Bass fisherman call ‘em crankbaits; you cast ‘em out and crank ‘em back in again. But amongst walleye anglers, hard baits, body baits or, yes, even crankbaits aren’t just for casting. Depending on region, trolling may prevail. But wherever hard baits see action, the action’s mighty good—especially for big walleyes.

Speaking of action, the various shapes of crankbaits create a range of wiggles and wobbles that trigger strikes from many species of gamefish. The most popular and widespread models are the fat round-bodied lures originally referred to as alphabet lures—Big O’s, Little N’s, Model A’s—named for letters of the alphabet. While these hard-wobbling lures catch loads of bass and definitely produce some walleyes, crankbaits of other general shapes tend to outproduce fat alphabaits when the specific target is walleyes.

Minnow Imitators

Foremost among walleye trolling baits are long, thin, straight-backed lures generically referred to as minnow baits or minnow imitators. They resemble long, thin forage like minnows, shiners, ciscoes, or smelt. Classic examples, in no particular order, include Rapala Floating Minnows, Storm ThunderSticks, Smithwick Rogues, Bomber Long A’s, Arbogast’s Snooker, Poe’s Cruise Minnow, Rebel Spoonbill Minnows, Bagley Bang-O-Lures, Cordell Red Fins, Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier Minnows, and Rebel Minnows and Fastrac Minnows.

Most are short-lipped shallow runners, achieving only a foot or two of depth when cast and retrieved, perhaps 3 or 4 feet when trolled on an unweighted line. A few deep-diving versions like Storm Deep ThunderSticks, Rebel Spoonbill Minnows, and the larger Bomber Long A’s may dive into the 20- to 25-foot ranges when longline trolled. Otherwise, adding weight ahead of the lure takes minnow imitators down into the 30- to 70-foot levels—the staple walleye presentation for open-water trolling on the Great Lakes and in large inland lakes and reservoirs.

A recent offshoot of the minnow-imitator family might be referred to as humpies or simply bent minnows, due to their pronounced humpback bend in an otherwise minnowlike body. The Reef Runner Deep Diver, and Ripstick and new Little Ripper; Fenwick Wobbl’n Minnow; and Yo-Zuri Wobbl’n Minnow fall into this category. Place them in the water side by side with traditional long, thin minnow imitators and you’ll notice that humpies display more action. Walleyes notice it, too. Not that humpies are consistently better than minnow imitators; they simply provide a different action to at times trigger more fish.

Whether constructed from balsa or injection molded plastic, minnow imitators typically exhibit a shivering wiggle as opposed to the wide side-to-side wobble of rounder-bodied baits. On the average, walleyes tend to prefer the reduced action over the more aggressive wobblers. Perhaps this explains the general preference for solid minnows over their jointed broken back counterparts with more inherent wiggle. Yet even within the minnow-imitator category variations exist—a Rapala is thinner than a ThunderStick and a ThunderStick thinner than a Rebel minnow, for example. The rounder-bodied Nils Master Invincible, often hard to find in America even though it outsells the Rapala in Europe, also is effective on walleyes. Thus action can be fine-tuned simply by shifting lure families, while staying with the same basic size and color pattern.

Some lures rattle to different degrees; others are relatively subtle and silent. In general, open-water trollers seem to prefer a bit of added sound and vibration, while anglers trolling shallow water at night may lean toward stealth and reduced noise. Once again, experimentation is the best selection method. Let the fish tell you what they want.

Color patterns vary among lure manufacturers, though the natural forage theme predominates among walleye lures. Dark-backed flashy (silver-sided) lures produce best for open-water trolling in clear water and at night in the shallows. Daytime fishing in clear water calls for matching forage like perch, shiners, crayfish, rainbow trout, or white bass. Turbid water favors lures with a splash of orange or chartreuse for added visibility in murky water.

Shads and Shad-ows

Ranking second on the walleye crankbait front and most popular among casters targeting structure like rock points or reefs are shad-bodied crankbaits like Normark Shad Raps, Rebel Shad-R’s, Bagley Shads, Cordell C. C. Rattlin’ Shads or Wee Shads, and Storm Thin Fins and new Lightnin’ Shads. Closely resembling triangular-shaped shad forage, shad baits are considerably deeper-bodied than minnow imitators, yet still thin. This creates the illusion of a shad- or alewife-shaped baitfish profile, along with a fairly subtle action when compared with rounder-bodied baits. Once again, subtle action predominates for walleyes. Also great bass lures when reduced vibration and action are preferred, shad baits are available in shallow- and deep-diving versions that run from a foot or two to perhaps 6 feet on a cast and retrieve. They also are underutilized as trolling lures, even though they perform well wherever shad or alewife forage predominate.

Lightweight balsa shads are difficult to cast on heavy line, thus the preference for tossing them with about 8-pound-test monofilament and spinning gear. Plastic-bodied shads, particularly those with rattles like the Rebel Mystic Shad-R, are heavier and easier to cast long distances or into the wind. Some, like the Shad-R and Excalibur Shad-R, are available in both floating and suspending versions.

Casting or trolling, these relatively flat-sided baits are sensitive to speed; too much speed and they go out of balance, ruining the retrieve or trolling pass, unless the lure is properly tuned to run above 2 or 2.5 mph. Anglers fishing eastern shad-based impoundments often troll shad baits at high speeds—3 to 5 mph—just beneath the surface for suspended walleyes and muskies.

