyes recognize the lizard shape as an egg-stealer and pounce on it with abandon. River anglers have applied 4- to 5- or even 6-inch lizard bodies, tipped with minnows, for big fish in muddy water where bulk helps fish locate the bait, or amidst hordes of smaller bait-stealing ‘eyes that avoid chasing the lizard, allowing bigger fish to reach the lure.

Crawler imitations, by their proven and familiar shape, are accorded good potential by walleye anglers. Most who have tried them have applied a standard straighttail 6-inch crawler body in tandem with a spinner-crawler harness—often with success. Berkley’s Power Worms have been at the forefront of this approach, although others, like the Mister Twister Exude, are hot on their . . . tails.

Stand-alone thin worm shapes, however, still aren’t popular for walleyes; anglers who fish plastic-only tend to grub it, even though lots of walleyes are caught on worm bodies by bass anglers. Something about it, apparently, just doesn’t “look right.” Yet pockets of popularity exist. Some river anglers, for example, cast and tumble 3/16-ounce jigs with ribbed-bodied worms in current, dispersing air bubbles from the body cavities as the lure proceeds downstream.

In nearly all size and shape categories, bodies are available with additional arms, legs, feelers, extensions. Some folks swear by ‘em. Others don’t bother with ‘em. It all depends on personal preference and confidence. A twintail grub, for example, has a slow fall and is popular among Missouri River anglers casting to steep points. The separation of the tails enables tipping the hook with a piece of crawler or minnow without disturbing the action, unlike on a single curlytail, where tipping might interfere with tail action.

Certainly, extra appendages create more action, slow the lure’s fall, and perhaps suggest an added illusion of life. Experimenting with such concoctions, however, also requires carrying more packages of plastic and spending more time experimenting with different combos. Great if you believe in their productivity; harder to do if you’re still sitting on the fence.

Colorful Creations

It’s arguably bad enough that you need to carry a variety of different sizes and shapes of plastic to cover the bases. Now, multiply your selection many times over if you also wish to experiment with different colors, shades, hues, combinations, forage patterns and the like.

Personal preference and confidence are major factors in choosing colors and patterns, and everyone has go-to favorites, which can be drastically different from other folks’ choices. Therefore I’ll state some traditional wisdom, and you can make your own decisions.

Certain colors are popular as a result of their productivity, and it’s hard to argue with things that work. Among walleye anglers, plastics with at least a hint of orange, chartreuse, and yellow are traditional favorites, attributed to the walleyes’ eye structure and ability to best see those colors, making them logical choices in dark or dingy water. In clearer water, however, such colors may be too visible, tipping the fish off to something phony. Subtler whites, smokes, blacks, and browns may be better choices. Like Goldilocks and the pirated porridge, it’s not too hot, not too cold, just right. In this case, put plastic in the water, and if it doesn’t “look right,” switch it to something that does look right. If it “looks right,” confidence skyrockets, and increased confidence makes you fish better and ultimately catch more fish.