How should I work a jig for walleye — snap it or drag it?

Let water temperature and fish mood set the cadence, and let the fish vote. Cold water and neutral fish want the quiet end of the dial: slow lift-drop-pause cycles, drags along bottom, long holds where the pause — not the movement — draws the bite. Warm water, wind, and competing schools of fish invert it: snap-jigging and aggressive rips trigger reaction strikes from walleye that would ignore a crawl, and often select for bigger fish. The strike almost always comes on the drop or the pause, whatever the cadence, so control the fall and keep a semi-tight line through it. Start moderate, then work both directions in the first half hour — the fish's answer is usually unambiguous.

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