As we progress into fall, we often find that walleye will prefer larger profiles. If there is a general presentation pattern, that generality would be using bigger baits. Traditional reasoning is that young of the year’s baitfish have grown, so using bigger baits is simply a matter of matching the profile or size of bait that walleye key in on during the fall. How big is big? We often lean towards the big end of the lure spectrum with lures like size 13 floating Rapalas. Besides going long, I also like the bulkier profiles. The size 10 Rumble Shiner is a deadly after dark trolling bait that has that bulkier profile. As a rule of thumb, I increase the size of lures by 20 to 50 percent of what I would use in the summer. Big minnows like suckers and creek chubs can also be deadly where we rig minnows that are up to ten inches long… sometimes bigger.
When it comes to fall walleye however, a staple presentation is a jig and minnow. In the fall, however, I like to bulk up and increase the profile and I feel like I catch more walleye oftentimes when I can do so. You can increase the profile by using suckers or chubs instead of traditional fathead, rainbow or shiner minnows but here are a few other tricks for increasing the minnow profile.
Use minnows or frozen shiners in conjunction with soft plastics. Remember when you add bulk, like a soft plastic grub or fluke and add a minnow… you are also increasing the drag and buoyancy of the jigs so be sure to also increase your jig weight. Don’t be afraid to even double your jig weight. Increase the weight of the jig and bulk up the jig with a soft plastic and then tip with a minnow. This not only increases the length of the presentation but also bulks it up to give the profile even more water displacement.
Another trick that can be deadly in the fall is to simply use a couple of minnows on the jig. You can also bulk up the jig by double hooking a minnow on the bottom and nose hooking a second minnow to add more bulk. Again, use a long shank, wide gap hook like a Northland Deep V Jig and use a heavier jig than what you would traditionally use with one minnow.
In the fall, the results can be dramatic when you can bulk up the presentation. Error on bigger in regard to the size spectrum and focus on using jigs or lures that look larger. This universal need to increase the size of the presentation seems to apply in the fall wherever walleye swim.