Shad-ows are hybrids of the shad and minnow imitator categories, encompassing a large number of crankbaits that are rounder-bodied than minnowbaits, often with a bit of hump or curvature. Lures like the Mann’s Stretch Series, Lindy-Little Joe Shadling, Cordell Wally Diver, Mann’s Wally-Trac, Rebel Shad-R, and Luhr-Jensen Power Dive Minnow more or less fall into this category. Most come with a fairly substantial diving lip, making them good casting lures for banging bottom or ripping weed tops, or when the fish prefer more action than a minnow imitator or shad provide. Shad-ows also tend to dive 7 to 10 feet on a cast, and beyond 15 feet when trolled on an unweighted line.

Most of the time, shad-ows are about as aggressive as you want for walleyes. Yet not all the time, as the following category demonstrates.

Aggressive Wobblers

Historically, this class of lures dates back farther than traditional diving crankbaits, to lures like the Flat Fish and Lazy Ike, which are still around and productive today. Generically referred to as banana baits due to their humpbacked profile, they wiggle side to side, even with little forward movement. They also lack a diving lip, achieving what little depth they do strictly via the angled nose of the body. Thus they’re predominantly trolling lures—longlined in shallow water, generally at night, or trolled near bottom in deep water with a weight a few feet ahead of the lure. Their aerodynamically challenging shape and light weight defeat any casting effort.

Banana baits have either treble hooks or sets of gang hooks—small trebles attached via wire spreaders. The old theory was, more hooks, better hooking. This is particularly true when gang trebles get twisted in a landing net. What the old-timers did do, and which still is productive today, was to tip one set of hooks with pieces of nightcrawler, adding scent and taste without stifling the action. A similar tactic on a shivering minnow imitator might kill the wiggle altogether.

Also included in this category are wide-wobbling diving lures, the most famous being the Storm Hot‘N Tot, a trolling lure of wide repute. Tots can be trolled on unweighted lines down 10 to 25 feet. Beyond that, add snap weights or other lead to sink ‘em farther. Once again, the wide-wobbling body will accept tipping the hooks with a piece of crawler. You might include Storm’s Wart series and Luhr-Jensen’s Hot Shot in this category as well. And when walleyes are feeding on crayfish, try Reef Runner’s Scooter, Rebel’s Crawfish, Luhr-Jensen’s Crankin’ Klawdad, and Arbogast’s Mud Bug; otherwise, traditional round-bodied alphabaits in crayfish patterns fit the bill.

Lipless Rattlebaits

Lipless rattlebaits like the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, Cordell Spot, Normark Rattlin’ Rapala, and others lack an external diving lip, using the angled nose of the lure body in part to dive. Most depth, however, is attributable to the weight of numerous lead or copper BBs rattling and shifting throughout the hollow plastic lure body, creating a loud commotion. Cast and retrieve ‘em fast, just under the surface. Pause your retrieve and let ‘em sink to the desired depth, then retrieve again. Vertically jig them like a bladebait. Lipless rattlebaits are versatile lures.

Most walleye anglers probably use rattlebaits either to cast and burn above shallow weed tops or to cast a heavy lure into the wind while shorecasting at night. Both are excellent adaptations, providing the excessive noise doesn’t spook fish. The new Cordell Suspending Spot is a neutral buoyancy version.

Enhancements

Internal rattles have been a hit on the walleye scene in recent years, particularly with open-water trollers. Various lures have different degrees of rattle, ranging from a single BB bouncing around inside an internal rattle chamber to a host of BBs slam dancing against the body walls. It’s impossible to say which is better, best, or worst for any situation til you try. In some cases, noise is great, in others a turnoff.

Slow-sinking lures like Normark’s Rapala Countdown series, around for years, are used primarily to achieve a little depth on a short retrieve. Rebel’s Trac Down Zone Minnow adds another sinker to the collection. Gaining popularity in recent years are near-neutrally-buoyant crankbaits that can be paused and hovered beneath a fish’s nose to tempt a strike, like the Smithwick Suspending Rogue, Normark Husky Jerk, Rebel Mystic Shad-R and Suspending Zone Minnow, and Mann’s Loudmouth Jerkbait. Great for shallow-water shorecasting in a few feet of water. And heavy enough to cast into wind.

Storm’s adhesive lead tape SuspenDots and SuspenStrips offer the ability to fine-tune the buoyancy of any lure by adding enough weight along the belly to create anything from a slight floater, to a hoverer, to a slow sinker—a versatile addition to any tackle box.

In general, today’s crankbaits sport a far better treble hook than those of a few years ago. The new wave of ultrasharp hooks—Heddon Excalibur, Mustad Accupoint and Triple Grip, Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp and new Kahle Treble, VMC Barbarian Outbarb, and similar premium models hook and hold as never before.

New colors and finishes are available from many manufacturers for 1998. Excalibur’s LiveShad scalelike finishes and Rapala’s metallic finishes are two prominent examples.

Also, in general, a much greater selection of crankbaits are targeted toward walleyes than ever before. Manufacturers are conscious of the growing market and want to cash in on sales with appropriate lures. Since many walleye crankbait situations are trolling applications often incorporating adding weight to the line to achieve greater depth, as great a range of diving models may not appear when compared with designs for bass.

Classic case: Perhaps a manufacturer will offer a shallow and deep diver in a walleye crankbait series, as opposed to several different sizes of diving lips covering a wider range of casting depths in lures targeted for bass. Mann’s Stretch series is an exception, with numerous models designed to cover trolling conditions from just beneath the surface to 30 feet deep. Also, Shad Raps—a multi-species lure—come in various sizes with diving lips designed to perform within specific casting (and trolling) depth ranges down to around 15 feet. Consider this when stocking your crankbait box.

Hard baits for walleyes apply in a wider variety of situations than ever before. And they catch walleyes from the shallows to the depths.