What are the best lures for walleye, and when does each category shine?

Start with the jig: tipped with a minnow in cold water, dressed with a soft plastic and snapped once the water warms, it catches walleye everywhere, all year. Crankbaits are the coverage tool — trolled along contours and over basins to find scattered summer fish, as are crawler harnesses. Shallow-running minnowbaits and paddletail swimbaits belong to the night shift: retrieved slow and straight over rock in 1–3 m (3.3–10 ft), especially in spring and late fall. Lipless crankbaits and blade baits are the reaction tools — a lipless bait ripped free of fall weeds, a blade bait or jigging spoon over tight daytime schools at 8–15 m (26–50 ft), and both again under the ice. A simple rule: jigs when you know where the fish are, cranks when you do not, minnowbaits after dark.

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