LOOKING FOR LURE/JIG SUGGESTIONS FOR WILLARD

[fish_hntr]

So I have tons of trout/salmon gear for trolling but nothing for wiper/walleye other than a few lighter colored tube jigs that may work for wipers. I am looking for suggestions on a few things I should pick up without breaking the bank. My brother suggested that a green/chartreuse jig head with a piece of crawler works most of the time.
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[RockyRaab]

Slow trolling jigs with a bit of added meat will work on anything that swims at Willard. Your tubes will suffice.

If you want to troll hard baits a bit faster, the Berkley Flicker Shad and the Rat'l Trap are proven lures. Any shad-like color will be fine.
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[albinotrout]

Berkeley flicker shad are great baits. Cabelas has their own brand similar to the flicker shad that work well too. If you like slow troll a bottom bouncer with a worm Harness work well too for the walleye. I have caught walleye, cats, and wiper on the shad colors at Willard.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]There is no single universal lure or tactic that works well all the time. Heck, what worked well last week, or even yesterday, may not work at all on your next trip. There are plenty of us Willardites who leave the lake shaking our heads after being humbled...just when we thought we had it all figured out.

If you are trolling, get an assortment of lipless crankbaits and jointed crankbaits in the "basic food groups". Shad are the main forage species so anything with a blue or dark back and silver, holo or white sides will cover that. But most predators also hunt crawdads...especially early in the year, before the shad spawn. And when the water is cold and/or murky you will do better with fire tiger or some other bright color that is more easily seen and which can trigger "reaction bites".

Plastic tubes, twisters and shad can all be effective. They are often best for casting to fish once you have located them...but can be trolled too.

The suggestion for a piece of crawler on a plain jig head is good. That works anywhere there are walleye. But wipers and cats will vote for it too.

Don't forget Gulp Minnows. Get some in 3" size along with some 1/8 and 1/16 oz. jigheads...with size 1 or 1/0 hooks. My favorite colors are smelt, chartreuse shad and white. They work well for all species. And use the smaller 1" ones to tip small jigs. Fish love that flavor.


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[fish_hntr]

[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]There is no single universal lure or tactic that works well all the time. Heck, what worked well last week, or even yesterday, may not work at all on your next trip. There are plenty of us Willardites who leave the lake shaking our heads after being humbled...just when we thought we had it all figured out.

If you are trolling, get an assortment of lipless crankbaits and jointed crankbaits in the "basic food groups". Shad are the main forage species so anything with a blue or dark back and silver, holo or white sides will cover that. But most predators also hunt crawdads...especially early in the year, before the shad spawn. And when the water is cold and/or murky you will do better with fire tiger or some other bright color that is more easily seen and which can trigger "reaction bites".

Plastic tubes, twisters and shad can all be effective. They are often best for casting to fish once you have located them...but can be trolled too.

The suggestion for a piece of crawler on a plain jig head is good. That works anywhere there are walleye. But wipers and cats will vote for it too.

Don't forget Gulp Minnows. Get some in 3" size along with some 1/8 and 1/16 oz. jigheads...with size 1 or 1/0 hooks. My favorite colors are smelt, chartreuse shad and white. They work well for all species. And use the smaller 1" ones to tip small jigs. Fish love that flavor.

I am attaching a chapter from the writeup I did on Willard Bay. I will leave it up for a couple of days if you want to copy it. Hope it helps.
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I realize there isn't just a single "super duper lure" that will catch everything, but hoping to spend $20-30 on a few setups to try, I printed off that file and will read it later before I head to Cabela's.
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[Northman]

Here are 2 lures that I have done well on at Willard. They are Rapalas #7 and are available at any tackle shop for $5 to $7 bucks each.

Take a copy of Tube Dudes write up and read it, it's the best overview you will find. Keep in mind that it is not uncommon for a guy that regularly fishes Willard to have $600 or more in lures just for Willard. Also their personalities can be a little Die Hard. What they know has come from many years of hard fishing and frustration. Take good notes on what they are willing to share and don't get your feathers ruffled. []
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[RockyRaab]

Here's one more I hesitate to reveal: when the water is stained to dirty, a Colorado blade spinnerbait in chartreuse with a 3" Gulp minnow on the hook. Let it fall to the bottom. Lift and let it fall back. Repeat. Vary how hard/fast you lift until you find what they want that day.
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[FatBiker]

Here are a couple of my favorites. Purple one is a Cotton Cordell. Under $3 at Wallmart.


Larry
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[RonPaulFan]

In a previous post:

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...sh;#986505
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