Jig-crawler options, however, are almost unlimited. Tiny segments of crawlers add scent and taste to plastic combos, and larger segments work nicely in place of plastic on jigs with collars. Long-shank jigs such as the Wazp Perfection Jig and Owner Ultrahead in 1/8-, 3/16-, and 1/4-ounce sizes excel for crawlers. It’s easier to hold a crawler on the jig while pitching with a long-shank hook, and the hook is back far enough to nab a few short biters. The Perfection Jig has a sharp three-way barb that does a good job of holding the crawler against the head.

Alternatives and new designs provide cues to aid in triggering finicky walleyes. The Bad Dog Whiz Kid is a vertical prop jig. Its teardrop design falls bend-first with the eye straight up. Unlike other prop jigs, the propeller turns or flashes on the drop, providing a temptingly slow target with leeches under a slip float. The Wazp Flicker Jighead, with its flat, wavy design, flutters on the drop, another good float-duty tool.

Pitching leeches on light jigs requires a relatively short shank and larger gap. A 1/16- to 1/8-ounce Bait-Rigs Slo-Poke, with its elongated head, drops slow, fishes slow, works well through weeds, and accentuates the action of a writhing leech. Many other jigs work well, too. Leeches fish better on light heads with short- to medium-shank jig hooks.

Minnows

Hooking minnows on a jig requires a larger gap between hook point and jig eye. Two classic styles have emerged—compact and long-shank. Today, these two styles have evolved into designs specifically for certain types of cover and conditions like current.

The classic compact head is the Northland Fire-Ball. This wide-gap short-shank hook was unique to this head for years before other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon. The design allows sufficient room for a big minnow with space left over for some segment of a walleye’s upper jaw. With the hook running into the minnow’s mouth and out behind the head, and the minnow pushed against the jig, the Fire-Ball typically hooks short biters without a stinger, but a special eye for attaching a stinger is supplied under the hook. The bend in the shank is so close that it holds the minnow tight to the head, creating a compact package.

Like the Fire-Ball, Gopher Tackle’s Bait Jig, or short hook jig, also allows the minnow to hinge closer to the weight of the jig. This head is slung low, with most of the weight beneath the shank, and the shorter eye creating a wider gap.

Long-shank jigs, by comparison, present a different profile. The length creates a hinge effect, which may or may not appear natural, but it lightens the business end of the package, causing the longer hook to pivot toward inhaling fish much easier. Head shapes vary extensively. A wedge head on the Wazp Perfection Stand-Up jig, with its Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Tri-Bend hook, works well through weededges and stands on bottom, delivering the minnow in an aggressive tail-up fashion. The Wazp Perfection Jig also is flat on the bottom, but the long-shank hook lies on the same plane as the head, laying the minnow belly to the bottom, which excels with a sweep-drag retrieve.

Plastics

Here are the classics among classics. Most jigs on the market longer than four or five years have barbed collars for attaching plastics. Yesterday’s conventional wisdom dictated that jigs with barbed collars worked with or without plastics, with or without bait, and they still do. Specialization replaces that notion, however minor the difference.