A 1/16- or 1/8-ounce jighead tipped with a minnow, leech, or half crawler are hard combos to beat. Their slow fall rate allows you to lift the jig up off bottom and let it free-fall back down on a semi-tight line. Most strikes come as the jig falls. Heavier jigs sink faster, giving walleyes less time to react and inhale your jig on the fall. You may need to increase jig weight on windy days, in strong current, or in deeper water.

To detect strikes, good jiggers know where and what their jig is doing at all times. The key is to stay in contact with the action of the jig. Watching where the line enters the water also helps you visualize a jig’s fall rate and detect any jumps, pecks, and ticks that indicate even a subtle strike. High-visibility lines like Berkley XT Solar mono or any other visually enhanced line make watching line easier.

Once you become accustomed to how your jig performs under the conditions you’re fishing—whether over rocks, weeds, or wood; heavy to moderate winds; deep, or shallow—any extra weight other than what you’re used to feeling or any sudden slight line twitches or stops may indicate a strike. Set the hook. Doesn’t cost you a penny more, and you’ll probably catch more fish.

Pitching crankbaits produces in the shallows. Neutrally-buoyant minnow crankbaits like Rapala Husky Jerks, Suspending Rogues, or Suspending ThunderSticks are top producers in spring. At rest, a properly tuned lure hangs level, neither rising nor sinking, the perfect trigger for a following walleye to strike. Rapala Countdowns (slow sinking lures), being heavier, cast better into wind. Most of the time, a slow-swimming retrieve triggers strikes.

Pitching deep-diving crankbaits, like Rapala’s new Tail Dancer or the Reef Runner Deep Little Ripper, shallow and retrieving back to the boat allows for fishing a variety of depths near bottom. Steep-sloping or lipped shorelines with a sand or gravel bottom are ideal. On a straight retrieve, deep-diving cranks bang and tick the bottom, which trigger strikes.

Boat control and position is critical. Try to keep the boat positioned close enough to pitch the jig to key spots, yet far enough away to prevent spooking the fish. Most pitches are about 30 to 40 feet. Stay close enough to your target to feel and work your jig at the right speed.

Wind not only makes boat control difficult, but also increases the speed of your presentation, which makes feeling your jig more difficult. Adjusting boat speed is one of the best ways to stay in contact with your jig. Try slowing the boat until you can detect your jig. Anchoring near key spots is a great method of boat control on windy days. Set the anchor to position the boat close enough to make accurate casts and feel your jig. Again, not so close that you spook the fish.

Wind pressure on your line also may cause you to lose feel of lighter jigs—similar to a jig that’s too light for current in rivers. You may need to increase weight. A crosswind, however, puts a slight bow in the line between your rod tip and the point where it enters the water. Watch the bow in the line for any slight bumps or for the line to straighten. Even though you didn’t feel a thing, you can see a strike by watching the bow in your line.