When walleye don’t want to spoon

So u went walleye fishing today and I probably tried like 15 different spoons. Nothing. All I got is lookers but no spooners. What’s the next best thing.

plain hook and a minnow, chubby darter, rapala jigging rap. don’t fool yourself into thinking spoons are always the best option for walleyes.

Do you know for a fact they were eyes? Camera?

Plain hook,small splitshot and a crappie minnow

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So u went walleye fishing today and I probably tried like 15 different spoons. Nothing. All I got is lookers but no spooners. What’s the next best thing.

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We’ve run into this more than a few times this winter. IT seems like very time we hit the ice a new cold front is settling in and there’s at least a portion of the day when the walleye don’t want anything to do with a lure of any kind. In those instances we opt for livebait, preferably a larger shiner or medium sucker minnow, fished under a tip up or bobber.

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So u went walleye fishing today and I probably tried like 15 different spoons. Nothing. All I got is lookers but no spooners. What’s the next best thing.

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Jig and minnow. I feel that in clear water a spoon with a vertical profile is less natural than a jig and minnow with a horizontal profile.

All open water season people catch hundeds of walleyes on a leadhead jig and minnow and then ice forms and we put them away and pull out the spoons. I always have live bait on a set line next to me when I’m jigging in my house and I often run into the same issue where they actively chase a spoon but won’t take it while also not taking the live bait. A jig/minnow has saved me many times in this situation. I’ve been amazed at the number on times on the ice where they only look at a spoon but will smash a jig and monnow. Dont go through your whole spoon box before pulling one out. I like a 1/16 or 1/8th oz jig with the minnow hooked through the mouth and behind the head so it stays alive and still kicks when held still. You’d be surprized at the amount of action a jig and minnow can produce when jigged vertically under the ice.

Even this smaller walleye took down a whole jig on aday when spoons just weren’t converting.

Joe

It seems like as winter progresses the Walleyes can get lethargic. Cold fronts and fishing pressure only hammer the fish back even more. One lure that has worked well for me over the past few seasons is a tiny Perch sized 1/8oz slender spoon. The hang time of this little thing tipped with a minnow head seems to dupe ‘eyes when they won’t even take a dead stick. After dumping 3-4 nice fish in a row at the hole, I decided that the hooks are way to small for Walleye fishing. The “Pro Series” comes with one size larger hooks but I swap them all out for #8 trebles. It’s my new go-to spoon when things get tough. I like James recommendation of letting a bigger minnow sit in their face too.

Large ratsos and gulp work great when the vertical thing isnt working. All about experimentation. Bladebaits/sonars have worked quite well for me at times too.