Seasoned Anglers Categorize Their Choices

Flash Lures & Blades

Walleyes are a curious fish that responds to flash and vibration, making flash lures the most popular lure style on ice. Across the ice belt, straight spoons like the Bay de Noc Swedish Pimple and the Acme Kastmaster have been used for more than 40 years. More recent introductions like the Northland Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon, Bait Rigs Deep Willospoon, and Anglers Edge Agitator display flat profiles with good flash and vibration.

Bent lures like the Bay de Noc Do Jigger, Acme Sidewinder, and Ivan’s Smasher offer more distinct vibration and flash—good for calling in fish. Super-action spoons are a subcategory of the bent spoon family, creating even more vibration and falling with a fast back-and-forth wobble, creating lots of flash.

At times, for reasons unknown, walleyes seem to prefer the size, color, flash, and fall rate of specific spoon designs. As we’ve said, bent and super-action lures exhibit more vibration and flash; straight lures offer a more subtle action. Some days, more flash and vibration is good; other days, subtle is better. Fishing success often is matter of determining which category fish prefer that day, or during different periods of a day.

Kerry Konald, a hunting and fishing guide from Mobridge, South Dakota (605/649-6363), concentrates his ice fishing on Lake Oahe Reservoir. “On reservoirs, major drop-offs generally hold walleyes all winter,” he says. “Electronics help anglers better understand what goes on below the ice. We’re also catching more suspended fish,” Konald says. “When I see fish or baitfish move through at 6 to 8 feet off the bottom or just below the ice, I reel up my lure to that level.”

“The most popular lures here are the classics—Kastmasters, Swedish Pimples, Bay de Noc Do-Jiggers, and Jig-A-Whopper Rocker Minnows. Tell you a secret, though, my most consistently productive lure is the Reef Runner Cicada, a bladebait that just hasn’t caught on as an ice lure for walleyes. Big mistake. It sends out tremendous vibrations that attract and trigger a lot of walleyes.

“I work the lure aggressively, pumping it up about 2 feet and slow-falling it back down. I often do that three or four times before holding still. I might add a couple twitches from time to time. No need to hold for more than about 20 seconds before jigging again.”

As we’ve mentioned, super-action flash lures like the Acme Little Cleo and Thunderbolt, Blue Fox Tingler, and Bay de Noc Do-Jigger also attract and trigger with lots of vibration and flash. The key when fish are active—particularly when they’re heavily schooled—is selecting a lure you can feel vibrate when jigged (or ripped upward) and that doesn’t foul on the fall. Konald, however, suggests that his aggressive Cicada jigging method doesn’t just trigger active fish, but also entices neutral or negative fish to bite.

“If fish are inactive, I find that aggressive tactics often trigger strikes, which is the opposite of what most anglers think,” Konald says. “I like heavy-vibrating lures better when fish seem negative. The extreme vibration often triggers a response.”

Konald replaces factory “double hooks” on his Cicadas with split rings and trebles. For 1/4- to 3/8-ounce lures he uses short-shank #6 and #8 trebles and tips the rear treble with a minnow-head.