Many lures catch walleye each winter. Notable favorites include glide baits like the Tikka Mino, flutter spoons and rattle spoons. Jason Mitchell breaks down a tackle adjustment that can help you catch more walleye this winter. Often, we find distinct feeding windows around sunrise or sunset when targeting walleye through the ice. During these prime time windows which often coincide with low light, walleyes are often most aggressive and fishing more aggressively with spoons, glide baits and other lures is productive.
Here is an tackle adjustment you need to know, however! We often see a window when fish are still moving and active but no longer aggressive. When the bite turns off, add more walleye each day by immediately downsizing while you are still marking fish. Think panfish size lures with a walleye size hook. The bigger/ wider gap hook is important at least if you are tipping with a minnow head or half minnow.
We catch so many walleyes midday with the small stuff. The Clam Drop XXL is definitely a favorite and looks micro compared to the lures we are often using early in the morning or late in the evening during the prime time windows.
There are notable exceptions to the timing of these windows on some fisheries with stained water like LOTW where the prime time window might be mid morning or afternoon. The point we want to make is that when walleye put the brakes on traditional spoons and lures, you can often clean up by downsizing. This tackle adjustment can add a lot more walleye on top of the ice for you this winter.
