Why does live bait outfish plastics for walleye — and when does it not?

Walleye inspect slow presentations before committing, and smell and taste are the final checkpoints: a real minnow, leech, or crawler passes them, and the fish holds on longer, converting more of those soft, held bites into hookups. That is why the slower and colder the technique — live-bait rigging, deadsticking, cold-water jigging — the more live bait separates from imitation. The gap closes as speed rises: on a trolled crankbait or a snapped jig, the strike is a reaction and the fish never gets a sniff, which is why plastics and hard baits hold their own in warm water and aggressive programs. Match the checkpoint to the presentation: slow enough to be smelled, feed them the real thing.

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