Plastic Baits Real Thing For Catching Walle

A few wise walleye anglers are adding soft plastic baits to their tackleboxes.

Part of the reason is the new generation of plastic baits.

“The salted, taste-impregnated baits have made an improvement over the standard stuff and they do make a difference,” says top walleye pro Al Linder. “Once fish grab it, they hold onto it. They won’t spit it out instantly. That’s the important part.”

Walleye fishing, both in tournaments and by pleasure anglers, has long been regarded as the exclusive turf of live bait or crankbait anglers.

Linder, president of In-Fisherman magazine and television businesses based in Brainard, Minn., says plastics aren’t going to muscle those other techniques out of the boat, but there are places and conditions where they do work better than the tried-and-true live bait.

Those places include rivers, weedbeds and lakes with dark or muddy water.

Those conditions include cool water, 55 to 70 degrees.

“In darker water or in weeds, walleye react more quickly and strike,” Linder says. “They don’t have the time to look the bait over, see something negative.”

“If I’m fishing walleyes in weeds, I’ll always go to soft plastics,” Linder says. “I’ll rip these plastics along the edge of the weeds. It works particularly well in a lot of Canadian lakes. I think Canadian lakes have a lower forage base (than lakes in the continental 48 states),” Linder says. “Fish aren’t as picky because they don’t have as many options for a meal.”

Linder’s favorite is a shape that’s been around for years, the curlytail grub. You can fit it on the hook either tail up or tail down, but be sure the hook pokes out of the bait through a seam in the plastic so the grub will swim vertically.

“Shad-type shapes would be my second choice,” Linder said.

“A lot of people say, ‘OK, all the plastic shapes will catch some fish.’ But if you fish them side-by-side you will out-fish all the other shapes because of the built-in action of that tail.”

Linder prefers grubs 2 to 4 inches long and he fishes them far differently than he would live bait.

“You’re going to really move it fast,” he advises. Use a bigger jig, a hook with a lead head attached. “If you would go with a one-eighth-ounce jig and a piece of live bait where you’re fishing, go to one-quarter or three-eighths ounce, because you have to move the bait that much quicker.

“Rip it along the edge of weedbeds and be ready to set your hook when you get a strike,” Linder says. “Walleye will hold onto these impregnated baits better than the older ones, but it’s still not like they’re chewing on a worm.”

Linder said to mix common-sense colors.

“I like to fish two-tones in darker waters, say lime green and chartreuse,” he says.