Size And Shape vs. Application

Most walleye jig hooks used with livebait run from about a #4 up to about a 1/0, increasing in size from the smallest to the largest jigs. There must be sufficient hook gap to hold the bait and still hook the fish. When fishing with plastic grubs or tails, or large minnows, the hook size should probably be a bit larger to accommodate the bulk of the plastic, with a sufficient amount of the hook gap exposed to hook the fish. When tipping a jig with a leech, piece of crawler, or small minnow, however, a smaller hook better balances with the combo.

Color and Patterns

Jigs are available in a rainbow of colors and a wealth of color patterns. Everyone has his favorites—confidence colors. But here are a few general guidelines

By their basic eye structure, walleyes see orange-yellow-chartreuse best, perhaps accounting for the predominance of these colors among walleye jigs. It doesn’t mean they’re necessarily the best—just likely to be most visible. Also try phosphorescent glow heads for added visibility, especially in dirty water or at night.

In clear water, however, very visible may be too visible, alerting fish to something unnatural and costing you strikes. More subtle white, brown, yellow, black, or smoke may be more in order. Few jigs in the blue-purple end of the spectrum are available, at least for walleyes.

Multicolored and patterned heads abound. They offer a variety of triggers. You may like ‘em. You may prefer to match one color of jighead to one color of dressing or livebait. Jigs with eye patterns may provide you with additional confidence, feeling it helps fool walleyes and focus the strike at the head. Or you may catch fish on plain old unpainted jigheads. In essence, the choice is yours. Experiment for best results.

General Observations

Compared to bass fishermen, walleye anglers use fewer jigs with premium sharp (expensive) hooks (Gamakatsu, Owner, Mustad AccuPoint, Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp, VMC Barbarian, Daiichi Jig Hook), chiefly due to a combination of tradition and the predominance of snags in on-bottom presentations. Walleye anglers expect to get snagged often, and to be forced to break off. They’d rather lose 10 to 50 cents than a buck apiece in the process. Tournament fishermen, however, are more willing to bite the bullet and pay for added quality.

Most walleye anglers still resist fishing near wood cover (again a combination of tradition and fearing snags), and haven’t adopted weedless jigs to the same degree as bass fishermen. The growing acceptance of weed-walleye patterns, however, is causing savvy walleye anglers to carry jigheads to match all conditions. In most cases, however, hook sizes used for jigging walleyes tend to be smaller than those used for largemouth bass, although roughly the same as those applied to smallmouths.

Note that different heads have various combinations of characteristics. All are not equal, nor the best choice all the time. Carry an assortment and select and use heads that best match conditions. Heads up!