The Plastification of Walleyes

Various other impregnations have been touted by plastics manufacturers. Among those targeting the walleye crowd, a family of Berkley’s Power Worm products has been formulated specifically for walleyes and incorporated into shapes specifically designed for walleye presentations, such as crawlers, marabou-tail grubs, and others. And they’ve been well accepted by walleye fishermen.

Does this mean Power Worms are superior to Mister Twister’s Exude—another strong scent formulation—or Mann’s FS-454 or Riverside Yum? Once again, it’s a matter of personal choice and confidence. If we were to stick our necks out, we’d likely state that when the fish are bitin’ well, scent and taste formulations probably don’t make much difference. But when fish are fussy due to cold fronts, fishing pressure, and the like, scent- and taste-impregnated plastics may cause walleyes to respond better, strike more aggressively, and hold on longer. That can provide a legitimate advantage. Scented products usually cost a bit more than unscent plastics, but at times, they may be worth the extra investment.

The Bait or No-Bait Debate

In the course of your walleye fishing with plastic, you will begin to gravitate toward particular brands, shapes, sizes, colors, and scents of plastic bodies that are productive in the waters you fish, and in the manner you fish them. In short, there’s no substitute for confidence. The biggest initial barrier to the successful use of plastic for walleyes is a lack of confidence, inspired by tradition.

Walleye fishing is historically a sport of livebait, with recent inroads made by the crankbait brigade. But those who remain devout livebait riggers and jiggers still tend to have problems with plastic if there’s not also a minnow, leech, or piece of crawler dressed on the hook in addition to the soft plastic body. If that’s your current state of mind, fine. Team plastic jig bodies with a livebait dressing to enhance the package. But at the very least, on days when walleyes are really slamming your lures, and chances are you’ve already accidentally caught a few on untipped plastic after the livebait fell off, consider experimenting with plastic-only, if only for a little while. It might help you get over the hump, so to speak. Once you break through the confidence barrier, it’s smooth sailing ahead.

All across the length and breadth of walleyedom, an increasing number of anglers are playing with plastic in lieu of livebait. Jiggers on the Detroit River often catch more and bigger walleyes on plastic shad bodies than by adding a minnow. From Lake Erie to western impoundments, anglers tired of feeding bits of their nightcrawlers to furious perch have, out of desperation, switched to dressing crawler harnesses with scented plastics like Power Worms. And lo and behold, it’s produced lots and big. And certainly, anglers flying into Canadian waters in search of savagely biting wilderness walleyes have found that a jig dressed with a plastic grub often is all that’s necessary to catch all the walleyes you want.

But there’s more. Plastic stands up better than livebait to the abuse of jigging in weedbeds. It’s always handy and available without the hassle of wrangling, hauling, and keeping livebait lively in varied weather conditions. And it doesn’t die on you at the most inopportune moments. And it catches fish.

No one is going to suggest that soft plastic always is better than livebait, in all situations, all of the time. But it’s an alternative, and a legitimate one. And sometimes, a soft touch is just what the ‘eye doctor ordered.